Black Out

Well this is a first for me...Joplin, MO is currently on its third day without power...well, some of it is, anyway. It all started two days ago, Friday, May 8th, around seven a.m. The wind was recklessly blowing, rolls of thunder were drowing out any other sound the world may make, and flashes of lightning lit up the atmosphere for just a few passing moments. Not to mention, the sky was incredulously green: mark of a tornado.


Now, I've never been in tornado weather. My first step of action to the storm waking me up: rolling the blinds up and staring dumbly out the window in complete awe. No later than five minutes did the tornado sirens go off and everyone in the dorm was ushered to first floor to wait out the storm. I'd say we were downstairs about an hour and a half, maybe. At this point I'm texting my dad and informing him of the events taking place and he so caringly asked, "Do you have a bathtub to hide in?" Haha I laughed and reassured him that all was well and that everyone was safe in the downstairs lobby.


The storm eventually passed and the sun oddly came out. Even though we were no longer in danger of a tornado wiping us out, we were completely out of power. Some of Joplin was restored within a few hours. The school most definately was not and is still currently waiting, to this day, for the grand news that we no longer have to camp out at Panera, or Starbucks, or McAlister's for hours upon hours trying to complete homework and/or fill out study guides. Nor will we have to take cold showers anymore....or like some people, who will FINALLY get to shower for lack of desire to sit in freezing water just for the sake of being clean.

At this point, I'm not so sure we'll even have finals this week. So far, my juries for voice are scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:20. I was supposed to have them last Friday afternoon, but well, that didn't happen. For those of you who don't know what juries are (pretty much every person who is not a music major at Ozark), it's like my final for voice, because voice is my primary focus, and I have to sing in front of the music faculty. For those who are piano or guitar primaries, they will have juries accordingly. I have four songs that I'm to memorize for the semester and when I go to juries, the faculty will pick one of my songs at random for me to sing, and then they'll critique me. It's nerve-racking sometimes (sidenote: shout out to Elizabeth Amigo). I'm also supposed to have my piano recital tommorow afternoon, plus a recital tomorrow evening that I'm supposed to attend. Oh, and in the midst of taking all my finals this week, I also have a voice recital that I'm singing in on Wednesday. But then again, we might have not finals this week. Oh, wouldn't that be nifty.

Oh, and according to my dad, whose been watching the news...from Vancouver, WA...we're supposed to have more tornado weather...here in Joplin, MO...this Thursday.

This weekend has been so crazy. The nights are really creepy in the dorms. Most people will go find places with power and hot water to stay the night, so the dorms are pretty empty and once the sun is down, the only source of light we have is that of a flashlight, or if you're outside, the moon. Luckily, we've had a full moon out two night in a row, and it has been absolutely incredible! You really don't know how bright the moon is until all other lights around are out. It really is a wonderous thing. "I am the Light of the world," said Jesus. It really doesn't matter how black it can be outside. The moon still gives light to everything. In the same way, no matter how "dark" the things of the world may seem, Jesus will one day reveal everthing evil when he returns with his light. That's my little devotional thought due to being in this situation.

Current update: my friend, Elizabeth Amigo, just recieved a text from our dorm mom. Apparently finals for tuesday are still on, even though most study guides to our finals are online. Too bad we don't have power to recieve those study guides. I mean, you can only stay in Panera, or Starbucks, or McAlister's for so long to have power. Welp, that's unfortunate for those who can't get to their study guides. Lucky for me, my Old Testament professor gave us a hard copy of the study guide for our test on Tuesday. Hooray.

Oh, and not to mention, everyone is on edge. I mean, finals are already stressful enough, but to not have power, it almost seems so devastating to most people. And frankly, it's aggravating. I can't say I've had the best attitude this weekend, but alot of tension has been built up with everyone because we allow the petty things to bother us.

But anywho, those are the events that have taken place this weekend. Ozark Christian College is still out of power. But we get pizza for dinner tonight...again. It's a good thing I like Papa Johns pizza.