one is silver and the other gold...

I'm pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Howell is up for Tenure at Wheaton College. Professor Howell was a source of sanity while I was a student there and the administration really should get on their knees and thank God to have him as a part of their faculty. I consider him an old friend, and pray that his Tenure gets granted so he can continue to challenge students to reach their academic potential while encouraging Christian responsibility. As an alumna, I will be happy to continue to support Wheaton in as many ways as are possible as long as they are committed to obtaining and retaining faculty such as Dr. Howell.*

In other news, the leaves are turning in Switzerland, transforming these mountains into mosaics of red, orange, green, and brown. Though Europe has its limitations, and Switzerland is far from perfect, I'm happy for now to spend a little time thinking of this place as home. There are people I really love here, and I've made friendships that will hopefully last for a long time.

Friendship is a really meaningful gift from God, I think. It's a miracle that amidst all the opportunities for confusion, anger, miscommunication, and alienation, people become friends. At L'Abri we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about Evil and it's origins. Loneliness is so prevalent, when you realize you have friends it's an opportunity to express gratitude to God.

A little caveat: once again, I want to make it clear there are no substitutes or replacements for the people I love back in the States. But though they are there, I am so grateful to also have friends here.

Next week I'll be in Amsterdam with my friends Rhett and Laura. After that, I'll be house-sitting in Huemoz with my friend Renea. This will be during L'Abri's fall term break, which marks the half-way point for the term. I'll have internet access during that time, and would love to hear from anyone who reads this.

Anyone have any ideas on fun (and SAFE) things to do in Amsterdam?

*If his Tenure DOESN'T get granted, rest assured I'm going to raise Hell. Wheaton doesn't always have fabulous intuition regarding excellent faculty; Hochshield, Husbands, Woodiwiss, Dorsett, Lee, and Noll are all good examples of great educators that have slipped through our fingers since 2004. Not to mention Lauren Winner and Stephen Garber, both of whom were *almost* hired. Holy cow; we could've actually lived up to our puffy academic reputation if we tried a little harder in the hiring and Tenure processes (I am NOT blaming the Christian Education department on those last two; they really did give their all). I'm just saying, sometimes you don't know whatcha got 'till it's gone.