Too Long of a Post

To Whom It May Concern:

My last week at American Family Radio was absolutely amazing. I was able to delve into print journalism as well as learn much more about the production side of things. I actually helped produce the AFA Report, a talk-show featuring Don Wildmon and his co-hosts. I got to see how much it took to produce a thirty second spot for one of AFR's sponsors. From the idea to the production takes a good solid day. It had different kinds of sounds on six or seven different tracks.

On my last day, the news room, my roommate, and Agape Press took me out to lunch. We had a lot of fun, and they blessed with a card, a memento, and more. I was thoroughly spoiled. Their thoughtfulness meant a lot, and I will miss them.

I got off to a late start the next day on my long drive home. I had to pass through Atlanta, GA. The irony of it all was striking because I drove through Atlanta a year ago after a five week trip and broke down there. I stayed with a precious couple for three days. After thinking of all this, you can imagine how striking the irony felt when only twenty miles from Atlanta, the self-same vehicle broke down again. I kid you not.

My fish, my pc, my violin, and I stayed in a gas station with the owner Avonte until a mechanic arrived to work on my car. Avonte and I had some good conversation during the hour and a half I waited. Pray for him.

The mechanic is a dear Christian man named Mr. Alton. He tried to fix my car for several hours. We visited two different parts shops, but they didn't have the basic part we needed. All this time I had been in touch with my family, letting them know what was going on, letting my boss know, and finding a back-up plan if my car could not be fixed that day. My family would have come after me, but we thought the car only had a minor electrical problem. It was after dark when Mr. Alton thought he had fixed it.

He followed me down the road, and I was still on the phone with my family telling them the good news when the light came on again. At this point, Mr. Alton judged that the problem was really big. We managed to get the car down the road to a Holiday Inn Express. Mr. Alton made sure I was all right before he left, bless him! I hung out in the lobby for a couple of hours, clutching my fish's plastic container as though it were a teddy bear, until my good friend Daniel and his dad picked me up on their way home from a sales trip. 

The drive to their house was most interesting because Atlanta sends work crews out to work on their roads in the middle of the night. We saw a handful of men working on a ditch and another man sweeping the road. This most important work delayed us and we were only able to get to their house after 1 a.m.

My mom came for me the next day. We had my car towed to a dodge dealership before scurrying home at last! Thank God they were able to fix it and we picked it up a couple days later. I am very grateful the car was fixed, for Mr. Alton, for Avonte and the hotel people, for my friends, and for the safe outcome. But this story is still not funny. I figure it will be more humorous in about two weeks.

Being at home has been great. I have had fun with my family, gotten great sleep, and eaten wonderful food. Saturday, my family visited Charleston, SC, to hang out and spend time with my older brother.

I have just a few more precious days at home before it's off to school again. Below are a few pictures from the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo that I promised to post.

Me and buffalo.

World famous white buffalo "Tucota"

Me and a zeedonk, a hybrid between a zebra and a donkey.

Despite the random person in the background, this is Rebecca's favorite picture. It is me feeding Tall Boy, the largest giraffe in captivity and my favorite animal at the zoo. I am laughing in the picture because Tall Boy wrapped about ten inches of his black tongue around my hand to scoop up the feed.