The BIBLE Song (rap and sing) lyric video

Hiking Trip

Well guys,
We just got back from a major Hiking Trip, 7.7 miles into the Tetons. I know for some people that isn't a long hike, but for me it was never ending; I loved it. We spent a total of 5 days in the woods, and all five included hiking. The first day we hiked in 2 miles and set up camp for the night. The girls were carrying packs weighing from 30-45 lbs and the guys weighed in at 60-80, with the staff carrying close to 100 lbs. The weather was pretty good, 70s during the day but down to the low 30s at night. We really got to see how well our sleeping bags worked! Every morning there was a race to the fire so we could all get warm.
Day 2 saw us hiking the next 5.7 miles to our final campsite, all of it was uphill (some argue that it wasn't all uphill, but I don't think you can count the little dips in the path as going down hill.) We hiked up some switchbacks and then across the face of a mountain. The view was amazing! It looked like something you'd see in a movie or on a postcard. I kept having to remind myself that I was really seeing it. We have some beautiful pictures that I want to post, unfortunately right before we hit the switch backs on Day 2 I dropped my camera in some water. It's pretty much shot now so I have to get another one. Oh, well, there were many other photographers on the trip that I can get some pics from, so don't worry, you'll eventually get to see some.
Well anyway, we hiked all the way to camp that day. It got to the point where you no longer thought about how tired you were, you just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Most of time we looked at the feet of the person in front of us, put our heads down, and prayed. I talked to several of the other students and they all say that it was God who gave them the strength to make it up that mountain and I agree. We went through every Bible verse we had ever memorized, ever praise song we could think of, and then we just prayed for strength to make it up; and we did. We all made it and God will receive all the Glory.
When we made it to the camp there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground and even though we were so tired we started setting up camp. We all pitched in, got all the tents up, and lit a roaring fire. We then cooked dinner, though I can't remember what it was...hmmm...oh well. That night someone pulled out a hymnal they had packed up the mountain and we all sang. It was the coolest thing I had ever heard. Everyone of us dog tired but praising God in the middle of his creation. We sang for at least an hour before everyone headed to bed.
Day 3 we woke up and had a breakfast of pancakes and summer sausage (they brought so much sausage!!!!). We were then told that those who wanted could go on a hike up to Little's Peak. There were quite a few who went, however I stayed at camp and spent time with everyone else who wanted a break. We played games and took a bath in the lake. Oh my gosh, the lake...it was so cold (35 deg.). I was going to wade in and wash my hair but it was so cold that I decided to just stand on the bank and pour water on my head instead. Some of the girls did go in with swimsuits and everything. Me and another girl sat on the bank and laughed at them as they took their 30 sec. baths. It was so funny, but not as funny as listening to the boys on the other side of the ridge. We heard them jump into the water and their screams of shock. We all laughed, they made more noise than us girls did! We did all feel better after getting to clean up at least a little bit. (We did boil some water and sponge bathe with that.) The hikers returned from Little's Peak around dinner time. We had seen them walking up the side of the mountain earlier and they said they had waved at us in the camp from the top. That night we fellow shipped around the fire again. It was an awesome night, we even had some song requests for songs that weren't in the hymnal. We just sang praise to God at the top of our lungs, any song we could remember the words to and even some we couldn't.
Day 4 was the day we were supposed to move camp but the place we would have gone was snowed in. So we all let a sigh of relief escape as we set to our daily jobs. We did hike up there and do some repelling though. That night we watched the sunset from our lookout at the camp. We watched as the sun went behind the mountains in Idaho. Again that night we gathered around the fire for an hour spent with God. Afterward this time, we didn't go to bed when we were done. Instead we joined hands around the two fires and prayed. We brought our request to God for a safe trip home, for a warm night, and for the protection of our persecuted Brothers and Sisters in Christ overseas. We prayed 'till the fires died and even past that. Some of us were shaking by the time we were done, but none of us regretted it. That night the temperature went from the low 30s to the 40s and everyone was warm and cozy.
Day 5 started with a prayer to God as we started our trip home. We made excellent time (it was all down hill, yay!) and reached the switchbacks before lunch. We did have one complication. Our wonderful girls' RA, Jen, somehow hurt her knee. We took her pack and put her at the front of the line so the way would be easier. We all applauded and cheered her on as she limped to the front of the line assisted by two trekking poles and her husband Kenton. We were sorry she was hurt but glad for the break! Once everyone was situated we headed off again. At the bottom of the mountain we split into two groups. One group stayed back with Jen so she could take her time and the rest continued on to the trail head.
I forgot to tell you but on Day 2 before we got to the switchbacks, we sang as we hiked. It was hilarious. We sang praise songs but I think that we sang Disney songs more. Everything from Pocahontas to Mulan, from Beauty and the Beast to Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron; I think the favorite was "A Girl Worth Fighting For" and "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan. It had a great beat and we loved belting it out as our feet plodded along. I can't figure out if we know all these songs because we have to many siblings or because we watched the movies to many times when we were young. Well whichever it is, we sang them all. We did the same thing on the trip back, but instead of just singing to break the monotony we were singing to push ourselves forward. Again we began to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. To take their minds from the hike some of the kids started telling riddles and it gave us all something to think about besides our aching feet and ankles. We passed our first campsite with stopping, and we all felt a little better because we only had 2 more miles to go. About 5 miles later...just kidding, but that's what it felt like...some girl started to sing Bilbo's song from The Hobbit, "The road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began/ how far ahead the road has gone/ and I must follow if I can/pursuing it with eager feet until it joins some longer way/and wither then I cannot say." We all giggled. At every bend in the path we were straining to see through the trees trying to catch a glimpse of the bus. At one point we had some trouble with some cattle. One of the guys pulled out the bear mace and stood by the side of the path while us girls filed past. We could hear the cattle in the long grass and trees running alongside us. There were a few times we were almost charged by a couple of cows, and there was a bull that gave us quite a start but we all made it out. Everyone cheered when we rounded a bend in the path and saw the bus. Along with the bus came the faces of people from the college that we had missed while out in the woods. Hugs were exchanged, high fives, and smiles of relief as we dumped off the heavy packs. A cooler was brought out from one of the cars with coke and water in it and then two boxes of M&Ms (peanut and regular). We all pulled up some ground, finished off our water bottles and then sipped the cokes and munched on the candy. Not to long later the group that had stayed behind with Jen rounded the corner. They were greeted with cheers and applause. After packing up all the gear and loading into the bus we all headed home. It was a great hiking trip that we all enjoyed, but we enjoyed getting home as well! We had a dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob then raced to the showers. Nothing will make you appreciate a hot shower more than a cold lake! We all kept yelling out things that we were thankful for like, "Look guys, food with no ash in it.", "God bless the person who invented shampoo", and "Look we have napkins, and a table, and chairs." We had a great time!
One thing I was amazed of though was what everyone was thinking of while trekking up and down the mountain. We were all reminded of the story of Christian in Pilgrim's Progress. We all found ourselves contemplating every rock, root, and bridge we crossed, as an obstacle in out Christian walk that had to be overcome. We began to look at our own lives and see what obstacles we thought were huge and how God would get us through them if we would just pick up our foot so he could move us.
The next day we were all so sore we could barely walk, but none of us would trade that experience for anything in the world.

Update

Hey Guys,

Thought I'd pop in and let you know what's going on. We have snow on the mountains, there's more than there was before and this time it stayed all day! I'm getting really excited.

During the day the weatherman says it gets up to 70 (but I don't believe him) and down to the 30s at night (that I believe).

Tomorrow we start getting ready for our hiking trip. We leave at 2 pm on Sunday and don't get back until Thursday afternoon. Please pray that we'll have a safe trip, and that we'll be able to keep cool heads and meet every challenge. Some of us are pretty nervous about the trip but we've been assured that we'll all make it to the top. I'm pretty excited!

A few days ago we had a moose and her calf wander onto campus. All after dinner duties stopped and everyone ran outside, in the rain, to get pictures. It was so cool, I was standing about 10 ft. away the entire time!

First Test Score

I just got my first test score back from Hermeneutics/ Bibliology and I got a 96%. YES!!!!!

some more pictures

This is our room as you see it when you walk through the door. My bunk is the top on the back wall, and under me is Jessica. That's her guitar by the way.

Continuing into the room you can see my makeshift desk, though I tend to use my bed more often. The stuff on the bottom shelf is Jessica's.

Standing at my bed looking towards the door. The top bunk on the right is Aimee and the bottom is her sister Makaela. The cabinets are our dressers.

This is the dining hall. Our mail boxes to the left and a sitting area in the back left. The sitting area has a huge drum that the guys love to beat on. It is so loud the you can hear it several miles away. We've been warned not to use it too much, otherwise people start calling to complain. The kitchen is straight back, and is where I work for the next 6 weeks for my chores. The counter on the left is where they keep coffee snacks at different times of the day.

The boys playing foosball like they do every day before the meal. This room is the campus commons and has the foosball table, a couch, two computers, a kitchen, and the college store (basically just tshirts, bags, hats, and hoodies). It's to the left when you enter the dining hall.

Jessica washing dishes in the kitchen just off the commons.

This is our classroom. Just about every desk will have a laptop once all the students get in there. We all face a white board and a projector screen infront of which, the prof stands.

And yes, those are real buffalo heads, one was actually shot by a guy who works at the college. You see those everywhere, there are a couple of deer heads in the dining hall, and an elk head in the far right corner of this picture. Lots of hunting trophies.

I hope you enjoyed the incite into JHBC.

Snow

Hey guys,

We've go snow! We woke up this morning and can see it on the mountains, it's coming our way! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because by the time I had a chance to get out my camera the fog rolled in. So we can't see it anymore but....snow!!!!! All the girls ran outside so that we could see it.

Yesterday we had our first laundry run. That was an adventure! I already knew how to do laundry but no one knew how to work those machines. We were all trying to figure out how long to put our clothes in so that they'd be dry. All I knew was that it took an hour at home, so me and one other guy did an expirament. He started out at the shortest time (about 8 min.) and I started at an hour. We both came to the same conclusion that it takes about 30 minutes a load.

But we had a blast. We were singing and talking while waiting on our laundry. I'm sure that the couple of people who walked in were a little confused. There were about a dozen of us scattered all over with our Basic Theology books near us. (We thought we'd try and get some homework done while we were there, and it worked...to an extent.) So when you walked around you'd see one on a table, on a washer or dryer, a window ledge, in a chair, in a laundry basket, or in someone's hand (who is muttering under their breath trying intently to discipher what this theology book is talking about when it uses it's $20 words and phrases!)

On the way back after the adventure at the laundry mat (by the way, half of us didn't have any detergent or softeners so those who did had to share with those who didn't) someone found a hymnal in the back of the bus and we all started singing hymns. We had a great time!

Our PCMAs (Practical Christian Ministry Assignment) start this week, for some of us. So today we have been going out everywhere to help at their assigned places. Some are going to the elderly to help with odd jobs, others are helping at a christian bookstore, and we have some who are getting trained this week so they can start their job next week. Mine doesn't start 'till next week, then I'll be helping with Awanas!

We have a final in two days on Bibliology/ Hermeneutics so everyone is strapping in to study. So far (and we still have one more class before the test) we have 8 pages of typed notes. Alot of information to wade through. Thankfully we have a great teacher, Pastor Don Landis, who is more than willing to answer any and all questions.

Well, I better go study. I have a book to read and a report due tomorrow. Talk to you guys later.

The mountains I see every morning when I

walk out my door!

The outside of our "dorms". The door on the left goes to the girls' dorm and the door on the right goes to the boys' dorm. Those hanging pots never miss a chance to bang us on the head as a walk onto the porch. I can't tell you how many times we'v re run into them.

When you walk in the door, you enter our commons. Those couches are really nice for us all to sit together on (with our laptops) and go over the days lesson and work together on the homework. The stairs lead to the loft where four of the 16 girls sleep. The two bedrooms in the back each have two bunk beds (which are the same as the ones in my room) and house four girls each.

If you take a right after entering the commons, you'll be in the bathroom. All of us girls share this bathroom. Thankfully we haven't had any problems. There are two toilet stalls, two sinks, and three shower stalls.

Here's one of the toilet stalls and two of the showers, the third one is in that corner hidden by the toilet stall.

After leaving the bathroom go straight pass the door and you will enter my room. You can see the small meals prep. area we have. The coffee maker was brought by one of the girls and we all use it. That is where personal food storage is as well.