This last week (or so) was not what I expected at all. I've adopted the phrase "The plan is pudding" because it's the exact opposite of a concrete plan. Here's what I thought would happen: I would finish my last day of classes for my junior year of undergraduate work, then the following week I would take my finals. The last day of finals (Thursday), I would head to Chicago with my boyfriend and see my very favorite band using tickets we bought months ago. Then we would go camping with our friends on Friday and Saturday night in Lake Geneva.
Some of that happened.
The last day of classes I was walking back to my car when I got a call about a friend. I worked with Nathan in the summer of 2012, my first one at Arrowhead on summer staff. Nathan had passed away earlier in the week and it was my boss calling to let me know. I was shocked. I hadn't seen Nathan since that summer ended because he did not return for summer 2013. Nathan was brilliant. He was studying at Yale Divinity and had graduated from UW Madison. He taught a seminar at camp (4 days, 50 minutes each session for a total of 200 minutes) in which he taught the whole Old Testament to junior and senior highers. He took a Kesha (no longer Ke$ha in case you wondered) song and changed the lyrics so it told the story of the Old Testament. Once he explained the origin of "meme" and it's a lot older than you think. He had a way with words (an odd but endearing one) and most of all, he loved Jesus and he loved the people around him. Nathan also struggled with depression throughout his teen and young adult years.
So suddenly, I'm missing someone I haven't thought about in quite a while, not sure what to do. I have to prepare for my finals the following week and deal with this loss.
My finals went just fine, and my parents were supportive of me throughout the next week. The service for Nathan was a week after I found out.
The next Thursday, instead of taking my final and heading to the city for a fun night, I went with other camp people (as they are so fondly called in our circle) to Middleton for Nathan's memorial service. It wasn't that I was bummed I had to go to a funeral and miss a concert. It was more like "Wow, when I bought these tickets, I had no idea this was going to happen or that life would take such a turn" and I wondered how long Nathan had been thinking about his end.
Seeing so many people from many years at camp in one place was a comfort. We each knew Nathan to varying degrees. Some people had done a two week program with him called b.a.s.i.c. discipleship. Some people had gone to Bolivia with him as a continuation of that two week experience. Some people had worked with him both summers he was on staff at camp. Some people did a month long s.o.u.l. discipleship with Nathan. Seeing his closed casket in the front of that church felt sad. There's not another word for it. They displayed flowers and drawings Nathan had done, self portraiture to be exact. He drew his face from a photo that my friend Maggie had taken. I was there when she took that photo and I remember complimenting both her and Nathan. It was a great shot.
5 people shared about Nathan- his work with the Navigators, his discipleship of men in his dorm, his ministry at camp, and his love for his family. When the service was over, we stayed and cried and mourned the loss of our friend. We shared memories of the funny and serious talks we had with Nathan. We prayed for his family and his friends who remain on earth. We were grateful to God for the comfort we have in knowing Nathan is with God and that we will see him again.
We left the service late and got back even later. On Friday, the weather was cold and rainy and we canceled the camping trip. Instead, the six of us stayed at home and made our own adventure. We played video games, played Munchkin (very fun card game), sat around a camp fire, took a walk at Independence Grove, and enjoyed not sleeping in the 40 degree night air. The weather ended up being great (only after we canceled our plans of course) so we were able to enjoy some time outside together.
In addition, this week I got to spend time with the brand new baby of my best friend! Man, that little baby is CUTE. Also, she is tiny. Wow. And amazing. I can't wait to get to know her more. I didn't know that was going to happen this week!
Now, it is my last week at home before I go to camp for the summer. I have to get boater safety certified, and I have to pack, and a handful of other things I can't think of right now. I'm looking forward to the rush of heading to camp. I'll talk more about it soon :)
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