We have had some very unusual weather this week! We went out in the evening wearing shorts and a t-shirts and walked to class in the morning on a half inch of ice! We had one of the biggest winter storms in years come through Missouri and it has been a lot of fun. Once the storm passed it left us with about 15″ of snow on top of a 1/2″ layer of ice.
Bailey was able to try her hand at sledding for the first time. We were pretty pathetic, with our “missionary” sleds. They consisted of cardboard boxes, a “dish-drainer-water-catcher-thing,” and a car windshield sunshade. We had to laugh at ourselves! After going sledding we circled up with our Alaska friends, Zach and Jane, and cooked moose meat over a bon fire. They were definitely in their element!
Brian and his friends were tried and tested on the first of December as they decided to remain faithful to their commitment to swim in the lake once every month. In spite of all Brian’s efforts to fake sick he was obligated to jump in as well. The dock they jumped from was covered in so much ice and snow that it had almost sunk into the lake.
A big audience of our classmates gathered around to cheer and mock them, and there was no turning back! We just hope things warm up a bit for January and February! Already there is talk of having to cut the swimming hole out of the ice in the lake and swim one at a time. He can’t back out now, or the rest of the guys have sworn to call him “Alice” for the rest of his life. Any man would cave under than kind of pressure!
The wintry weather has brought a much needed diversion to our daily activities. It has been fun to be outside playing in the snow and enjoying such a beautiful white December! Of course now it is slowly melting and turning into a brown, white, and grey December…oh well, it was fun while it lasted.