Chicopee news
Wow, it's been ages since I've posted! I suddenly find myself with a bit more spare time on my hands (more on that in a later post), so I'm going to see if I can address that sticky note titled "Pending LJ Posts". I'm gonna skip the back-dating and just speak in past tense.
Early January marked a change at the Chicopee house. We got our 7th roommate. With only (!) five rooms, that means some people get to double up. I was an obvious choice because I had the master bedroom (one of the biggest), and it had its own bathroom. Plus, I happen to know and like the guy who was moving in. Matt is a cool dude with a passion for life, and I count him a good friend.
I had my doubts about having a roommate at first. I thought I might get stir-crazy without a place of my very own to retreat to. My little sanctuary, you know. But it was totally fine. And I gotta say, it was real sweet come rent time. The gas bill was higher during the winter than my portion of the rent.
Matt only lived with me a couple of months, though. Sadly, Simon and Alisha broke up, and Simon decided he wanted to move away. She was the reason he moved down here in the first place. So now he's back in Connecticut, and Matt took his room. That was late February.
About a month ago, Justin moved out, too. He's going to India for a year to work with Freedom Firm, a group that rescues (mostly minor) girls out of sex slavery in India. I'm so excited for him, and I'm so impressed that he's giving up a year of his life to help others. I can't wait to hear about how God uses him there. Anyway, he's leaving for India in a couple of weeks, but since mid-to-late June he's been with his folks in Dallas, earning some extra money. His room is all empty, and it echoes. It's sad.
Not long after Justin left, Nick got married and moved out. I'm really happy for him and Lindsay. Thankfully, at least Nick is still in the area.
Yesterday, Matt left too. He's been thinking for quite a while about moving out to Colorado and join Brad (a former pastor from Grace) in Colorado. Brad is starting a Chi Alpha campus ministry in Colorado Springs, and Matt is going to join him. But anyway, he's moved all his stuff out, and now his room is empty, too. Sadness!
In fact, even Darnell is gone at the moment. He's in Transnistria (in eastern Europe) with a couple dozen people from church on a missions trip. So out of the originally 7 dudes at Chicopee, Lucas and I are the only ones left! Darnell will move out by the end of August (he wants his own place). Lucas is looking for a job and a reason to stay in the area. If he doesn't find one and decides to move elsewhere, I'll be the only Chicopite left.
We did, however, decide to renew the lease. That would be madness, except we have a whole new group of guys who will be living here next year. Everything is lined up, and all we have to do now is sign a couple forms. It will be me, Mario, Stephen, Chris (Stephen's younger brother), Jeremy, and maybe Lucas. Chicopee lives!
Early January marked a change at the Chicopee house. We got our 7th roommate. With only (!) five rooms, that means some people get to double up. I was an obvious choice because I had the master bedroom (one of the biggest), and it had its own bathroom. Plus, I happen to know and like the guy who was moving in. Matt is a cool dude with a passion for life, and I count him a good friend.
I had my doubts about having a roommate at first. I thought I might get stir-crazy without a place of my very own to retreat to. My little sanctuary, you know. But it was totally fine. And I gotta say, it was real sweet come rent time. The gas bill was higher during the winter than my portion of the rent.
Matt only lived with me a couple of months, though. Sadly, Simon and Alisha broke up, and Simon decided he wanted to move away. She was the reason he moved down here in the first place. So now he's back in Connecticut, and Matt took his room. That was late February.
About a month ago, Justin moved out, too. He's going to India for a year to work with Freedom Firm, a group that rescues (mostly minor) girls out of sex slavery in India. I'm so excited for him, and I'm so impressed that he's giving up a year of his life to help others. I can't wait to hear about how God uses him there. Anyway, he's leaving for India in a couple of weeks, but since mid-to-late June he's been with his folks in Dallas, earning some extra money. His room is all empty, and it echoes. It's sad.
Not long after Justin left, Nick got married and moved out. I'm really happy for him and Lindsay. Thankfully, at least Nick is still in the area.
Yesterday, Matt left too. He's been thinking for quite a while about moving out to Colorado and join Brad (a former pastor from Grace) in Colorado. Brad is starting a Chi Alpha campus ministry in Colorado Springs, and Matt is going to join him. But anyway, he's moved all his stuff out, and now his room is empty, too. Sadness!
In fact, even Darnell is gone at the moment. He's in Transnistria (in eastern Europe) with a couple dozen people from church on a missions trip. So out of the originally 7 dudes at Chicopee, Lucas and I are the only ones left! Darnell will move out by the end of August (he wants his own place). Lucas is looking for a job and a reason to stay in the area. If he doesn't find one and decides to move elsewhere, I'll be the only Chicopite left.
We did, however, decide to renew the lease. That would be madness, except we have a whole new group of guys who will be living here next year. Everything is lined up, and all we have to do now is sign a couple forms. It will be me, Mario, Stephen, Chris (Stephen's younger brother), Jeremy, and maybe Lucas. Chicopee lives!