Packed Pews and Waiting for the Grove

As of tomorrow, I will officially have been in Oxford for one month. We’ve had…
three (heavily attended) large groups
one table-clearing freshman cookout
two weeks of Bible Studies
one weekend retreat with Monday Night Group at beautiful Pickwick
one Saturday Seminar
a day trip to Jackson to meet with the Committee at First Presbyterian Church
and many many picnics on the Grove,
walks,
and cups of hot tea. (I am not a coffee drinker).
Oh and an icecream social on the Grove with the local PCA churches. Yum.

Needless to say, I’m staying busy!

I’ve been warned so many times that the first semester of the internship would be really difficult, so in some ways I came into this semester expecting the worst, but if you can’t tell I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’ve felt so warmly welcomed by the community here – the other RUF staff, the families in the churches, and the older students involved in RUF, as well as pre-existing friends from Camp DeSoto. And there are so many freshmen girls that have attended RUF events that at the beginning of each week, my problem is not finding things to do, but instead deciding what I have to narrow down to. I just can’t meet with them all, which is overwhelming, but obviously a good problem to have. Next week is Rush, which will be an emotional week for many girls. If you have time for Ole Miss in your prayers right now, add a little plug for the girls in sororities and wanting join sororities in the next week. And for Lauren and me to know how to best support them.

More Things I’ve learned about Mississippi:

-“The Hospitality State” lives up to its name. No matter the event – Bible Study, Saturday Seminar, After Hours – there is food involved. Not just slice and bake cookies, but some version of gooey chocolatey homemade deliciousness or full icecream sundae bar or sausage balls or beignets. To name a few. I did not expect my first month of the internship to teach me so much about self restraint…

-The chant I learned as a small child on how to spell Mississippi is not unique to my family. When I brought it up to a car full of freshmen because I couldn’t quite remember all of it, my ears were quickly met with a full chorus of “M I squiggle letter squiggle letter I squiggle letter squiggle letter I humpback humpback I”. Who knew?

- Don't ask what "Are you ready?" comes from. You will be publicly shamed. (for you non-Mississippi folk, it's the beginning of the Hotty Toddy cheer. I just saved you from a little humiliation sometime in life.)

-When you’re situated in a small town, you find things to do. While I have yet to experience most of these things, I look forward to visiting Graceland 2 (the home of an old man with an Elvis obsession, which you must only visit late at night with large groups of people), and the Doorknob of the Universe (still not quite sure about this one… people who’ve been come back mysteriously vague about exactly what it is).

-Football is life. Or at least Tailgating is life. The Grove is already being physically prepared for Saturday, and there’s already not much else to talk about. Forget Rush in a week; it’s Grove time. More to come on the first home game this Saturday.

So that’s where I am right now. Loving meeting and getting to know more girls, enjoying getting more settled here, and getting ready for home football games and Rush. Thanks y’all for your support and prayers!