Seriously though, Winterfest…God really works through that conference EVERY year. I know that everything I just wrote is still pretty vague, but if you wanna really know, then call me up and ask me how Winterfest was and I’ll be glad to tell you.

I’m a senior now. This is my last semester in AAIV. My life would not be the same without Intervarsity. I have matured and grown, been molded, been broken down, been healed, witnessed spiritual warfare, developed amazing relationships, cried from sorrow, cried from joy, evangelized to others, been trained, been the trainer, been discipled, led discipleship, led prayer meetings, led small group, led large groups as an emcee, been apart of a worship team, been an emcee at public events, been a fool for dancing, and the list goes on and on. But I couldn’t have done all of this if not for the love of Jesus Christ. Thank you, my Lord and savior.

“Show me your way. Whatever it takes to change. I see what’s new, looking at how far I’ve come. Here is my life, Don’t let me forget the way. Here is my life, I can’t afford to stay the same. Keep my soul, Keep my spirit, Keep my life, Moving forward.”

But yea! That’s just a gist of what’s been goin’ on with me. I got more to say but I gotta do homework and study for a Genetics quiz tomorrow.

Peace.

Episode 15: The day came when Tommy had to leave to Alaskotopolis. That morning he woke up a little before 7 AM. Right when he woke up, he thought to himself, “I’m pretty sure I won today.” His parents took him to the airport. Actually, it was Tommy’s first time flying in a plane. That alone was pretty exciting to him. As he waited in the terminal, he listened to his iPod Touch. When he got into the plane, he met new people and made small talk with them. Finally, it was time for take off. As the plane started moving and speeding up, Tommy thought, “This is the last time I’m gonna be this close to her before she gets married.” And as Tommy sat in his window-seat enjoyin the beautiful farmlands, glorious mountain ranges, and blissful clouds, he wished Sherry could’ve been there with him, enjoying the view.

Episode 16: After 6 long hours, Tommy arrived in Alaskotopolis around 1:30 pm, 3 hours behind the usual time in Illago. It was actually a lot warmer than he had imagined yet it was still chilly, considering he came from 80+ degree weather to a temperature that averaged 60 degrees Celsius. As he waited for his brother Alex to arrive, he explored the airport for a few minutes. Soon, Alex arrived with a friend named Jade and picked up Tommy. Of course, after a few months, it was good to see a brother. After Tommy got picked up, they took him out to a scenic place. There, Tommy basked in the beauty God created. In the horizon, he saw mountain ranges, clouds low enough that those mountain ranges were towering over clouds, and the glistening blue ocean. This is what Tommy longed for. He had always wanted to be in a place like this. In the presence of God’s natural creation, Tommy felt at peace. However, when he left to the house he’ll be staying at for two weeks, his heart became uneasy again.

Episode 17: Tommy met the family he was staying with. Great people. He was lucky to be staying here with such a blessed family. However, because he didn’t know what to do, he just stayed home and watched movies for a couple hours. Eventually, things started happening. He went swimming with his brothers and other people, met a lot of new people, saw a moose, a bald eagle, and ate salmon, all on his very first day there. It was truly a wonderful first day. Then at night, when he was going to sleep, Alex asked Tommy about Sherry. Of course, being brothers, there was nothing to hide. Alex can actually relate because he himself was going through a recent heartbreak. So sharing their pain together, they prayed that night together; for eachother and for each of the women they constantly thought about.

Episode 18: Tommy still had hope though. He woke up earlier than usual, again in hopes of catching Sherry online. However, with the three hour time difference, he had to wake up earlier that usual. On the second day, Tommy luckily saw her online at a later time than she usually would be on. He initiated the conversation as if they were just friends. They talked casually and laughed together. Little did she know, this was probably the last conversation Tommy and Sherry will ever have. Tommy knew this though. He knew this well. However, Tommy’s heart wasn’t at peace still; he was still waiting for her decision. But as every day passed, he was slowly losing hope. But even with a dying hope, he had to put on a smile in front of everyone. He couldn’t afford to have a sad face in a place like Alaskotopolis. When will he ever get a chance to be here again? With that mindset, even through all the romance that was around him, whether it be through movies or people and their love relationships, he tried his best to maintain his composure.

Episode 19: The weekend finally came. Tommy was going camping with the Alaskotopolis Youth Group from the Grace Alliance Church. He was excited because he was going to meet the people Alex has been a Youth Pastor Intern for the last couple of months. But he was scared too. Being camped in between mountains means no phone service. No phone service means no contact with Blair or any of Sherry’s family. So with that, he tried his best to keep a smile and meet new people. He tried to memorize more than 30 names during the weekend. He taught them games such as Johnny Whoop and stupid Korean games (SKG’s for short). But whenever Tommy had a small break to relax, his mind went kept thinking about Sherry’s wedding. During the whole weekend, his only thoughts were, “Did she back out? Or did she go through with it?” These thoughts came back to him every now and then; even after swimming in ice-cold glacier water in a valley between mountains and talking around a campfire with friends and family.

Episode 20: On the final day of camp, Tommy remembered about 75% of everyone’s names. It was a job well done by someone having met them only a few days ago. As he was in the car heading back home, he turned his cell phone on and waited for a text. As soon as a single bar of signal appeared, a text from Frank came. It was from yesterday, the day of Sherry’s wedding. It read, “I’m sorry man, Sherry got married. I couldn’t do anything about it either. I’m really sorry bro.” A pause. A long silence. Tommy’s heart sank. He had prepared himself for this too. He remained quiet, even though there were others in the car with him. All he could think about was how the wedding went, and wondered what her family and everyone else thought about it. Of course, when he’d return, he would ask Blair and everyone else about it, but he knew deep inside him that things were officially over between him and Sherry. He clinged on to that small glimpse of hope but that small glimpse disappeared that very moment. He knew that he had to move on. No more thinking about her. He had to leave all the memories they shared in the past. The two nights staying up together, the two full weeks of texting and talking on the phone, the morning competitions, the anticipated things they were supposed to do together; he had to leave all that behind now because there can never be a future with her. As sad as it sounds, this was it. What’s done is done. He quickly fell asleep on the car ride back, thinking to himself, “All I’ve got left to do now is enjoy my time here in Alaskotopolis.”

Episode 9: The following day, Tommy woke up earlier than usual, just so that he can catch Sherry online because since she was already living at Vick’s house, her only time she could use the net was from 11ish-1:30ish. Tommy waited anxiously for her to sign onto Facebook. Eventually, she got on, but Tommy hesitated on initiating a conversation because he was too scared what to say or what would happen. He finally IM’ed her, asking if she had a few minutes to talk. However, the next few minutes turned into two hours. Tommy again asked her questions regarding her decision to marriage. He wasn’t satisfied with her answers and kept asking. Soon, Sherry told him why she picked Vick over him. One of her reasons was because she had four years with him, while she only had two weekends with Tommy and two nights staying up to 6 A.M. In her mind, she loved the times she and Tommy had. Every time she went to sleep she always talked to her sister Amy about him until they fell asleep to each others voices. However, her decision was obviously set on Vick. By now, Tommy poured out his emotions, saying things like, “Don’t even say sorry Sherry. I just hope and pray that you come back not just to your family, but to me. Until that very day you are officially married, I will keep my remaining 32 texts from you, I won’t change your name on my phone yet, and I’ll still try to win every morning. Even if you do get married, I’ll still think about you until I stop dreaming about you.” But Sherry’s only answer was, “I’m sorry. It’s too late already. I won’t ever forget you Tommy.” Then she left me alone, again. That night, to get his mind off things, Tommy went bowling with his brothers, friends and family. However, during the few minutes he had until his next frame, Sherry was always in the back of his mind.

Episode 10: Once again, Tommy tried to wake up early, just to catch her online. The same thing happened again, but this time, after 45 minutes of waiting, Tommy’s initial conversation started as if things between them were normal. They talked about each others day, what they’ve been doing, what they were planning on doing later in the day. But Tommy tried once again. This time, he asked, “If by some chance with no strings attached, if given the opportunity, would you come back home?” Sher replied with a “Yes but I’m not too sure…” Even with the yes, Tommy’s heart jumped. After talking to her and hearing her side of the story, he finally got her to be honest with him. After a long conversation, Tommy told her he would come to her rescue. She signed off, and Tommy immediately began thinking of a plan. His plan was to go to Milky City, confront her father and talk to him about how he feels towards his daughter. But first he would have to confront his own parents first.

Episode 11: A few hours later, Tommy went outside to where his parents were in the backyard and started talking to them about Sherry. Of course, they both knew of her situation and wanted to help as well, but as a distant relative, they too could not do much about it. As they listened to Tommy’s plea, they agreed to it, but they also warned him about the consequences of his actions. They said, “If Sherry were to come back home and not go through with the marriage, then that means you would have to be there for her. You would have to take the responsibility of being her boyfriend until one day you two get married. Because in our tradition, if she comes back, she’ll have a stained reputation and no man would want her. We trust your heart and we know you are a good man but you have to be ready for this.” As they talked, Tommy’s heart was already set. He wanted to rescue her and bring her back. But, his mother said that she would call and talk to Sherry’s father first before anything and see what he says.

Episode 12: Later that same day, as Tommy was online checking his things before he would sleep, he got a text from Blair. She told him to give up. When he read it, he was shocked. He didn’t know what was going on or why she even said that to him! So he texted her back asking what happened. Another text came. It read, “Sherry texted Amy to tell you that she was sorry and to tell you to stop.” This crushed his heart. After all the talks online he and Sherry had, after everything they’ve been through in the past three weeks, he thought, “Why? Why can’t she realize that I can help her? That I can save her?” He then went to bed. He prayed for himself. He prayed for Sherry. And another night passed, where he continued dreaming about her.

Episode 13: The next day, Tommy woke up and went to find his mother. He asked her about her talk with Sherry’s father. She told him, “He said to stop. He doesn’t want you to get involved anymore because it’ll hurt you. We know how you feel towards her, but right now we’ve done what we can. The only thing left we can do is hope and pray she changes her mind and comes home. If only we have known earlier that you and my daughter were talking and interested in one another, we would’ve prevented it, but we didn’t know.” Tommy quickly just agreed and left his parents’ room. He felt regret in his heart. He began to question and think again. If only he had acted sooner, if only he had asked her out on a date, if only….These thoughts remained in his head all day and night. With less than 36 hours left until he leaves to Alaskotoplis, he was slowly losing all hope.

In the city of Milky City, there was a couple, Vick and Sherry. They’ve been in and out of a dating relationship for four whole years now, ever since Sherry started high school to her graduation. Sherry is 18 and is currently a high school graduate who’s planning on going to Milky City University. Vick is a year older with a low-paying job and attends the same university. Throughout their time together, they’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, with each other and especially with Sherry’s family and friends. The whole time they’ve been “together,” Vick has never once met her parents nor ever put himself out there to meet Sherry’s family. Of course he has tried but when he did, he never got along with any of her family members when they tried reaching out to him. So after awhile, whenever Vick came over, he always made Sherry come out of the house and sit in the car with him to talk. But soon afterwards, Vick suddenly broke her heart. Ever since then, Vick always came back in desperation and Sherry always forgave him, yet the cycle kept going on until a certain someone came into her life.

Episode 1: So it’s the summer after Sherry’s high school graduation. She currently isn’t talking to Vick either. A few weeks into summer, her grandmother passed away. Because of that, a lot of relatives came to Milky City to see her. One of those relatives was named Tommy. Tommy was related to Sherry and her family through his step-mother, so in actuality, they aren’t blood-related whatsoever. Tommy came from a decently steady family and went to a pretty good university in Cherry City, Illago. He’s visited Sherry them before a few times in the past such as New Years. Ever since Tommy first came to visit with Sherry’s family in Milky City, Tommy was always looking at Sherry cause she was a beautiful girl. Despite the three year difference, it didn’t matter that much to him. But he was always too shy to talk to her so he gradually befriended her and her family. He finally decided to muster up enough courage to ask Sherry for her number when Sherry’s brothers and sisters and friends and family decided to go to the lakefront in Milky City. He confronted her, pulled a sly yet still shy move on her, and got her number. Then Tommy left for home with his parents and cousin that same day.

Episode 2: From then on, for the next two weeks, Tommy and Sherry constantly texted each other every day. They texted so much to the point where they knew what each person was doing each day. During this two week period, both of them were so joyful. They talked to one another casually, joked around, laughed, even flirted here and there. For example, every morning became a competition to see who woke up first. Tommy even slightly changed his sleeping schedule in hopes of beating Sherry at least once.They made small promises with one another too. Their relationship gradually grew stronger and deeper as they continued to text. Eventually, Tommy mustered up enough courage again to call her. After their conversation ended, he thought to himself, “Wow, Sherry sounds so cute on the phone.” Of course, due to his shyness, he never told her. This continued for more days to come.

Episode 3: July 4th was right around the corner. Tommy’s parents decided to go visit Sherry and her family again. And without a doubt, Tommy hastily agreed to go. However, that particular Friday before he left, he got a sudden phone call from Sherry. However, it wasn’t Sherry who was on the phone; it was a male’s voice. Tommy immediately thought it must’ve been Vick. Vick started threatening Tommy, saying things like, “Lay off my girl. Don’t f*** with me.” However, Tommy wasn’t scared one bit. He just simply replied, “We’ll see what happens dawg.” With that said, Vick hung up and Tommy was left stunned at what just happened. He immediately contacted Sherry’s sister Blair and told her what just happened. She replied saying, “Damn that Vick! He’s doing it again!” By now, Tommy’s mind was going crazy. He didn’t know what to think. All he knew was that she was with Vick at the moment, and they weren’t at her house. Blair and her family didn’t even know where Sherry was. That night, they all worried for her. He barely slept at all.

Episode 4: A few hours later, Tommy woke up around 7:30 am, packed, got ready, and left with his parents, his brother Theodore,  and his cousin Frank to Milky City despite what just happened. He texted Blair again telling her he was coming. She replied back saying that Sherry still hasn’t come home. This worried Tommy even more. Once he arrived, he wasn’t surprised to not see Sherry home. Everyone in Sherry’s family was also aware of the relationship that Sherry and Tommy have developed. An hour or so later, all of Sherry’s family(excluding Sherry), friends, and church, along with Tommy and his family, went to a park for a picnic for the day. They played volleyball and grilled. It was a joyous occasion, yet inside Tommy’s heart, he felt uneasy. In his culture, if something like this happened to any girl where the girl sleeps at a guy’s house, then it’s customary for them to get married. Everyone knew this and expected this to happen.

Episode 5: Eventually, it did happen. Sherry agreed to a marriage. Vick’s family came to her house to discuss marriage negotiations that very same day. This broke everyone’s heart, not just Tommy’s. Everyone had high hopes for her because she is a brilliant girl. Yet they all questioned why she agreed to the marriage. She has the right to decline too, but she didn’t. In Tommy’s mind, he was thinking Vick might have done something or influenced her in some way to convince her to marry him. He also thought this was due to Vick’s jealousy towards him. But these were just thoughts. The next day (Sunday) Tommy continued to feel uneasy and disappointed. He was always thinking, “Why did she do it? What about me? Why did she pick him over me? What about these last two weeks? Weren’t we happy? Wasn’t she happy?” These thoughts continued to haunt him throughout the next two days. As July 4th was nearing its end, after a few games of basketball, Tommy and Sherry’s family went to watch fireworks. However, things just didn’t feel right. Everyone felt that way inside their hearts. Things were incomplete with Sherry not being there with them all. Many of them, including Tommy, sat on the grass and stared at the dazzling explosions in the sky.

Episode 6: The next day was planned to be another picnic. Everyone went to the same park but a different campground and grilled and played sports once again (still without Sherry). The day was filled with laughter and smiles. Despite Sherry’s absence, Tommy did enjoy his time in Milky City during the July 4th weekend. Though Sherry’s entire family and church felt so sorry for Tommy because of what’s happened, Tommy clinged on. The wedding was set for the next weekend so he had almost two weeks to talk to Sherry and convey his true feelings to her as well as hear her side of the story. Sadly though, in reality, because of his schedule vacation to Alaskotopolis, he only had one week to talk to her. That Monday night, Tommy left for home. Saying his goodbyes, everyone encouraged him and told him to keep his head up and not to worry. But Tommy’s heart couldn’t help but worry. This weekend all Tommy wanted was to see Sherry. If Vick hadn’t taken Sherry away from him,Tommy would’ve been so happy being with Sherry all weekend. He wanted to be with her, laugh together, get to know her more, stay up late at night and talk, compete with one another in their sleeping battle at her house, and many more things. Because those things didn’t happen, the two hour car ride back home wasn’t as swell as he anticipated.

Episode 7: There was hope though. The next day, Sherry was on Facebook. In hopes of communicating with her, Tommy signed on and waited for her to initiate the conversation. After a couple of minutes, Sherry IM’ed him first saying, “I’m sorry.” In Tommy’s mind, something was finally going his way. This was his chance to tell her his feelings! So he took action. He asked her questions regarding him. He wanted to know what she thought of him, what he meant to her, why he chose Vick instead of him. Slowly but surely, answers came from her, and Tommy wasn’t content with it. But because he’s too nice of a guy, his selfless side took over and wished her happiness. After an hour conversation with Sherry, she left. Tommy did feel more at peace, but he still had questions and things to say to her. He wanted to selfishly say, “Don’t marry him. Come back to your family. Come back to your church. And please come back to me.”

And this is where the drama stops. It’s an ongoing drama. It’s a pretty crazy drama right? I wonder what will happen in the next few episodes.

Yup, that’s about it for my health right now. Let’s just hope and pray nothing else happens to me before I leave for Alaska next month.