well…not the devil…but 3 groups of messiah college students eager to experience the woods.

i am happy to report that after a 5 day hiatus in the backcountry (aka-the woods) all 40 messiah college students (both leaders and participants) are safely home. the spring break backpacking trip signaled the end of a semester and a half long logistical and programmatic nightmare! 3 trips went to georgia and 1 stayed in pa. all 4 came back safely.

the title “the devil went down to georgia” isn’t completely erroneous. while we were hiking we endured what i would consider to be some of the most intense weather conditions i have ever encountered in the backcountry. on the first day, for example, we experienced a tornado. that’s right. in what was surely god’s smiting hand, tornadoes touched down in the area we just happened to be near. then as if on cue to complete the “inclusio” and mildly ironic nature of our trip, on the last day georgia finally picked itself out of the drought it was in. in other words, it rained cats and dogs! i have never been as wet as i was at the end of that day. god, if you’re listening, that wasn’t funny!

despite the less than perfect weather and the rather lackluster map and compass skills displayed by the leaders (yours truly being the leader of that pack), i am thankful for the time i spent in georgia. whether the devil was in georgia or not i am unsure of. what i am sure of is that there was a group of 10 messiah college students that hiked along the chattooga river trail (aka-revive tribe) that i am grateful for.

so if you see an adventure ed major on campus this week, be sure to congratulate them on a job well done (and be kind to them if they seem tired…it’s been a long road)!

dust mites?

i am NOT allergic to peanut butter…which is very good news! apparently i’m allergic to dust mites…not the actual mite but their dead carcass. i don’t really know…all i care about is that i’m not allergic to peanut butter. i seriously considered celebrating by bringing my big jar of peanut butter to class w/ a spoon. i decided against that for health reasons (my heart appreciated it).

so we’re in the final push before spring break. everything is being kicked into high gear in a feeble attempt to achieve that which is expected of me before spring not-so-much-of-a-break (as i have come to call it).

i’m not sure i’ve posted about this, but as a part of one of my adventure ed classes, i’m co-leading a spring break backpacking trip down to nc/sc/ga. our trip theme is around the sabbath and rest (which is becoming more ironic and comical as the hours and days of frantic packing and planning wear by). i must be honest (and to those who are on my trip-if you’re reading this, take heart in knowing that all 4 of your leaders are competent) that there is an inner battle within between the cynic/realist and the optimist. the cynic (which i like to refer to as the realist) screams within telling me that there aren’t enough hours in the few remaining days to pull together the remaining pieces to actually make this trip happen. the optimist in me is starting to see the light and whispers in my ears telling me that everything is going to be ok. i have been trained, certified, and undergone extensive preparations for this brief moment in my life…and i am ready. i actually laughed in class yesterday…that hasn’t happened since last semester.

as the days slip by and the hours become minutes, i am hopeful that the “wilderness education association certified outdoor leader” in me emerges and lingers for at least a week. my prayer is that god goes before us and prepares the trail for us…and prepares us for the trail. i cannot guarantee anything…that’s sort of a catch phrase in adventure education. my hope is that god accepts my feeble attempts at leading in the backcountry as pleasing (or at the very least amusing). my hope is that the optimist in me wins out…if for only this one week in my college career.

in the words of the famous philosopher willy wonka, “so much time and so little to do. wait a minute. strike that. reverse it.”

it’s been awhile…a long while!

to set the record straight let me start by giving you the events of early/mid february:

week of feb 10th-had a cold…felt increasingly like crap
feb 13th-started taking dayquill to stop feeling like crap
feb 14th-crazy allergic reaction-eye/face swelling-i might be allergic to either peanut butter or dayquill
feb 15th-found out i had pneumonia-enter drug induced coma!
feb 16th-felt even more like crap, found out i had a mild form of pleurisy (infection of the pleural sac around the lungs) in addition to the pneumonia
feb 18-22-constant back and forth battle w/ trying to go to class and feeling like crap (by friday i was forbidden to go to my hebrew class)
feb 22-sinus pressure drives me insane on the eve of my first bio lab practical
mar 6 (tomorrow)-go to doctor for allergy testing to find out exactly what i’m allergic to

there ya go. now you’re up to date with everything.

what have ya’ll been up to?