This...

This is what the halls on third floor looked like a week ago.  Actually, this picture doesn't even begin to capture the chaos spilling out into the hall as students cleaned and packed.

This is the blurry line of grads Saturday.

This is when I tried to get a picture of all the grads after the ceremony, but I waited too long.  I was trying to be patient and not push through the crowd to get a shot, but maybe that was a bad strategy.

This is their class motto: Be who God declared you to be.

This is the senior class at Wayumi.

This is my new living room set-up.  There are still a few little things that I'd like to do, but at least the furniture buying is over.  Oh, and can I just say how thrilled I am with how comfy that loveseat is?

This is my snacking weakness: Cheez-its.  Did you know it would take 1.1 quintillion Cheez-its to fill the Grand Canyon?  I wonder how long it would take me to eat my way through 1.1 quintillion Cheez-its...

This is what ministry looks like sometimes - mountains and mountains of guest house laundry (and this doesn't count what was in the washer and dryer at the time).  Nothing even remotely glamorous there.  No seeming eternal significance.  Just...laundry.  And yet it's a very necessary part of running a guest house.

This is packing for my visit to West Africa...tomorrow!  Eeeek!

This is because my neighbor-friend, Kayla, asked me to dry flowers she was given just before she left town. 

And not pictured: the after-graduation bonfire Saturday night (with temperatures not far above freezing), the light dusting of snow (insanity!) waiting for us Sunday morning, the staff picnic tonight, the great study I had with Jackie (see the end of the my last post), or the way my brain has felt all week.

Speaking of how my brain has felt, I must keep pressing forward with my to-do list, or my brain will go into fits or possibly explode.  Which I'd like to avoid.

So, until I return from sunny Africa!

Of Tulips and Such {But Mostly Tulips}

I freely admit: I am obsessed with tulips.

It makes me immeasurably happy that spring here means tulips are blooming everywhere.  I take almost-daily walks, motivated more by the tulips I'll see around than by my need for exercise.  (Don't judge my motivation...I mean, I am still getting the exercise!)

The school grounds have been well cared for by one of the staff kids.  Actually, he's not really a kid, but that's beside the point.  He does a good job keeping things looking nice.  That's the point.

Daffodils.  Such sunny flowers.

This was one of my very favorite tulips.  Sadly, this plant is done blooming for the season.

- - -

Graduation is this Saturday.  I can hardly believe it.  See, when I came, people hadn't even come back from Christmas break, and now the end of the semester is just around the corner.  Where in the world did that time go?!

Last week, we had an evening for all the married senior ladies to share about their two years here and what God has taught them during this time.

So good.  So. good.

Of course, there were tears because the friendships formed in these two years are so special and so deep, and goodbyes are staring all of them in the face right now.  But there was also a lot of thankfulness that night.  God has been so good.  So faithful.  So amazing to work in their lives and shape and change and grow them.

Hearing their stories encouraged me very deeply.  First, I can never be reminded too many times how good and faithful God is.  Second, seeing the extent of transformation that has taken place in their lives over those two years reminded me that ministry here is valuable.  I have struggled with that.  With how people perceive my ministry here compared to what I could have been doing overseas.  ...Which is a rabbit trail I don't need to drag you down today, but suffice it to say I was grateful for the encouragement.

Here are married seniors (minus one) with their deans.

- - -

Sunday after church I took a mini-road trip with three friends for a tulip festival.  Tulips are my one weakness, you know.

I didn't get many pictures, and we didn't get to do everything I was expecting (partially because the town was insanely crowded with Mother's Day tourists and traffic was a mess).  However, we did see lots of tulips, and we got to walk around in the fresh air and sun, so I'd still say the day was a success.

Meet Martha, Meg, and Josephine.  They've been such fun to get to know this semester.  Martha and Josephine are graduating this Saturday, but happily, Meg still has a year left here.  I'm always glad to postpone goodbyes.

A lone windmill off in the distance.  Apparently you could see it up close (and maybe even go inside?)...for a price.  I don't recall seeing entry tickets mentioned on the park's website, so none of us girls were prepared to pay.  Or to stand in a long line to get to the ticket counter in the first place.  So we didn't.  We're brilliant like that.

- - -

I'm going through a study called "Facilitator Training" with Jackie, who was one of my small group leaders back at MTC.  I'm really enjoying the study so far (only about two weeks into it), and Jackie's input is going to be very beneficial, I can already tell.

That's all for today!  I doubt if you'll hear from me again until after graduation...