Day 6: When it Rains, it Pours
Greenville, Illinois
The flashes and rumbles began sometime after 6 AM. “Ah,” I thought. “A good ol’ midwest thunderstorm passing by.” I didn’t have to open my eyes to see the lightning and count the interval before the crashes of thunder—close, closer, then fading away. I still had an hour before my alarm was set to go off. Nothing like snuggling back under the covers, feeling safe and warm in the middle of the storm.
Dashing to and from the car in a torrential downpour at different points throughout the day—less safe and much less warm.
We Seattle-ites don’t get rain like this—bouncing off the pavement back to the kneecaps, instant rivers along the streetcurbs, sheets and gusts that make even the idea of an umbrella almost laughable.
I’ve never had to compete with thunder while quizmastering before. That and the A/C coming on right overhead—it’s hard to judge which was louder.
Welcome to almost-summer in Illinois.
And I probably only drove a mile and a half today! So No, it doesn’t really count as a Road Trip day. It’s very nice to stay put. Recharge.
Being at a quiz both recharges and drains me. In the moment, I am loving the smiles, the hugs, the verses, the answers, the almost-had-its, the one-in-five shot at a Quote prejump … super-fun, super-inspiring. And this quiz on the campus of Greenville University was no exception. The campus hosted us well (snacks, lunch—Chick-Fil-A, no less—sunglasses, T-shirts) … they are serious about FM Bible Quizzers here!
Here are some of those faces.
At lunchtime, it was my thrill to announce their new scholarship for FMBQ Qualified Participation—$19,000/year renewable for four years! That’s $76,000 toward college for Bible Quizzing! Parents—take note. This is the path for your kids to pay for their higher education at a quality Christian school. Yay, Greenville! And thank you.
I can’t wait to see more of these faces in two weeks at the quiz in Genesis Conference. And then six weeks after that at Quiz Finals on the campus of Asbury University. These are my people. This is my tribe. My spiritual family. Every quiz is a homecoming to celebrate.
Dad got about three hours with a baby grand in a chapel in their music building (what used to be the church, across the street from campus) in the afternoon. That’s a win for him!
We sloshed and jumped puddles to get back to the car and back to Robarts’ home … then I made the mistake of sitting down by their gas fireplace and not moving for awhile. Which made it all the harder to move an hour or so later. We made do for supper with the breakfast bagels and other provisions. As I faded away in conversation, I excused myself to lay down. I call it my post-quiz “coma” … the physical and mental exhaustion of paying close attention all day eventually shuts me down. Hard nap coming on. Needed that two-hour recharge before checking in with Regina and Dad and coming up with a few scenarios for tomorrow.
So glad church is at 11 AM. No need to rush outward and onward yet. We’ll be another night in Greenville before covering all of 1-2 hours between stops for a few days after that.
I think my car is now clean on the outside.
And my heart is full on the inside.
The unlabeled girls are Emily,Zoey, Leah from Vincennes.