Friday and Saturday nights were just like old times as I was back in the Beeson Woods dorms at Samford staying with some good friends from Samford RUF. Thanks to Evan, Kevin, Barr, and Logan for letting me crash with them! On Saturday, we hit our old favorite, Miss Myra's BBQ, for lunch. Myra's Family Pack = 1 lb. of meat (obviously pulled pork), 2 sides, and a bag of buns for $17.50. Can't beat that...especially not with Myra's white BBQ sauce. Memphis folks can say what they want, but I was in BBQ heaven. If you're ever in Bham...don't miss it. (unless you feel uncomfortable having multiple images of "the Bear" watching your every bite)
Family Pack perfection
All Hail the Bear (don't worry, Myra is "fair and balanced" with a small corner of the establishment back by the restrooms dedicated to Auburn...)
After lunch we headed back to Samford to watch the Bulldogs play their last game of the season against the Citadel. With three Tennessee home games now under my belt, the return to little Seibert Stadium was...different. haha. My old Samford card still worked, so I got in for free (yes!). The stadium was actually fairly full since it was preview weekend, so we found some seats up amongst the Citadel fans. After singing the Samford fight song quietly under our breath to avoid upsetting our neighbors, we moved back to the home side when half the students left at halftime. (oh yes...I was back at Samford all right...sigh)
In the end, Samford underperformed and lost to the worst team in the SoCon...but the band still played "It is Well With my Soul" and half the crowd didn't even realize there was a game going on, much less that we lost. So it could have been worse.
Me just inside the gate to the stadium...for being so small, it at least looks nice!
Our "live" mascot, Libby. Apparently, Libby wasn't feelin' it on Saturday...
The Samford student section is named the "Red Sea." And only at Samford would you find a student dressed as Moses, leading the "Red Sea" in cheers for the home team. I guess Moses took his hands down at the end of the game on that 4th and 2...
Okay, so I make fun, but I really did enjoy being back for the game. Samford football may be small, we may lose more than we should, and yes, it of course pales in comparison to the epic SEC action going down in Neyland Stadium (mild sarcasm), but it's still home, and I'm still a Bulldog...even when the Bulldog is grumpy and refuses to come out of its cage. And believe it or not, Samford football is on the upswing. Not even kidding...I'm looking forward to good things on the horizon. And we might even beat Furman someday...
On Sunday I attended my church there in Birmingham, Faith Presbyterian. It was awesome to be back and see so many friendly, familiar faces. I am blessed to have such a wonderful new church home in Knoxville, but it's always a blessing to come back and worship with old friends. Faith was a wonderful church family for me in Birmingham, and I will always look back to my time there with very fond memories. Over the course of Sunday and Monday, I was able to hang out and eat with many of the guys from the Faith youth group. It was great catching up with them and seeing how God has been at work in their lives this year.
On Sunday and Monday nights, I moved from the dorm room floor to the house of new Samford RUF intern, Scott Morris. It's been awesome getting to know Scott through RUF training (we've been training roomies twice now...maybe it's the last name.) He is a great guy, and I am pumped that he is at Samford. It's exciting to see how God is using him to minister to students there, and it's been a blast hanging out with him and all the other interns whenever possible. Ben, the intern at Alabama, and Grayson, the intern at SMU, were also in town, and it was awesome to see them as well!
It was also encouraging to see how God is at work in Samford RUF in general. I was able to attend large group on Monday night, and I was amazed at how much had changed from my freshman year in RUF up until now. There have even been huge changes just since last year! For one thing, large group attendance has nearly doubled since last year, and more than quadrupled since my freshman year. As faithfully as the Flag Colonnade has served us over the years, they may even have to find a different large group venue to accommodate the numbers!
But numbers are not the only difference...it was encouraging to see the wide variety of students represented. The worship continued to be powerful, and the gospel continued to be clearly present in the preaching. The Spirit has been at work and is at work in RUF at Samford, and I am so excited to see how the ministry there continues to grow in the future and continues to impact the lives of Samford students.
Altogether it was a wonderful long-weekend back at the alma mater before heading back to PCB for Thanksgiving. I am loving Knoxville, and it is definitely my new home. However, Birmingham will always be a home for me as well. It was so nice to be back in some familiar surroundings, relive some good memories, and most of all, spending quality time with some very good friends. In true small-school fashion, I seemed to run into just about everyone I knew while walking around campus...and just those brief moments of reconnection were awesome too.
I don't really have the time or space to go into all the reasons why here, but through a number of experiences, after some great conversations, and plenty of time to think, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to get back to work up in Knoxville. The Lord is definitely at work at UT, and I look forward to continuing to be a part of that work in these next couple weeks, and then especially in the spring semester.
Please continue to be in prayer for the UT students as they only have 2 days of class following Thanksgiving break before they have their final exams! It's all happening so fast!
I hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I'll be updating on my time here with my family in Panama City in a few days.
Until then...Go Vols, War Eagle, and of course...GO NOLES. :-)
Stephen
