This last week was filled with wonder and joy :). Everyone either went home or visited a friend’s house to enjoy Thanksgiving. Awhh Thanksgiving…a time where Joshua students eat turkey and can’t watch holiday football. Which is perfectly fine! But, it was interesting when all the students came back to the lodge; hearing how they shared about the covenant and explain the various rules Joshua students adhere to with family and friends. When sharing with family the details of Joshua, the words cult, extreme, and unnecessary came up by those who had a hard time understanding what Joshua and Hume Lake stand for. As students, obeying the rules and living the covenant is not always easy, but we are already starting to see the positive outcomes of the Christ like discipline and what community living has for us.
While home, students experienced life away from Joshua for the first long period of time. It was a much needed break away from the daily grind that Joshua students heavily commit to. Because students are from all over North America, almost every student experienced different culture and climate. On Thanksgiving, some went home to SoCal and surfed waves while other students went to the Midwest to reunite with their loved ones, bringing back great stories and warm smiles. But the reality of our commitment to the JWI program never left any of our hearts and minds because our first important 6-10 page paper on a miracle in the book of John was due shortly after our return to the building.
Our first morning back, when we woke up for breakfast, it began to snow! As we were doing our devotions and working feverishly on our papers, the snowfall became heavier and soon everything was covered in white! This was a great welcome back! Of course, soon a snowball fight broke out. It was like we were a Thomas Kinkade picture come to life. After lunch, we got to decorate the building for Christmas as well as make fresh wreaths as presents for our pause families. The building is starting to feel like home and like a Christmasy place to live! The happiness of Christmas was a good transition back into the building. Getting back into the daily routine was necessary, but difficult for some. Our speakers this week, Matt and Grace Berg, are former Joshua students and run the Wildwood Camp here in Hume. They have already taught us so much and we are looking forward to hearing more from them this week.
Written by Angela and Sierra
