Kansas Report - Day 7

The last day in Hays was technically our "free day." We had heard that there was a fort in Hays, hence the name Fort Hays State University. And we had been told that this fort was behind the university. So we had thought about touring it on Friday morning, when we had our free time. But when we woke up to 1 inch of snow that morning, we decided that this was probably not going to be a good idea. Instead we went to the local museum in Hays, sponsored by the university, and got to see all kinds of Dinosaurs and dinosaur bones. There was also this exhibit called "Fish-within-a-Fish," which was the bones of a fish who had eaten a fish. So we spent a lot of time at the museum that morning and then decided to at least drive by the fort. But there was no fort, or at least not what we had imagined. We were looking for a wooden structure but only found a few remaining buildings on the land.

That afternoon we went back to Carin's house to eat with her. We stopped by Subway and bought lunch and then went to have a debrief meeting with Carin. She had been sick most of the week, unable to talk. So we had not had as much time as we had wanted with her. So we heard how she had come to Hays and how Christian Challenge began. She then asked us questions about the week, and we were able to wrap things up nicely for the week.

After leaving her house, we all went to our hosts' houses to get ready for the Paidui Country Party. So we put on all of our country gear and got ready for the dance. Once again, we had a great turnout. Several students showed up, including many international students. We learned how to line dance to a few songs and had a great time. Many of us even had opportunities to share the Gospel with some of the international students. Two students that I was able to share with seemed interested and confused. One had been to Tuesday night Challenge before, and the other guy promised to go. I have since found out that they both showed back up this past week and that one of the Challenge students is meeting with them next week to talk. I pray that God will continue to draw them to Himself.

Once the party was over, we all went back to the girls' house to meet with the leadership team one last time. They wanted a debriefing session, much like what we had done with Carin earlier in the day. So we were able to share what we had learned during the week. It was a great time of encouragement for both teams. So that night ended our time in Hays. We said all of our good-byes and then headed back to our host homes for our last night. Then, on Saturday morning we got up to leave, fearing that there may be more snow. But thankfully it was still about an inch in Hays. But that is another long story, and you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear about our ride back home.

Matt