100 Days

100 Days... that is how long it has been since the February 5 Tornado that struck our campus.
100 Days... and now the semester comes to a close on this official last day of the semester.
100 Days... and campus looks completely different.

I just returned from my last final. I am completely done now, and summer has finally arrived. Honestly, I have been looking forward to this day for about 100 days. Ever since that tornado hit, I have longed for summer break. I have wanted that day to come when I could finally rest. But now that it is finally here, I am not so sure that I want it. 100 days ago, our lives changed forever, but now I feel that we are all closer in some ways. Campus has come together in new ways. We lost our sense of community when our dorms were torn down, but we have gained stronger friendships with those that we have been with during this semester. It is sad to see this semester come to a close. We must all now go home for the summer, and we may not see each other for several months.

The Jett will close today as well. Within a few weeks, it will probably re-open as the Old English Inn. We will no longer be turning hotel rooms into dorm rooms. But thanks to the Jett and Englewood Baptist Church for all that they have done for us since the tornado.

As I said, I just returned from campus, and it looks great! All 14 dorms have been started. The final 2 were started at the end of last week/beginning of this week. 12 dorms are two stories, 11 have roofs, and 6 (possibly 7) have some sort of brick work done (2 or 3 of which are completely bricked). I have seen the inside from some pictures that someone posted on facebook, and they are also sheet rocked. That comes before the bricking, and it means that those dorms have electrical wires, plumbing, and insulation. Also, carpeting could begin soon in some buildings. The process is moving on very quickly, and who would have thought that we could have been this far along in only 100 days. Only God knew.

So now that Spring 2008 has come to an end, I will be heading home. I am going to finish packing up this morning and head out this afternoon. Starting Monday, I will be at FBC Martin working with Christian Wee Learn. I will also begin working on sermons for Kids Kamp. Summer is going to be busy, but I am ready for a change of pace. And probably in just a few weeks, I will be ready to get back to Union.

Matt