Hey there. Sorry I've been abominable about updating lately, and chances are no one checks this anymore, but whatever. It's been too long for me to try to pick up the story, so I'll just start somewhere. =) You're welcome to ask questions, which I'll try to answer. In fact, that may be a good idea, cause I'm sure I'll miss something otherwise.

Anyway, I'll just cut to the chase at talk about last night. It was a busy day, same as all Mondays. First class at 9, chapel for an hour at ten, classes from 11 till 2, then lunch. Had free/study time the rest of the afternoon. Had dinner, then went to my room to study. At 7:30, 'Spiritual Renewal Chapel' started, the start to 'Spiritual Renewal Week.' So anyway, I was in my room studying, kinda thinking I wouldn't go to the service, cause I had a bunch of homework, and didn't really feel like going. Several guys come by and are like, "You coming?", but I said how, y'know, I had lots of homework, so maybe not. They say ok, and move on. The last guys are leaving, and our PA (Personnel Assistant. Basically an RA, if you know what that is.) stops by and says he thinks it would be good for us to go, and I'm like, "maybe later", and he moves on. My roommate leaves, and I'm just sitting there, really not planning on going. I knew I should go, and I guess I was kinda arguing with God, me wanting to stay and he wanting me to go. Anyway, I guess he won, cause I suddenly decided I should go, and got up and hurried after the last group. =)

So, I sat through the service. I still didn't really want to be there, but the sermon was really good (the guest speaker is an African-American pastor from Tennessee, or some place like that), so I didn't mind to much. As soon as the sermon was done, though, I left. I didn't even wait for the ending song, I just went back to my room and worked on homework. That was, I don't know, somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00, I guess.

Some time after 10, one of the upperclassmen came to our door, and breathlessly said we needed to get back to the chapel. It was hard to understand everything he said, but I caught that the Holy Spirit was really moving and people were confessing their sins. To be honest, I didn't really want to go. I knew I should go, though, so I did. I didn't really think I'd stay long, maybe look on for 15-20 minutes, then get back to homework.

We got there (there were quite a few of us that had left but were going back), and stood outside the door, looking in. Pretty soon, Nick (our PA) arrived, and encouraged us to sit down. So we did. =) This was around 10:30pm. I didn't walk out till 4 1/2 hours later. =)

Basically, as I understand it, when the chapel proper ended, as people were filing out, a guy jumped up on stage and grabbed a mic, and basically bared his soul, confessing his sins. I can't imagine the guts that must have taken, and it's pretty obvious that was God. Anyway, his confession gave others courage, and they came up and confessed there sins. This pretty much went on non-stop for the rest of the night. Confessions were punctuated with testimonies and people just praising God. It was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It's not one of those things you can really describe. The best I've heard goes something like this: "You can't see the wind, but you can see the effects of the wind. You can't see God, but last night, you could see the effects." There's no way to explain what happened last night except to say that it was God. There's no way people would have had the guts to say what they said by themselves. I feel like I haven't done this justice, but I'm not sure what else I can say. The only thing is that this showed me what true community should be. The way everyone gathered in support of those confessing was just amazing to behold. I guess it was that atmosphere that helped the honesty: you felt like you could trust everyone there; that they were truly on your side, and loved you enough to keep loving no matter what.

Well, I think I need to wrap this up. It's already almost eleven, and I've still got homework to do before heading to bed. I hope to post again soon about Taylor in general. Once again, I'm sorry for my silence.

Andrew