Week 17

This week, Ian (the pastor at the local church) taught on 1 Thessalonians. We also had a DVD lecture by Russell Kelfer on the importance of memorizing scripture. Was I ever convicted! We also had several ‘random’ classes, like some by Dale on the results of Christ’s finished work on the cross and a DVD by John McArthur on Jesus as Lord.

We are all getting excited for ministry week next week. I’m in the group going to Christchurch. We get to help out at a local food bank, meet and talk with people of different faiths and do other acts of service.

Most of us spent the week working on finishing up our latest Bible studies. When it gets monotonous, I thank God that we live in a country where we can study His word freely and without fear. I also prepared and presented a devotion on our bodies as God’s temple to the Timaru youth group (which I attend every Wednesday with Ben and Adam as our ministry). Hanna says that if I had been graded on this devotion, I would have gotten the grade I had wanted on the Bible study that I presented at the Crossing last week (I got a B and I was hoping for an A). I also did something pretty exciting on Wednesday afternoon: I applied for Universite de Sherbrooke!!!!

For workday I got to work outside picking up rocks in the freshly tilled dirt so that it will be ready for seeding. I really enjoyed it because it was difficult enough that I was actually getting some exercise.

One other exciting thing we did this week was prepare for our surprise Valentine’s Day supper for the guys. We had tons of “secret” meetings (we call them our nothing meetings and the guys seem to think that we just hang around and talk). Little did we know that the guys were also preparing something for us! On Thursday, we received formal invitations to supper and desert on Friday accompanied by entertainment and we were told to dress formal.

So Friday at 6pm, all us girls came down the stairs (after at least two hours of curling hair, doing nails and makeup and picking out dresses and shoes) to the dining room which had been closed off for the afternoon. We were greeted at the door by Adam, Joel, and Jonas, all dressed quite handsomely escorted us each individually to our place at the table. There were candles and flower arraignments on the table and a rose on each of our plates. Then the boys came out with a beautiful salad and offered us sparkling juice. They even got out the good dishes! We then got a sorbet to clear our palates before the main course of chicken wrapped in bacon, spinach with cucumber, and couscous moulded in a heart shape with a delicious sauce in the middle and two chives placed elegantly on top. The whole thing was presented Beautifully!! The boys had eaten before so that it could be just us girls and so that they could serve us. We chatted and laughed as we were serenaded by Michael and Bryan on the piano. While we enjoyed a delicious desert of chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream, we were entertained by JB and Robert who each wrote a “love” song to all us girls. Joseph and Colin (AKA Hot Play) then played us a song followed by a beautiful solo by Joseph. Joseph finished off the evening by telling us that he had hoped to plan a dance but that he had been unable to and so promised to organize it for a future date. A few of us were in tears and we were all completely blown away by how awesome these guys are!

The evening was finished perfectly when all the students received valentine’s letters from God (made by someone who wished to remain anonymous). Each one was hand made with a personal message inside. And each message was sooooooooo accurate as to what each of us had to hear it was almost creepy but in a wonderful sort of way. Apparently, the person who made them doesn’t know us but simply asked for a list of our names. There was obviously a tremendous amount of prayer and time put into each card. They were so personalized that some people didn’t want to share what was written inside them because they touched some issues that are so real to each of us right now. I’m having trouble describing just how awesome it was, but hopefully you are getting the picture! I plan on framing the card because it is definitely a keeper!

We then all stayed up till past midnight chatting, reading each other’s cards, worshiping God, and just hanging out.

On Saturday, the girls met in the kitchen at 2 to start prepping the herbed potatoes, steak, nachos, ‘Patti’s Awesome Sauce,’ and chocolate and caramel sauce for desert. We had a couple of close calls when Joseph walked into the kitchen and all the girls were in there working. But he bought the line that we were having some ‘quality girl time.’ Another time, Joel came in to get something out of the cupboard and saw the candy (which was for the sundaes) and decided to try one. We rang the bell as if it was a normal supper and everyone sat down. Amber came out of the kitchen and informed us that they would be running slightly late. And every single guy was totally surprised when, instead of walking out of the kitchen with supper, the girls walked out of the kitchen with blindfolds and proceeded to blindfold each of the guys. We led them out to the van (and threatened extra duties if they took off the blindfolds) and Hanna drove them around Geraldine for twenty minutes while we rushed to set up the formal lounge. We decided not to decorate too much because we figured that wouldn’t be something the guys would appreciate. When they got back, we led the guys to their spots at the table. We only had one accident: JB (who is the tallest student) whacked his head pretty on the door frame.

We gave them an appetizer of nachos. I had asked them, under the guise that I was doing character sketches for my blog, what their favourite soft drink was so we brought them each their favourites. For the main course, they had steak (thanks Amber for managing the BBQ!) and Patti’s awesome sauce (which they absolutely adore!). And for desert, we made them ice cream sundaes with tons of toppings and a choice of either caramel or chocolate sauce. And after their desert, we read them a short poem we had written for them (which I will post at a later date). We spent the evening in the kitchen (and had a delicious salad and their left over’s for supper) so that they could have some guy time. And we thoroughly enjoyed hearing tons of laughter and lots of talking.

I’m not sure, but I think the girls were almost more excited about the whole thing than the guys. But I must say, the guys were really grateful and really appreciated it too.

I think I will have to say that this has been just about my best Valentine’s day/weekend ever!

Tomorrow (Sunday) we leave for ministry week! I’m off to Christchurch to do some street ministry, some visiting of other faiths, some work at a local food bank, and a few other activities. There is another group heading down to Dunedin.