done.

My first year of college is over. I feel relieved, and proud, and sad all at once. This week is bittersweet. I'm so ready to be home and feel like I live there for a few months, but I'm not ready to leave this place yet either. I never thought I would be able to say that. Believe me, it's a good feeling to be able to. I feel at home here. I've lived with these people, in this place, for 8 months. It's not easy to pack up and leave. But that's all that's left for me to do. My roommate for next year already did that, and my other friends and I said goodbye to her this morning. So surreal.

Anyway, enough moping in disbelief. I am going to Lancaster in 48 hours!

Also, Michael Wiebe-Johnson was discharged this weekend and has been on campus several times this week. I helped him glaze pots ("helped" being a relative term) for his Ceramics class and he even gave me one to say thanks. As if I could have forgotten him before...now I surely never will. His vision is not quite back to normal and he gets tired very quickly. He is still in a wheelchair and he had some sort of brace around his stomach (for his chipped vertebrae, maybe?). But considering what could have been, all those things are blessings. God is so faithful.

2 more classes.
3 finals.
1 speech.
summer.

In other news, Michael Wiebe-Johnson had a successful surgery yesterday to insert a pin into his hip. He should be able to walk with crutches today and expects to be discharged this weekend! If all goes as planned, he should be able to finish the semester. God is so faithful.

Update on Michael Wiebe-Johnson...

There is much to praise God about! Shortly after Wiebe was airlifted to UVA, they put him in a medically-induced coma because they were afraid he had internal head injuries, like bleeding on the brain. However, as far as I know, nothing was significantly wrong. Even more miraculously, he has no spinal cord injuries and no paralysis! By Friday evening, he was able to talk to his parents on the phone, and yesterday he called one of the guys who was with him when it happened--in fact, the only one who saw him fall, and the one who sat with him for several minutes, thinking he was dead. I haven't heard any updates today yet, so it looks like his most serious injuries are a fractured hip and chipped vertebrae. Praise God! Pray that he will continue to recover quickly and fully.

Early this morning, several of my guy friends attempted to pull a seemingly harmless prank--putting a stuffed buffalo from the science center on top of Oakwood, their 3-story dorm (they've done things like this before with no problems). Something went wrong, and one of the guys fell. They airlifted him to UVA medical center. I am told when he was on the ground he could not speak and could only move his arms. Please pray for Michael Wiebe-Johnson and his family. His parents are on the way to Virginia from Indiana. I'm basically in shock right now--I mean, I just ate lunch with Wiebe yesterday. This feels very unreal. All of your prayers are appreciated. Thanks.

Three. More. Weeks.

breathe, karissa...

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