My room. My life. The blessing.

So.. I'm moved in. I'm officially a college girl now. Many of you have asked me about my room, so I thought I would give you a little tour.

Our door..
The door that either locks in our craziness, or welcomes in the craziness of the girls on the floor. I have been blessed with such a great, hillarious, god-fearing, strong, beautiful, floor of girls. I love having them walk in and hang out, but also having "outsiders" pop in to visit. Being on the top floor, we have the easiest access to the roof which gives you the most stunning view I could imagine ever being able to have on a college campus. 

I feel my mom will be proud to see that I invested in one of these. I think my roomie was too.. But yeah, this thing is great!!!

I surprisingly have plenty of space in my closet, which means plenty of space to buy more.. in the case I had a job.. and time to actually go out and clothes shop.. and then actually be able to find something worthy of the Moody Standard. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind our dress code, it just takes that little bit longer to actually find something that complies.. That isn't fifty years old.

We have such a dinky little sink, but it fits snugly into a little corner which is nice. Here, we also have our second mirror, with the brightest light EVER which we don't use.

You can NEVER go wrong with pictures, right?! So we have strung up a bunch of our pictures along the wall. If you're special enough, you may even be up there! :) 

People moan about these beds.. They clearly haven't slept on a Capernwray bed. HOWEVER.. One of my profs had to stay in Houghton during a conference, and said he could understand why people would be so tired due to not being able to sleep on these. I fall asleep almost instantly.. I apparently don't have high expectations for the beds..

Lucie, and my nicely made bed and some more photos, cause again, you can never have too many pictures!

Then we have the mini fridge. Which currently doesn't serve to much purpose, but rumour has it, come a few weeks in to school it'll be stocked up and raring to go. Right now, the freezer holds ice cream and frozen berries.. To use with the magic bullet I bought for the early mornings without breakfast.. :D

I am going to try SO hard to keep this desk tidy. Currently all four drawers are in a jumble, but I'll get to that soon.. Maybe. I love our little fairy lights and lamp, it looks pretty sweet at night time! :) 

MY LOVELY ROOM MATE! :)

We have a good view over the plaza, and hten just need to step up a few stair to get on the roof and check out the other side of town with the skyline. It's AMAZING!

So that's a view into our dorm room. Dorm life is so much fun. Certainly different to living with a whole bunch of other girls. When I say I have the best floor, I really mean it. I mean, I haven't exactly been on any other floor yet.. But I just love my floor, the girls on it are so great! It helped that I got to meet a couple of them before school actually started.

I thought I could also share with you a few things about what I've been learning here so far.

The first thing I want to share with you comes from one of my classes and the book that we are reading for that class. Here's a thought for you, have you ever wondered what you CAN'T do in heaven, that you SHOULD be doing on earth? No? I hadn't exactly done much thinking on it either. I was talking with my roomie last night before we went to sleep and I told her about this too. Her reaction was "wowwww.. I've never thought about that before." In heaven, we're all going to be christians. There won't be anyone to share the gospel with. So this really challenged me to share it while I'm here, as christians, that's what we're called to do! So yeah.. SHARE!!!!

The second thing I'm learning is perseverance. And today, my perseverance came through on my run with the cross country team. As you may know, I decided to do cross country mainly because of  Caden. He's in heaven now, but I am not. I still have time on this earth. Time on this earth to run for God's glory. I said I couldn't. But I can. God has given me the gift of two strong legs, and I will not give up as long as I'm healthy to run. The past week of practise has SUCKED! Blood, sweat and tears (well.. not so much blood, but there has been pain) have filled my afternoon hours running in a temperature I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be allowed to run in. But today, it paid off, and I got to see the first bit of progress. 

I feel so blessed to be part of such a great, encouraging team and love everyone in it! When I say I can't, they tell me I can. They remind me of the strength that's there, even though my bodies telling me no. I pushed past that voice saying I couldn't, and proved that I could! I am so fortunate that God has given me such blessings over the past few weeks, and I can't wait to run more. With God's strength in me, I will keep on going! And I will NOT give up! 

To whoever is reading this. If there is something you keep telling yourself you can't do.. Re-think about it, because unless it's something crazy, or you have a legitimate reason preventing you from it, you most certainly, probably can!

A blessing.

The sun was beaming down, a truly beautiful day. The soccer (football for my British people) team were playing at home, against a - what we think was - non-christian team. The first part of the game was played by returning players, but the next two were played by a mix of freshman guys and returners. Not knowing much about the game, I thought they were doing well and I managed to cheer at the right times (bonus)! The final third was in play (they split it into thirds for a reason I am unaware of.. haha) There was about fifteen minutes to go when two players from opposite teams  collided head to head with each other. The guy on the other team seemed to be alright, but our player was on the ground. In a matter of seconds the coaches were on the field. We couldn't see who was on the floor, but we knew he wasn't moving. 

What happened next took my breath away. The guys who were on the pitch huddled together, got on their knees and began praying. Soon after, the guys who were off the field did the same on the sidelines. There was almost complete silence on the pitch. A couple of names were said, and my heart started to pound as I realised who was down. The sirens of a fire truck pierced through the silence, and soon the ambulance echoed back. Adrian was taken away to hospital and the game eventually continued.

My heart had honestly swollen so much, and I had goose bumps EVERYWHERE. The thing is. If this had been just any soccer game with a regular club, the guy who was down would get seen too, and probably applauded off the pitch. But this game was different. As soon as the team knew something was wrong, they fell to their knees and prayed to our Lord. I think this reflected back on to the bleachers as people watched and prayed in silence. I have never witnessed something so beautiful in my life. The sight of an injured friend, with brothers sold-out for Christ praying for Him. My heart hurt for Adrian as I knew how much he loved the game and none of us knew what the next few hours held. 

The special, precious, blessing that we have as Christians, is that we can call out to our Lord in times of need. In times of worry and in times of anxiousness. When we don't know what's going on, or when someone is hurt. Seeing the guys do this made me feel allllll kinds of emotions. I just love how we can do it so openly here! Praying before and after a sport or class, was never a normal thing in high school. And I'm pretty sure, if I'd stayed in Scotland, it wouldn't be for uni there either. It's awesome being a part of a Christian college and groups!!! :)

As well as praying for my friend Adrian, a few of my girlfriends and I also prayed that what happened on the field yesterday would impact the lives of the guys on the other team. They were watching on as the coaches and medics surrounded Adrian, but also as the guys prayed. My prayer for them is that they'll have seen something different. And that they will yearn for what they saw on the field. I pray that this will have ignited a fire in them and that they will begin to pursue what it is that the opposition had, that they didn't.

I was thrilled to hear that Adrian got out of hospital, and he got to come back to campus last night. For those who would like to pray, pray for a speedy recovery as he has quite the headache, and will be taking the week off from practise. Also for his knee as it is not at it's full potential. You could also pray for the guys on the other team, that this event will have stirred something in their hearts. Also thanks God for great team mates, and for the outcome that Adrian got. It could have been much worse, but by God's grace he will be back to joining the team soon! Another thing you could pray for is my sports team. I'm part of the cross country team, and as many of you will know.. I'm not exactly the long distance runner. So I'm asking for prayer that I will keep at it, and build beautiful relationships with my team mates :) Also, remember my little angel Caden who reminds me continually of the blessing I have to run. I can't wait to start college classes tomorrow, and also my first training session with my team! :)

Also, if you want to write to me, or send me a package of anything lovely.. here's my addresses..

For letters..

Sarah Ross 
CPO 2044
P.O. Box 10060
Chicago IL 60610

For packages..
Sarah Ross 
CPO 2044
820 N LaSalle Blvd
Chicago IL 60610

Oh, and one more thing! Thank you for everyone who has been a part of my journey so far. On this Sunday last year (26th) I was baptised. It was such an exciting day, and I'm just in awe of how far God has moved me in my life and how much he has changed it! :) THANKS! :D (ps, mommy and pops - I LOVE YOU!)

How many states in a day?

Texas to California.

I got to spend a week and a half with one of my best friends.

I got to experience sun. sun. and more sun.

I ate a scorpion.

I went to a ghost town

I remembered how allergic I am to cats.

I drank raspberry ice tea.

I helped out at a chinese themed ten year old birthday party.

I made new friends.

I managed to visit three states in one day. Cali, Arizona and Nevada. It was so much fun. 

I got up twice on a wake board.. fell the fifty or so other tries.

I knee-boarded - successfully.

I drove a boat.

I tanned - lots.

I made friends with the cutest little puppy and a five year old. 

I was questioned on my tattoos and piercings.

I sunbathed on the back of a boat.

I nearly went night swimming.. but chickened out..

I watched donkeys trot down to our site and drink from the water.

I got chased by bees.

I saw horned sheep.

I water rafted on a three seater myself.

I saw God's beauty in the landscape.

My time with Gentry was fantastic. I had some stressful moments, but watched how God brought all my problems together and sorted them out. It was so cool to be reminded of how much prayer works, and how important it is. I'm gonna miss that girl so much. Her family were so warm and welcoming. I had so much fun with them!

We took a trip with her aunt and uncle to their holiday home in Arizona, which was a ten minute drive from the river. We were on the Colorado river and I'm not entirely sure how it all works, but when we're on it at a certain part we were still in Amazon, but we were also in Nevada. It was super coool! Anyway, we had loads of fun and I got that tan I'd been waiting for haha. I felt very much part of the family, and loved every minute of being both at the river and at home in California. I hope I can go back some time.

Anyway, from California, I travelled to Nevada where I flew out of Las Vegas on my way to Toronto. Mia, a friend of Gentry's family, Gentry and I decided to make a day of it as I wasn't flying out until night. We had so much fun visiting the shops in some huge casinos, with really cool decorations and also hitting up the M&m facotry place.. Safe to say it made me really hungry.. Haha. We had a yummy dinner and then i caught my flight to Toronto. I cried.. lots. I'm almost positive the guys in the line in front of me were worried about me haha. Anyway, I got through security, and got to my gate and waited for the next plane on my journey.

ANNNND HERE I AM.

I'm now in Canada. And I love love love it! The weathers very different to what I had gotten myself used too. But it feels like home almost, and that's nice enough. The only difference is the rain isn't as cold and miserable as it is back home haha. But it's still a bit of a bummer. I do love it here though. And I am so glad I have Vanessa here! She has such a sweet, funny, sarcastic  family. I love it!! And some super cool friends too. 

I've went to a rib fest.

I've ate too many ribs, bloomin onion, and a sandwich I have no idea what is.

I've ate out at the nicest restaurant, getting to dress up and be silly with Nessa.

I've watched a billion movies and tv episodes.

I've played my fiddle - missed it loadddddds.

I've dressed up as a super hero.

THE MOST EXCITING ONE!

I've camped. For the first time everrrrrrr.

It was real camping. Like with a real tent, a real fire and rain.. With a lake to play in and some cool people to hang out with.

I've seen a moose. A MOOSE! (And sang the classic moose campfire song..)

I've drove a truck. And didn't kill anyone. Or myself. Or the car. 

I've ate smores over a fire.

And finally, I've had my tummy filled by a Timmies. Nomnomnom.

Anyway, my time here has been so much fun already, and i look forward to going to Midnight Madness with Vanessa tonight. It'll be funnn! 

God has been teaching me patience, again. And also reminding me to rely on him. I leave for Moody in less than two weeks, but i continue to find problems rising. It's so difficult trying to deal with this stuff away from home, but I know it can be done. And I know it will be done. I'd appreciate prayers over these next few weeks for figuring out plans for heading to school, and for working my problems out. Keep checking back for more updates, and enjoy the pictures! :)