Let me paint you a picture...

Allow me to paint you a picture of my first weekend “away” at school. Wild parties? Boys? No, even better (LOL). I got into town on Saturday around 7 PM. One of my roommates was planning to spend the evening with friends in Austin and another was heading off to make apple crisp with a neighbor. I decided to use the evening to unpack and clean my room (yes, I like to live on the wild side). I finished unpacking my boxes and stepped out of the apartment to throw them in the dumpster. As I headed out the door, I thought “Maybe I should take my keys just in case my roommate leaves while I’m outside.” I quickly pushed that thought aside, assuming the chances of her leaving during that two minutes were pretty slim. (Do you see where I’m going with this?) As I was walking back to the apartment, I saw a girl across the parking lot rushing to her car. I thought, “Uh oh, what if that’s my roommate?!” Instead of calling out her name, like a normal person might do, I rushed to the front door to see if it was locked. What luck! It was. I rushed back out to the parking lot just as the red Mustang was pulling away and started yelling her name, flapping my arms in the air like a crazy person. Unfortunately she didn’t see me and peeled off into the night. So here I am at 9:30 on a Saturday night, wearing a pair of baggy sweats, a ratty old T-shirt that is LITERALLY three sizes too big, and my granny slippers (very warm and comfy, not so stylish). I had no idea what to do and I was mortified to be seen in those clothes, so I sat on the steps and waited. After about 30 minutes, I decided to look for my other roommate. I knew she was at a neighbor’s house, but I didn’t know which apartment she lived in. So… I started knocking on random doors, hoping to find her (or at least someone that knew her). First door: Hot guy wearing nothing but a skimpy towel. It was mortifying. I gave up after several doors proved unfruitful and decided to go sit. My roommate promised to bring home some apple crisp, so I knew she’d be back before it got too late. She finally showed up at about 10:30, at which point the story became funny (experiences like this are never very funny when you’re in the middle of them). Good times!

Church today was pretty cool. The branch here is much smaller than I expected, but the members are fantastic. Since it’s so tiny, it’s easy to notice the new people, and I was greeted by practically everyone. They made me feel right at home, and I have no doubt I will thrive here. What’s even more amazing is that during the opening hymn, a girl came into the chapel looking for a place to sit. I gestured for her to sit next to me, and she gratefully smiled down at me. Her face looked familiar, and it took me a minute to realize she looked just like my Madrid MTC companion. I didn’t believe it could actually be her, so I craned my neck to see her scriptures. Sure enough, it was. She just moved here for grad school. How amazing is that?! I haven’t seen her since we left Madrid 5½ years ago, and here she was sitting by my side. What a tender mercy! I can tell this is going to be a great semester. I’m so happy to be here.