We stopped first on the campus of Bob Jones University in order to make a delivery to one of our young ladies from Ferndale. Abby stayed on campus to visit a while. Elizabeth and I strolled to the bookstore and browsed. On our way back to the girls' dorms ("residence halls" in today's lingo), we met Bethany Panich and Anna Iorillo from Mentor.
We left campus and went to the Threlfall's house. They had invited several Koreans to come for supper. We saw Sumi, Jung Hyun, and Matthew from Seoul Bible Church. They are all studying at BJU. We also met Dennis and Chung Bu; they are from Seoul but weren't part of our ministry.
After eating supper, Andrew and Joshua Threlfall invited everyone to go outside to try out their tree swing. The swing is suspended from a tree limb that is at least 30 feet above the ground. The swing goes over a ravine behind the Threlfall's house. The swing has a wooden seat, and one may sit or stand on it. In order to get on the swing, the swing must be pulled back to the edge of the driveway which is 10-15 feet above the bottom of the ravine. Andrew and Joshua demonstrated for us the thrill and safety of this ride, but no one seemed brave or foolish enough to try.
Then Sumi decided to try it. She started to climb on but slipped and had to grab the swing by the ropes under the seat. She managed to hang on and suffered only some minor rope burns on her hands. She did go again with a bit more success.
After Sumi showed the rest of us that it could be done, Matthew (in coat and tie) decided he would do it too. He removed his coat, and went for a ride. He proclaimed it "very nice" and rode again. However, he managed to convince only Dennis to try it.
Around 8:30 p.m. we went to the BJ snack shop to meet Grace Park and David Park (not related), two former students from Seoul Christian School. Grace attends the university, and David is a sophomore in the academy. He and Abby were classmates at SCS.
Sunday found us attending morning services at Faith Baptist Church. This had been my church during my town-student days at BJU. The church was celebrating Pastor John Vaughn's 30th anniversary and his retirement as full-time pastor. It was a real blessing to be a part of the day's activities and to renew acquaintances from many years ago.
In the evening we went to Mt. Calvary Baptist Church to see their missions presentation. It was a multi-media presentation that included live interviews via internet with missionaries in Australia and the Philippines. Matthew from Seoul Bible Church shared his testimony. We met several friends we hadn't seen for a while including Dan Wiley, whom we met in Korea, and the Dan Dalhausen family from Ohio.
We arrived back in Charleston just a few minutes before midnight. The Lord gave us a wonderful day of preaching, fellowship, and spiritual refreshment.
