Welcome to Birmingham

I arrived in Birmingham on Thursday. As my little Florida car puffed up the hill to my new house, I breathed a sigh of relief. After a few weeks of frantic support-raising and then Tropical Storm Fay nearly preventing my move, I had finally arrived. Of course, as I pulled up in front of the house to see mounds of dirt where the front yard should be, I was reminded that the journey had only just begun. Yes, I knew that some construction remained on the foundation of the house but I wasn’t prepared for the trench along the front. Literally, you cannot walk in the front door unless you want to take a leap of faith. And without Indiana Jones at my side, I’ll stick to entering via the garage. With all the rain we’ve had since I arrived, my room mates and I joke that we’ll have a moat. Well, I’ve always wanted to live in a castle. Does this count?



The adventure only continued when I saw my bedroom. Remember how excited I was about the green paint I picked out for my walls? Well, my new room mate and her dad had bought the exact color that I picked out online. However, the color looked completely different on the wall than it did on the computer screen. I picked out a fresh, earthy green but the color on my walls was neon green. I kid you not. Think, electric, psychedelic, shock you green! Thank goodness my mom was there. She immediately mobilized the forces (a.k.a. my siblings plus our friend, Rob). While they unloaded my stuff into the garage, she and I went to Home Depot to buy new paint. We spent that first night painting the room a more muted green and then moved my stuff in the next morning.

Saturday morning, I headed over to Birmingham Southern College for the first time. Tom (the RUF Campus Minister) showed me around while the freshmen were moving in. The campus is lovely. Lots of brick buildings, hills, grassy lawns, hills, vibrant flowers, hills, a fountain, and did I mention the hills? Yes, I expect to develop some killer leg muscles walking up and down all the hills. I enjoyed meeting some students, too. We ran into several RUF students and I’m excited to meet more students this week.

I’m so thankful for the people God has placed in my life. Tom and Kristin have been amazing. They had me over for dinner Saturday night and then took me out to ice cream at Soho Sweets, an adorable little candy shop with homemade ice cream. I’m also getting to know my new room mates. They’re both grad students at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Our schedules have allowed us to be around the house a lot the past few days, so we’ve shared meals, watched movies, and talked. Yesterday I went to church with Tom and Kristin at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church and afterwards we ate lunch with a few BSC students. After a summer of support-raising and training, it’s so refreshing to really begin to interact with students. I have felt very out of place the past few days as I struggle with new roads, new accents, a new house, etc. It is good to be reminded that people are people, whether we drink sweet tea or not. (side note: I really am trying to like sweet tea, but it will take awhile.)

So, I am settling in somewhat and already I see how desperately I long to be strong. In the sermon today, the pastor asserted that we are all recovering Pharisees, meaning that we all long to be competent and self-sufficient. Already, I see myself attempting to be the super intern who navigates easily around Birmingham, connects to students, helps out enthusiastically, etc. I want to have it all together instead of living in the reality that I am completely out of my element here. I may be able to follow a roadmap, but I do not get Birmingham. I do not know what makes the BSC students tick, what keeps them awake at night, what consumes their thoughts. I do not fit in here yet, but I am not called to comfort and success but to Christ. I am not called to adjust quickly and stuff my emotions, but to be aware of my weaknesses, to be okay with floundering because my hope doesn’t lie in having a comfortable life here and a successful ministry with the girls at BSC. My hope lies in the truth of Christ’s person and work – past, present, and future. He alone transforms hearts, mine and the students. His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses. This morning, I head back to BSC to begin getting to know the campus better and meet more students. This week will be packed with several events to reach out to freshmen. I’m excited and nervous, still slightly overwhelmed and quick to forget how God has provided thus far and surely continues to bring His Kingdom.