...in Virginia, anyway. The weekend was full of difficult goodbyes (lots of family time again, "Thanksgiving" dinner after church on Sunday, and Pizza Inn with my cousins). I went home Sunday night from dinner and was in really good shape packing-wise. Dad and I had packed and loaded the car during the afternoon, and stuff was really just down to what I needed late Sunday night and Monday morning. I went to bed feeling really wierd- not sure what to feel. I've been excited and looking forward to everything that's coming, but at that point in time, I was torn. All the goodbyes got to me, and, in all honestly, I really didn't want to hit the interstate in the morning. Didn't sleep well Sunday night-- was wide awake by 5. (Mom, Katie, and I had planned to meet for breakfast at 8, so I definitely didn't oversleep!) I had plenty of time to check and double-check everything I needed, but still managed to leave 2 cakes (!) that a friend had made for me to take with me, so after one tearful goodbye in the Stax Omega parking lot, Mom and I had another one in the driveway before I really left.
The drive to Rockville was pretty uneventful. From the driveway to the ILC (International Learning Center) gate was right at 6 hours, including two short stops. Checked in and started to get settled in. Kelli (my partner for the next 2 years) got in right after dinner, and we got settled in to our temporary home. We're in a quad with other families who are going to Central, Eastern, & Southern Africa (CESA). We 're in 4 mini-apartments with our own bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchenette, and we all share one big greatroom. We've already had some great fellowship time in the greatroom- I'm looking forward to building some great relationships with this new Africa family!
The enemy started attacking me almost immediately... while I was working on an online assignment, my computer had a seizure- all kinds of internet windows started popping up faster than I could close them. I tried to stop them, close them, shut down the computer... nothing worked. Talk about freaking out! Finally, I just turned the computer off. Evidently, the seizure sent my computer into a coma, because I haven't been able to get into it since. I looked for the Windows installation discs, and as it turns out, they were the one other thing I left at home. :S So I had to get Mom to FedEx the discs up to me, and took my machine to the IT wonders here on campus... hopefully it will be healthy soon. But it amazes me how Satan attacked me in that area... trying to frustrate me with my ability to contact home and one more way I can be independent.
Classes started on Wednesday... the first couple of days were more long and exhausting than anything... legal and medical briefings... fun. But Friday took the cake. I went on a personal spiritual retreat, just me and God for 3 hours. And man, did He have a lot to say! Funny how, when you're struggling, like I've been struggling with some things for a while, God can open you up and show you what the real root of the issue is. And it's not at all what you thought it was to begin with. He really dealt with me on some things I've been carrying that I shouldn't have been... hopefully I'll be able to leave them behind.
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