I have a child-like attitude. I like to have fun, joke around, and play pranks on people. When it comes to work: I’m serious, focused, and I get things done on time.
Every weekend I go off campus and visit my family. At my parent’s house, I like to play tennis, read, sleep, eat, and talk to friends on the internet. Also, my friends and I often drive around or go out to Applebee’s.
I spend a lot of time with my friends. We hang out, talk about everything, watch movies, and take walks. I love going on bike rides. Oh yeah, and I do homework.
I love that we start class with prayer requests. Starting with prayer provides more unity in the class and also with the teacher. I also like the processing and discussion times that the teachers provide. These discussions and also the reading materials really help us to ensure that we really understand what we’re learning.
Most of the teachers are passionate about what they’re teaching and are not monotonous. They make it fun and easy to learn: they add in their own stories, act, or tell jokes. They are interested that the students understand what is being taught. I like how they give the students opportunities to ask questions and then they allow other students to answer the questions. They don’t force us to believe what they believe, but they allow open discussion so that we can understand why we believe what we each believe.
Before Bethany, I didn’t know anything about what’s going on in other countries. I didn’t know about the concentration of Islam in the world. My eyes have been opened to see that there are still so many unreached people around the world. There needs to be so many more missionaries on the field, but not many are going. It makes me want to motivate others. I see now that we are living in such a time of urgency. There is a lot of work to be done out there, but there aren’t many missionaries. It makes me want to go tell the world about Jesus and tell the church to wake up.
Dorm life is fun! This is my first time living in apartments and I really like it because I can eat whatever I want to eat! I also like having roommates that I can talk with and share jokes with. I also like having a mentor—when I need to talk, she’s always there. The mentors give the students a lot of freedom, but also there are certain boundaries
My relationship with Jesus is great. It has grown really, really high. I have learned that God is real even when I feel like He is so distant. My time spent in his presence is never wasted, even though He doesn’t answer right away all the time, in His presence will render a harvest. I am sowing things in the spiritual that will one day be reaped.
Fasting has impacted my life. I had never fasted before. However, when I first started fasting, it was great to see that when your attention is fully on Jesus and when your heart is fully engaged, you just want more of Him. I am able to listen quicker and receive encouragement from His words. He tells me what I need to work on and what needs to go. He encourages me when things go wrong. He brings Scriptures to my mind in different circumstances. I know that He is always with me. That gives me songs to sing to my Savior even when I don’t feel like facing another day. It’s not how I feel—it’s all about Him.
When I first came here, I learned a lot about discipline, but now the disciplines are more natural. For example, my devotional life is automatic. I need to be with God not because I have to, but because I want to. Sometimes there is even frustration that there isn’t enough time to be with Him. I feel like I’m missing out on something when I’m not with Him. He is not disappointed with me when I’m not with Him, He’s disappointed for me because He has so much to give to me. Also, when I don’t want to be with Him I have to run to Him.
