First Update from VUSC!

Hey everyone, I am in California!!!

I have been SOO busy moving in and doing all the new student events that I haven't had any time to write.

But I have some time to kill now, before the beach, so I'll give you all an overview.

VANGUARD

Ok so my school is summed up in a couple of statements.

1 was said by my RA last night- "School is just something we do on the side." ;)

It's sooo true. This place has so many activities that school isn't even the biggest part. I'm looking forward to all of the things to do.

So far with my frontline group (kinda like a link group from LP) we have gone to downtown disney, played games, had meals together, all kinds of fun things.

The 2nd statement was said by the campus pastor last night-

"Vanguard is a place where we want you to belong before you believe."

I think that's an awesome goal for a Christian University, especially considering the wide range of people who come to Christian Universities. Some are searching, some are already there, some don't care, etc.

But let me tell you, I ALREADY feel like I belong and I am making new friends left and right!

ROOMMATES/DORM/CATALINA HALL

Holla! I am in Catalina Hall, which is an all girls dorm for sophomores and transfers. It is awesome. Our rooms are nice, we have our own bathrooms, air conditioning, and super cool RA's and events.

My roommates are named Selene and Vanessa. We all get along pretty well. We haven't done much together since we are in different frontline groups, but we seem to share our space quite well and I am looking forward to getting to know them better!

Here are some pics of my room:

My bed is the top one

My desk area. (Obviously, clutter)

Bittersweet-ness

It was sad to watch my parents go today (Monday.) I know I'll be okay, and I know my friends here will be supportive. Right after they left I was crying and my Frontline group friends just hugged me and started making jokes and it was really cool.

It'll be a while before I stop being so homesick, but I know that God stayed with me, and yet he stayed with my family too.

I had a "vision" when my parents left--just thought about the image of them driving away and Jesus holding me as I cried.

Like, he's staying with me, so I'll be okay.

I am scared to enter this new season of my life. But on Sunday I went to church with my group and the pastor quoted 2 Timothy 1:17 For God did not give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

EVENTS

You name it....we did it or are going to do it.

Last night, our frontline groups went to the houses of different faculty members and had dessert and played games.

Our group went to the off campus Vanguard apartments, which are run by this girl named Bethany and this guy named Matt. So they're seniors, actually.

We hung out in Matt's apartment and had cheesecake (homemade!) and played spoons--well forks, actually, because they didn't have spoons ;)

and we played mafia.

And seriously, it was SO MUCH FUN. I can't even describe it. Here is a video of us playing Forks. It seems pretty generic, but really we had a blast. The girl in the green dress is Bethany and the guy in the glasses is Matt. Fun fact- if you've seen iCarly, Matt is just like Spencer, the older brother.

And it was cool because he's like my new Vanguard older brother. He's only a few min off campus and he said we can all come over whenever.

Here is another video of Matt and Robert....as Matt explained a game we're going to play at the beach. Very random, but a good depiction of the fun we've been having. :)

And THEN last night, we had a PJ party for our Floor (2 North Catalina) And we watched the notebook, played games, ate chips and Salsa and just hung out. Here is a video of us playing gestures :) My RA, Heather, is the redhead on the couch. She is awesome. Just an older sister we can all go to whenever.

So this is a rough update but I will update more! We have a big beach event tonight so expect pictures on facebook and more posts on here.

Pray for me!