First, and possibly most important for my personal future at least, I traveled to Lee's Summit for the Missouri State Highway Patrol Fitness for Duty Assessment and written exam. There were about 45 people to show up for the written exam, which was the first thing on the agenda. If the written exam is passed, the individuals are invited back in the afternoon for the physical fitness test. I passed the written examination.
The fitness portion of the day took place at the high school track, conveniently located about 100m from Troop A's headquarters. Push ups, sit ups, and some running were required in a timed fashion. Of the people there, save for three U.S. Marines, I was one of the few that had stayed [roughly] in running condition since the high school track days. Passed the fitness assessment. I will not hear anything from the department until July, they informed us all - probably to keep us from bugging them all summer (can't say that I blame them). So that is good. I am very much excited for this opportunity and am thankful that I have been able to, with the help of others and a little bit (OK, a lot) of prayer to make it this far in the selection process. We will see what God has in store for me in the future; beginning in July.
In other news, the BSU traveled to Stillwater, OK on a mission trip. About 40 of us spent the week 2 blocks from Oklahoma State University's campus, helping with construction of a mission house for Hillcrest Baptist Church. There will be a family of 8 (soon to be 10 - twins on the way) that has come back from being missionaries in China that will be the first occupants. The house will have multi-use, as the church sees fit.
We split up into smaller groups to work on various projects, not limited to: painting, drywall, demolition, framing, siding, roofing, etc. Pretty much, we had a gutted house when we arrived. When we left 5 days later, the exterior was finished, and the framing done, with a little drywall completed. I was in the siding group. I am now semi-professional at installing vinyl siding. We had our share of frustrations, but had a system going that worked quite well and were able to COMPLETE the siding, driving the last nail approximately 5pm on Friday, our last work day!
The electricity is something that none of us pretended to be qualified to work on - for obvious reasons. Here is an awesome story of God's perfect timing however:
When the house was to the point where it needed some 'professional' electrical work to progress further on the inside, yet there was no one qualified to do the work, a "God thing" happened. A gentleman stopped by one day and said something to the effect of, "I have driven by here every day this week. Your group has done a lot of work! I have about 50 hours of community service to complete, and I was wondering if there was any way I could help out with this church's project. Oh, and by the way, I'm an electrician."
Can I get an 'AMEN'?
We had plenty of things to keep us busy after a full day of work as well. The first night was the church's open gym night. Naturally, we stuck around to play some pick up ball games with the locals! Tuesday, we were allowed to attend a class titled Perspectives. The speaker was Jon Zumwalt. At first glance, no matter how unbiased you claim to be, you would not think "Oh, that guy must be a pastor." His approximately 12-inch-long goatee and ponytail screamed, "Biker". He jokingly said the church down the street from his house visits him every now and then, brings him a baked good and invites him to church. He said he hasn't got the heart to tell them he's a pastor. Besides, they may not bring him any more treats! Obviously Mr. Zumwalt was a comical man. He was also very inspirational. He talked of - you guessed it - missions. Seems to be a theme here. We all left with a new 'perspective' of missions across the world to unreached people groups.
Wednesday evening we were invited to Chris's house for a BBQ. We were not aware at the time, but Chris was a retired doctor who's 'house' was more of a mansion. Complete with lake and dock. He was a great host and we all had a great time getting to hang out with each other and his family. They are great people and very hospitable!
Thursday we attended the BCM (Their name for our BSU) at OSU. It was a great time as we packed into the medium sized room and met some of the students that had a heart for Christ at one of the largest campuses in the midwest.
It was a great trip overall, as you can probably guess by now. We all had a great time. Oh, and I might mention I got to know a lovely young lady while on the trip who loves Jesus, motorcycles and Johnny Cash - and agreed to being called my girlfriend recently. (Insert cheesy smile)
Instead of the F150, I am now driving a Chevrolet Colorado. It has been great! I am enjoying the improved MPG, more seating, and especially the 4x4, although I have only really needed it once or twice thus far.
New truck, new girlfriend, new guitar, soon to be a new revolver and I was able to harvest a nice turkey Easter morning: I feel like I have the makings of a country song here! I am extremely happy with the past events, yet I realize it is not by any of my power that these 'good times' have been made possible. I have been inexplicably blessed recently. I thank God everyday for this. As the old hymn says, "Without Him, I would have nothing." I know that life will not always be butterflies and rainbows, and I am prepared to praise my Lord through the good times as well as the bad.
On a lighter note: Finals are over! Another semester down. This one seemed to be the fastest so far. Things are flying by. I'll be in Maryville most of the summer working an internship at Maryville Parks and Recreation, which I am looking forward to. Maybe I'll have time to keep this updated. Maybe.
