Veritas

Good Evening. The seasons are quickly changing as most of the leaves have gently fallen and the chill of winter is blowing in. The forecast called for snow flurries Thursday evening, yet the view Friday morning from our window showed none of that white magic. Joshua and I are anticipating the inaugural snowfall of the season: a highly criticized opinion, as most people here are already counting down the days until summer. This past week was filled with various activities and varying degrees of interest. Christmas shopping, babysitting and work filled our days, while the two highlights of the week were the Veritas Forum and Divsgiving. The Veritas Forum is an event done at many different schools all across the nation that feature two speakers (usually one who identifies with the Christian faith and one that does not). This years event at Yale featured Dr. Kagan, a philosophy professor at Yale, and N.T. Wright, a New Testament professor at St. Andrews University in the UK. The discussion is meant to be friendly and they try to avoid the word debate. It was a nice evening and the discussion failed to even reach the anticipated topic, Living Well in the Light of Death, because both the professors were asking many questions of each other. I appreciated the ability of the men to be honest with each other and admit the difficulties within their views. The event took place in Battell Chapel, another beautiful place on campus we had yet to see.

 The following morning Joshua got to have breakfast with N.T. Wright and a small group of students. Last night was Divsgiving, an annual meal with the other Divinity students. I made some challah rolls and we sat and talked with our friend Jonathan. It is nice that we are beginning to really develop friendships among some fellow students. Joshua has one more week of classes then gets to take a week off for Thanksgiving. We will be headed to my parents house on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and spend a couple of days there. We are happy to see everybody and get some time away from New Haven. Work is still a learning experience and I am very grateful to have a job but have decided I do not want to do this for the rest of my life. Hopefully next school year will open up some opportunities for me to get a job in a school again. I am still looking at some schooling programs and trying to decide what I would like to do. Other than that we are having fun and love all of you guys! Love, Joshua and Alissa

Finishing up Fall

Hello All! This past week has gone well as Joshua and I are preparing for the cold that is quickly headed our way. Although we still have pleasant days,many are rather chilly, requiring  full coat and gloves. It is crazy to think that Joshua is almost one fourth of the way through his program already. I do not think he would come to that conclusion quite as quickly as the bulk of the papers that have yet to be written remain on his mind. We are having fun, though, and taking time to spend with people and get to know the wide range of people living near. Today we went on a hike at Sleeping Giant State Park with about 20 other Yale Divinity school students/spouses. It was a very international group consisting of people from Germany, England, Singapore, Hong Kong and Jamaica. It is a fun experience to spend time with such a variety of nationalities. It is funny how some stereotypes prove to be true with those you are with such as the British man wearing a tweed jacket and scarf to go hiking and the Jamaicans wearing a bright smile and bubbly personalities. It was a short hike (1.6 miles each way) that provided great views from the top.

In this picture you can see the Long Island sound in the distance and the city of New Haven is on the right side of the horizon. Sadly, the peak of the leaves has come and gone and many trees lay bare. It was still so nice to get out in nature and have some fun! Last night we had some other friends over to play a board game and eat some pumpkin bread. I really enjoy baking and like to make something sweet when we have people over. We had a lot of fun and most of our friends stayed until past 1 am. These are the only nights me and Joshua are not in bed before ten. This week we have some exciting things coming up. N.T. Wright, a well known Biblical scholar, will be in town on Wednesday and Friday is Divsgiving. The whole Divinity school community gets together and eats a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We are very excited as we will be making our way to Ohio in a few weeks for Thanksgiving then to California for Christmas a few weeks after that. We are very blessed to be able to be making these trips as we know many friends who will not be able to head home for financial reasons or not being able to get off work. We love our families and are sooo sooo sooo excited!

I am still working about 34 hours a week and although I do not love the position, it is a good job and provides for now. I will hopefully get some sort of teaching job next year and am looking into masters of education programs. Joshua is still working away very hard and learning lots and lots of vocab words. We hope that you guys are all doing well and look forward to seeing as many of you as we can in the future. Love, Joshua and Alissa

Breathe

Hello everyone! Change has not ceased to come our way. Change is the driving force of life to some and misery that evokes the greatest fear to others, yet it seems like most of us end up somewhere in the middle. That is exactly where Joshua and I have found ourselves in these past months. We have learned to truly appreciate where others are coming from, yet hold firmly to our convictions. It feels as though we have taken that breath you take when you are first learning to scuba dive and the regulator finally feels comfortable. Underwater, no longer on land, in a new environment, learning to breathe the same oxygen, only you have to be directly hooked up to your life supply. Struggling, feeling anxious and uncomfortable while trying to make things work can only cease when one remembers the oxygen will continue to come through the regulator. The Lord is our oxygen and will continue to sustain us.
As far as our daily life, we have had a lot of fun and continue to really love married life. Joshua had a wonderful birthday! We celebrated with pumpkin cheesecake (two of Joshua's favorite things) and a trip to Olive Garden on the following Sunday.

Reading week commenced this week for Joshua. Yale did well in the naming because it is exactly what it sounds and not much like a break. He has made some really good headway on a paper and reviewed the many different paradigms for his languages. Today Joshua has gone hiking with two of his friends to the northwest corner of Connecticut. I was jealous but had work today, which I am thankful for, though I would rather be hiking. :) I started my job last Monday at 20 hrs a week. It has been a lot of learning but I am making my way and slowly understanding the system better. If you have any questions about insurance and physical therapy don't be afraid to ask me because after this job I will be an expert! This Monday I was very blessed to have my work hours increase to 34 hours a week! This is incredible for us and I was not expecting it at all. I was told there would be a chance my hours would go up in the new year but am very grateful it happened so soon. Last week Joshua and I went to a Yale volleyball game. It was a lot of fun and memories of playing came to mind. 

There was an ebola scare here a little over a week ago. A graduate student was helping put together a computer system or something to do with that in Africa and after his return was showing ebola like symptoms. There were emails sent out to all of campus and quite a bit of commotion. The Yale shuttle I take to work each day had to go off-route because of a press conference being conducted at the medical school. The results from the CDC indicated the man did not have ebola, yet they would keep him and his co-worker in isolation for 21 days. We are thankful there was no ebola, yet it was quite a scare.  We are really looking forward to the holiday season and hope that we have the opportunity to see as much family as we can. My quilt is finished, though very small. I am hoping it will be a good size to swaddle a newborn. The temperature is dropping and most days the highs are in the low 60's or high 50's. It is crazy to think that in just a little over a month Joshua will be a quarter of the way through his master's program. He is doing so well! We are thinking about all of you guys and hope you are doing well. Love you guys! Joshua and Alissa

Big Wins!

Hey guys! Good things have been happening around New Haven for the Harris'. To begin with, I got a job! It is a part time receptionist job at a physical therapy office in downtown New Haven. Although it is only part time, I am encouraged that I have some kind of job and happy that I have found something to fill my days. Because it is only part time, I am still searching for something else that will help us out, so your continued prayers for that would be appreciated. Joshua is also working now! He gets to sit at the entrance of the Divinity school and greet guests while answering any questions that may arise. It is a blessing because he can get some homework done while working and the commute is about 300 ft! :) The weather is cooling here as the leaves are beginning to crunch beneath our feet and change before our eyes. Sleeping Giant, a state park just up the road, may be our host this weekend for a fall foliage hike. Last weekend Joshua and I had the opportunity to go to the Yale vs. Army football game. Expecting Yale to get blown out, we prepared our competitive spirits before hand for disappointment and a rather boring game. This year, however, is the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Yale Bowl. Serving as the model after which the Rose Bowl was built, the Yale Bowl has much history. It was because of the "bowl" shape of this stadium that the big games at the end of the football season are called now bowl games and Yale Bowl even serves as the root of the name of the Super Bowl. Even if one remembers that the game of football was greatly formed at and through Yale, this is still a fun surprise. As we entered the stadium, which seats 60,000, we made our way to the student section. Because we were playing the Army (a.k.a. Westpoint, or the Black Knights, or the Academy) and celebrating this anniversary, the game ball was supposed to be delivered by a parachutist. It was very, very cool. If you squinted your eyes just enough and stared into the sun at just the right angle, you might have been able to make out the four parachutists jump from the helicopter and let their parachutes out.

The inexperienced parachutists, like me, had absolutely no idea how each jumper was going to successfully land on the 50 yd line. One by one they circled around the stadium, making their last turn and seemingly racing towards the ground with much speed, yet at the last second gently put their legs straight and walked right towards the 40 yd line.

 It was very spectacular. Josh and I, along with some friends with us, agreed that, even though we were going to get blown out, coming for the parachutists was worth it.  As the game went on, Yale hung on and showed they are a tough team. The end of the fourth quarter brought overtime and although we had to leave at this point,

Yale went on to win the game! Today is Joshua's birthday and we are looking forward to celebrating tonight. We love all of you guys!

Joshua and Alissa

Navigating Mazes

Hello everybody! It has been way too long since I last wrote. These last few weeks have brought a whirlwind of readings, translations, vocabulary words and job applications. While we have enjoyed a lot of our times here, there have been some struggles along the way. Job hunting has been tough, much tougher than expected, yet I have two interviews in this next week that will hopefully work their way into something. Once again, your prayers would be much appreciated. Though there is always homework looming on the mind of Joshua and jobs looming on mine, we have found time to have fun and enjoy each other! Last Saturday we joined with our friends from Chi Alpha and headed twenty minutes north to Lyman's Orchard. The day consisted of feeding the ducks, eating cinnamon bread for lunch (because we couldn't bring ourselves to paying over $4 for a hotdog!), playing bocce ball and roaming through a corn maze patterned after the Beetles faces.


In the corn maze!
 

Joshua had the opportunity to go to dinner at the dean's house, something the dean does for all first year students. Not sure what this event would be like, he played it safe, wearing jeans and a polo. Upon entering the house, it was quickly learned this was a classy affair and during the meal Joshua laughed at himself when trying to decide which fork he should use. It was an interesting environment knowing two of the four classmates with you at dinner have lived in Italy and the dean travels the world frequently. Afterwards, me and Joshua decided if we were ever deans, we would have students over for a pizza party and maybe some homemade brownies for dessert! This Saturday we are looking forward to going to a Yale football game while continuing to enjoy the wonderful fall weather here. In a couple of weeks we hope to head north to see the beautiful fall foliage. Another first for us at Yale this week was visiting Sterling Memorial Library. It has been said that the designer of the library wanted to build it as a cathedral to education. We did not have much time to explore, but will soon.


Sterling Memorial Library

I spend my days experimenting with new recipes of bread and bagels. I have bought the fabric for a baby girl quilt I hope to start on as soon I get some quilting equipment that is in the mail (and no, there isn't anything in that oven :)) Thank you so much for all your support. We appreciate you guys more than you know! Hopefully we will get to see you soon.
Love,
Joshua and Alissa

Still Waiting

Greetings! The past week has been rather non-eventful at the Harris apartment. Friday was exciting as it was the first meeting for Yale Chi Alpha. Joshua and I, looking for an adventure, and to save a couple of bucks at the parking meter, set off on the grand adventure of taking the Yale shuttle. The university provides multiple shuttles that have different routes throughout New Haven. We figured we needed to take the Red shuttle, leaving from Prospect and Division. As we walked toward the intersection of the two streets, we noticed the bus was set to arrive in two minutes. The shuttles are synced up with a nifty app that shows where the shuttles are in live time. Suddenly finding the side of the street the stop was on became increasingly difficult. We looked to and fro and seemed to frantically make an entire circle around all four corners, impatiently waiting at each corner for the walk signal, and made it to the sign that said RED shuttle, in the nick of time. Both staring at Josh's ipad for the location of the bus, we saw that we were the next stop for the shuttle! How exciting! In great despair the bus did not turn on its red route but continued on straight and continued and continued. We were so very sad but walked back to the car and paid our three dollars to park in a meter. Therefore, we have yet to ride a Yale shuttle. :( Chi Alpha was great! Fifteen or so students showed up and the Malcolms shared a little bit of what the organization is. As I was about ready to get back in the car to head home, a sweet looking English woman came to my rescue. "You look heavy-laden there, may I help you?....Mind your fingers", were the kind words from an older woman. It reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest". Sunday we got to watch the two young children of the Malcolms and had a lot of fun. Joshua was the jungle gym, Lego man, produced an endless amount of laughs, and amongst this did not fail to put a big smile on the face of his wife. Our labor day was spent at the Malcolms with friends and fun. Getting to know people as friends is comforting during a transition time like this. The rest of the week has been filled with homework, baking and reading. I have been reading "Little Women" and am wondering why I have not read it before. It brings warm, treasured memories of my life with four girls growing up. I am still waiting on job responses and have applied to multiple more positions. Your prayers are still asked. I am working on an application to a nanny agency. Tonight we are sitting outside on the quad, enjoying the beautiful weather. We love you guys and hope you are all doing well!

Joshua and Alissa

Sailings and Beginnings

Joshua's First Day of Grad School!

Hello All! Things are getting underway here in New Haven. Joshua is officially recognized as a Yale student, picture I.D. and all! This semester will consist of classes in Medieval Latin, Intermediate Greek, History and Methods of Old Testament Interpretation and Greek Exegesis: Revelation. Don't worry. If that sounds confusing to you, it does to me too. :) There is much to be done in each class and it can seem overwhelming at times, even just a couple of days into the semester. We all know he will do great, however, and represent the Lord well in his hard work!
This past weekend Joshua and I had the opportunity to trek just a few hours north of here into Rhode Island. Joshua's uncle and cousin own a sailboat that is kept in a harbor up there and invited us to journey the ocean with them. We drove north on Friday evening and had some delicious clam chowder at a very New England restaurant called the Black Pearl. I felt as though I was in a seaport town from the movies, the smell of seafood lingering in the air and the sounds of boats off in the distance. We spent the night on the boat, which fared pretty well, with just a small dose of sea sickness in the morning. After breakfast at a nice bakery, we set off. We (meaning Josh's uncle Harold and cousin Ken) sailed around the island there in Jamestown, RI, about a 6 hour trip. We spent the time talking, learning sailing terms such as tacking and beam reach, and learning how to tie a proper boat knot. After dinner we headed home but our bodies thought we were still on the boat until the next morning.

Captain Joshua

We have found a church that we like and got to spend this Sunday getting to know people a little more as we went out to eat with some of them. We are also making friends with some of the students here at Yale, which is nice since they will be experiencing a lot of the same things as us. I am still waiting for an offer on a job. I have applied to three positions and all could still turn into a job so I am staying hopeful. Your prayers are much appreciated! Tomorrow begins Chi Alpha. Joshua and I are very excited for that and hoping we can really minister to some of the undergrads here at Yale. This year will be a very challenging one academically but a very stretching year for both of us. We already feel like we have learned so much! We love all of you guys!
Joshua and Alissa

Orientation!

Hello everyone! This week has been an exciting one. Joshua had and is still in the midst of a long, very informative orientation. We have made our way through library tours, Divinity school tours and many many sessions. I (Alissa) got to spend this week with him, learning all that he was learning. It has been very helpful to me, allowing me to meet the people he will be spending his time with and getting oriented with what his life may be like during the day. Joshua and I began the week apprehensive to meet people and not sure how to begin conversations but as time has progressed so have our skills. We have spoken with students from all over the world all coming to Yale to study the same thing. The Divinity school has chapel everyday, varying in denominational format, yet this week chapel has been conducted in the Episcopalian tradition. Each day after chapel, coffee hour is held outside, weather permitting. Neither of us are coffee drinkers but they have tea as well which Joshua has enjoyed at times. The rest of the sessions have been what you would expect at a grad school orientation and I have skipped some that Joshua had to go to. The best thing this week has been the food. They have been serving us very well and we have gotten a taste of some of the classic food here in New Haven. This city is known for its food and if you talk to anyone from around here one of the first things they do is tell you about all the restaurants that you need to go to. There is a huge international food presence and we got to experience some of that. The first day we had some Mediterranean food, which we both agreed was not our favorite. We have had "soul food" and the local international food carts. There are a couple of places on campus that are prime locations during lunch time, as 8ish food carts line up and serve a large plate of food for about $5. Joshua and I both tried the Kati Rolls (also called Bengali Burritos) which were very good. Yesterday we were served New Haven pizza. Pizza is a huge deal around here as they claim they are the inventors of what we know as pizza. Each person has an opinion whether Pepe's or Modern is the best. We got to try multiple places and I think I would say Pepe's is the best. I would never say it to a native but I didn't think the pizza was the best I had ever had. It's good though. It's thin crust, wood cooked and I generally like the thick, hearty pizza. Joshua also thought Pepe's was the best. We got to spend an evening at the Chi Alpha leader's house (the people we spent the night with at first). They got together a bunch of people who are affiliated with the Assemblies of God or want to get involved in that ministry. We are excited to begin helping on Friday nights with that! There was a jazz festival downtown a little bit ago that we went to. It is a nice walk (a little over a mile) and free entertainment.

The Jazz festival

 

If you guys would continue to pray for things to work out with our jobs that would be very appreciated. At this point, I am not sure what I am going to be doing. I have not yet heard from the original school I was hoping to work at so I am looking at some other positions and going to be putting out applications. Joshua is looking forward to school starting. Next Wednesday is when classes begin! It is going to be a lot but we all know he is going to do great!

Joshua and Alissa

Little Adventures

Hey guys! I hope everything is going well with all of you. We talk of family and friends often. This past week has flown by for the two of us! We have gotten more time to relax and explore some of the places beyond Yale. When we first decided to move to New Haven we set off on a search of some of the places in New England to hike. One of the first places we heard of was East Rock. This is not a surprise, given that it is about a mile down the road and the red face of the cliff can be seen from much of the city. We began at the Eli Whitney museum (quick quiz: What is Eli Whitney's most famous invention? answer at bottom of post :)). The hike was a clear, well-maintained trail until the portion called the 'Giant Steps' which is a very accurate description. We made it to the top and enjoyed the monument and view. From the top of East Rock you can see all of New Haven and if you look hard enough you may be able to catch a glimpse of Long Island across the Long Island Sound.

This picture doesn't do it justice but this is the view
 

Friday we ventured over to Guilford, a short twenty minute drive east. Many of the towns in this area were settled in the 1600's and this specific town is known for it's history. We toured the home of Henry Whitfield, a pastor who came and settled along with some other Puritans in the early 1600s. We were slightly confused whether it is the oldest home in Connecticut or the oldest STONE home in Connecticut because we saw both claimed. The museum had some old furniture and miscellaneous household items in it but lost some of its charm in the1930s. The guide told us that in the 30's the thought was to make the old historic places look as comfortable as possible to almost rewrite history, thus losing the history, as is what happened here.  Saturday we got to go grocery shopping. Through Yale Divinity school we heard of a local meat market. We made our way over there and it was surely an experience. I felt like I was in New York City (I guess we really aren't so far) and it was pretty busy but we found good, safe chicken on the weekly special (1.79/lb!!!) and some Italian sausage. Sunday we went to a local church and will try another next week. It is exciting to look forward to plugging into a church. The last couple of days have been pretty calm around the Harris apartment. Joshua continues to study and I am working on a knitting project, and have experimented with baking French bread and bagels. Don't worry, quilting will begin shortly :). Joshua is feeling sick today and some thunderstorms are coming in tomorrow. We like to spend our evenings on a little walk around the quad (what students call the Divinity school), playing Frisbee (which was actually invented here at Yale), reading and blogging. There is an observatory just past the Div school which allows the public to use the telescopes on Tuesday nights that are clear so we are looking forward to going there at some point. Still no word on jobs but we are hopeful. Joshua has orientation next week and I am signed up as well and get to go with him. We would love your continued prayers as we are still transitioning. If you have any questions or anything else just comment on the post! Love you guys!

Joshua and Alissa
Answer: cotton gin- There are a lot of things Eli Whitney right around here and his home is just a few miles away

The First Week

We have officially completed one week here in New Haven and are continuing to learn more each day. My parents and two sisters got to come out this weekend and help us get some more furniture. The apartment has come a long way in such a short time. This weekend we had the opportunity to walk down to "old campus" (a little over a mile) and explore. Yale is very unique in the fact that they randomly assign students to one of 12 colleges. Each college has a dorm, cafeteria, library and many other amenities. I heard today that one of the colleges has a three story suite with a dance hall. The requirement of living in the suite is to host a dance party once a semester. We got to see where Chi Alpha meetings will be held this semester. Dwight Hall was the original library of Yale and is now used for small group meetings and a capella groups mostly. Although we will meet in another room of this building I wanted to post a picture of the chapel because it is quite beautiful.


Dwight Chapel

We got to go into Beinecke Library. It is focused on rare books and manuscripts. All the books are kept within sealed glass walls and controlled closely for temperature and humidity. The walls are made of marble which is supposed to prevent harmful UV rays from coming through. A Gutenberg Bible is there as well as some of Emily Dickinson's original, handwritten poems.
Yesterday we got our car fixed for free because it was recalled! yay! Monday we were very blessed to have access to a furnished apartment to take whatever we wanted. We got some end tables, a knife set, dresser, lamps and much more. God has been providing wherever the need has arisen. We are both still looking for jobs. I am waiting to officially hear. We would appreciate your continued prayers. We are beginning to feel like our apartment is home and enjoy coming back after busy days and relaxing. Our cooking skills are improving each day and right now we have our laundry hang drying in our bedroom. We are looking forward to classes and jobs starting soon. God is good! I added some pictures below so you can get a feel of what it is like here!

Joshua and Alissa





Our bedroom with some furniture in it and a real bed!

our new living room



 Joshua studying at the Divinity school library.

Settling In

Yay! We officially made it to New Haven. The drive was filled with construction, pretty empty roads and much anticipation. We landed at the house of the Yale CHI ALPHA (an assemblies of God college outreach program) leaders. We are so grateful to them for their generosity, warmness, friendship, meals and air mattress!
My interview at Christian Heritage School went well and we will see what happens. I learned that it will be a part time position so I am still looking for extra work. We would appreciate your prayers in this regard.
After some confusion with the move in date for our apartment, we got the keys the morning after we arrived.  Moving into an apartment with only duffel bags and camping chairs isn't hard but you can imagine what our apartment looks like. Through the help of the Target, Kohls, the Chi Alpha leaders and the Goodwill outlet store ( we got a 99 cent kitchen table, rocking chair and end table from here) we are slowly making our apartment like a home!

The living room of our apartment complete with camping chairs as we eat breakfast. Joshua is hard at work studying.

We have been so busy getting everything set up here and going from office to office to be able to explore much of Yale besides the Divinity school. The campus itself is really what the city of New Haven is centered around. It is old and beautiful. We look forward to exploring the libraries, buildings and underground tunnels.
During our first few days here we have managed to get honked at probably 10 times. We have heard the stoplights described here as guidelines as people feel free to continues through an intersection even if the light has been red for 3 seconds. Overall, it has been a great week and we have learned a lot. We look forward to the rest of our time here.

Joshua andAlissa

Off We Go!

Tomorrow begins our journey to Yale and the New Haven area. Joshua and I will be leaving early in the morning to make the 10 hour trek. We are excited and anxious at the same time, knowing good things are in store. We aim to keep family and friends updated through this blog and hope you enjoy reading. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we begin a new season of life.  Joshua and Alissa

Climbing Mt. Baldy July 2014