Posts Tagged ‘Kaleo’

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APU Dictionary

Megan Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Alpha: A group you will be placed in the day you move in that includes a sophomore (sometimes a junior) alpha leader and about 8-12 other freshmen. You will all be in the same beginnings class (its a 350 person class that usually just has people speak about current issues) and you will meet one other time during the week to get to know each other and have fun. Its a great way to meet people and as awkward as it may feel as first everyone really does end up loving the program.

Biola: ……..

Communiversity: Community + Diversity, a program that plans events and makes the school fun (simply said).

Cookie Mill: One of our popular off-campus food options. They have amazing ice cream sandwiches with your choice of ice cream and cookies for cheap. It is right by the Mods (next to Stater Brothers), so it is in easy walking distance.

Crazy 8: A team of 8 extremely school spirited students that hype up the crowd and the athletes at sporting events.

Donut Man: A donut shop down the street (a car ride away, not really walk-able distance) that has the GREATEST donuts on the planet. It is basically legendary here at APU. Its open 24/7 and usually anytime you go there you will see other APU students.

D-Group “Discipleship Group:” A group that you can choose to be placed in that meets one time per week for 1-2 hours and talks about life. Some have Bible studies, some just hang out, some read a book together, it all depends on the group. Usually its 4-6ish people and they always have an upperclassman as a leader. It’s always same-sex groups. I am in one currently (I just started it this semester) and it is an amazing way to feel connected to the community here and feel as if you always have people to go to if you need anything. I always look forward to hanging out with my girls.

“Freddy” Cougar: The lovely school mascot!

GYRAD: “Get your roommate a date.” Self explanatory?

High Sierra: A “study abroad” opportunity in Yosemite for all majors that is mainly done by freshmen and sophomores (but juniors still do it sometimes!). It creates a very tight knit family and provides so many opportunities to do anything and everything in nature you could ever desire! I have many friends that have done it or are there now and they ALL claim it to be one of the greatest experiences of their lives.

Intermurals: Sports teams set up by us students! Currently, a lot of the girls on my hall are on a soccer team together and they love it.

Kaleo: A Wednesday night option for Chapel that is LOVED on this campus. It is a more intimate setting, less people, and the sermons usually relate and build off each other. I would highly recommend going when you start attending APU because if not when you do end up going to Kaleo you will wish you went from the very beginning (my roommate made that mistake haha).

Liturgical: Another Chapel option some Thursday nights that provides a service similar to Mass (lots of hymns) where it is very personal. I have never been, but many of my friends go and LOVE it.

Mods: A (mainly) sophomore living area that looks like little houses all around the area behind Trinity and Engstrom and the Baseball field.

My Tie: Often done in Freshmen living areas, all the guys will put a tie in a hat and the girls will pick one. Whatever tie you pick is your date for the night.

Resident Advisor: An upperclassman that lives on each hall (and mod or apartment complex) and regulates all their residents and plans events to bond the living communities. They also have a roommate (the RAR, Resident Advisor Roommate).

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The Providence of God

K.C. Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

What a beautiful fall day! It’s days like these that I am amazed at God’s providence. Truly, He knows our every need before we know it ourselves. I would like to share something that happened to me at chapel a few weeks ago — a story of God’s providence — and I hope that this inspires others to pick themselves up and be a part of life even when they don’t feel like it. Two Wednesdays ago, I was feeling down and didn’t feel like going to Kaleo. I know that when I feel this way, though, and I end up going, I am always blessed. In my mind, I rationalized this as well as the fact that I had to go for chapel credit, and trudged up the stairs. After I walked in, I realized I’d forgotten something and went back to my apartment. I wrestled with already being home, but remembered what I’d told myself earlier about being blessed and having to go, and picked myself up and walked back over. I was met with closed doors and empty handed chapel greeters — they were out of cards. I went to the other door to inquire as to what I was supposed to do when I was at chapel on time and it was already full, and before I could ask my question, the greeter recognized me and waved towards the stairs — he remembered me leaving a few minutes earlier. Up the stairs, I found that there was one chapel card left! Once inside, there was not a seat to be found, and I sat on the floor by the door. During worship, Woody asked that we pause for a moment and pray to God, letting Him know where we were at at that very moment. Well, for me, at that very moment, I was feeling tired, stressed, worrisome, and dejected. I poured all of this and more out to him, and prayed a very specific prayer, unsure that it would be answered the way I would have liked but rationalizing that at least I had expressed it to Him. At the end of the service, the girl sitting next to me asked if I had a couple of minutes to talk. My heart started pounding — was this the answer to prayer I had asked for? We stood near the door where we had been sitting, and she expressed to me what was an exact answer to my prayer. I was in awe. Had I sought my own way, had I not gone to chapel, I would not have experienced this very moment. God’s providence in that moment was amazing. His love is an agape love — unconditional and everlasting. He knows our needs before we think them. There is a verse that I’ve always held very dear that I’d like to share with you — the verse is Jeremiah 29:11, and it reads like this: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” May we be reminded of His love, mercy and grace in every leaf’s turning, every fall breeze, and every beautiful sunset.

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The One Where I Talk About God’s Presence

Hannah Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

This week has been pretty consistent with the norm for a week at APU. The chapels have been great. The classes have been challenging yet very interesting. The weather’s been totally unpredictable. We go from scorching hot to raining and cold in less than a week. It’s actually pretty exciting, I never know what I’ll wake up to. I had another test in anatomy. I went to Kaleo tonight (the Wednesday night chapel). I spent some quality time laughing with my roommates this morning over facility management’s entertainment/possible annoyance with the completely avoidable flood in our bathroom.

In all the norm however, God has put a few things on my heart this week that I would love to share. One thing about APU that I personally don’t believe you could find anywhere else are people who truly brighten your day every time you cross paths. When I was first touring the school before I came here, I immediately noticed something different about APU’s campus. People smile at you and say hello when you walk by, and open doors for you. This is a different kind of Christian university, there’s something so special about it.

My family goes to a Christian camp on Catalina Island every summer called Campus by the Sea (aka CBS). This is where I could say I first began having an interest in attending Azusa Pacific. The summer before my senior year in high school, one of my long time girl friends was talking about possibly going to APU for college. I would say that the kind of people who run and go to CBS are role models for me in my aspiration to be the best Christian girl I can. This may seem irrelevant to what I was saying about APU being a special place, however, it was kind of the deciding factor for me choosing to come here for college. I absolutely love going to CBS every summer for one reason. You can truly feel God’s presence there. When I stepped foot on APU’s campus as a little tour student, this same feeling of God’s presence washed over me with an intensity I never could have imagined.

His presence on this campus is ever more and more obvious to me every day. It pours from the Upper Turner Campus Center and Felix Event Center during chapels. It’s ever present in the classrooms. But most significantly, I experience God’s presence and love every single day in the students and faculty.

I was having lunch with three of my friends on Tuesday afternoon. I don’t know why this day stuck out so much for me as being one where I knew God was present. Danielle is probably one of the most caring and selfless people I have ever met. She is there for me every single time I’m feeling down, or just need to talk. Mitch is such a huge support. He pushes me to do my best, and walks alongside me in pursuing my faith and life goals. Jeffrey is just such a joy. His bubbly personality and overflowing happiness with life is contagious to everyone around him. As we talked, I felt so much love and care just overflowing from each of their hearts. I had been having a fairly stressful day, and my lunch with them put me at complete peace. These are the Christians I want to be like. I thank God every day for calling me to a school where its normal to have friends like these. I don’t think you can find these kind of people or these kind of Christ-centered friendships everywhere. APU is a God filled school. I hope you have the chance to experience the environment I have the privilege of living in every day.

Some of my good friends :)

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7 Deadly Sins

Staphon Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Sophomore year, during Kaleo, Woody, our Campus Pastor, did a series on the seven deadly sins. He would cover a sin every week and he made them so real, I started to realize that we all commit the sins almost daily, but in very low scale. I started to reflect on how I could possibly commit each sin everyday and did a little project of my own, completely on the side (this was before I declared my Graphic Design major) and it came out very cool. Woody showed it in the reflection Kaleo service, but I was in Tennessee for Indoor Nationals and didn’t get to see everyones reaction to it. But here it is…

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Lack of Color, Gain of Knowledge

Kelsey Bjugstad Thursday, October 8th, 2009

I’m having an issue with videos uploading on every site except for Facebook. Which seems really strange because around here its usually Facebook that isn’t working. (Facebook + College students all on one network = Refreshing 20 times before loading the homepage) I tried the last few days but I didn’t want to keep on waiting for the videos to post this blog.

I think I possibly figured out the problem… so be excited for some cool videos in the next blog! :)

I got back from Kaleo not too long ago and it was amazing as usual! I know I’ve talked about this before but Kaleo (the Wednesday night chapel) really is one of my favorite things here at APU. Woody, one of the campus pastors) talked about Daniel chapter 5 and I won’t try to explain it all but overall the message was how things became idols for us, especially as college students with all this new freedom of choice. I think the part I loved the most is that I’ve heard the ‘you shouldn’t have idols’ sermon so many times but every time Kaleo comes around I learn something new and relevant to my life.

The same concept is true in my Exodus/Deuteronomy class. I heard that Exo/Deut was a really interesting course but then I realized it was studying Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This might sound really interesting to you, but for me, I’ve always kind of prefered the New Testament. I didn’t randomly pick up my Bible and decide I was just going to read Exodus and Leviticus. (Awesome if you do though!) I’ve always heard “there is something new you can get out a Bible story each time you read it” and I really thought I understood that. But now I’m reading things in Genesis that I’ve never really read enough to understand before, even though I’ve read the entire book of Genesis. I think I’ve relied too much on felt-board versions of Bible stories than really reading the text for what it says.

I’m sorry that I don’t have any colorful pictures or videos this blog but be ready for my next one!

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Week In The Life Of A Freshman

Kelsey Bjugstad Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

So this blog is a few days late, but the bonus of it being late is that you get it with pictures and an example of a normal week in my life. My week has been pretty random, so here are my awesome APU highlights! :)

Sunday: We went to a beach bonfire with our brother hall.  We celebrated their RA’s (see note below) birthday with hotdogs and cake. It was fun, but I was definitely tired. Note to self: Get more sleep before going somewhere. Actually, getting more sleep in general would be a pretty good idea.

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

Huntingtons Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Huntington's Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Monday: My Mondays feel generally pretty crazy. I have three classes on Mondays, which isn’t too bad, but one of them is 3 hours long and chapel starts at 9:30.  Something interesting probably happened, but I apparently can’t think back a week :) I’m sure there was homework involved. Oh, and this is the day I locked myself out of my room so I studied in our Study Room until Rachel (my roommate) got home.  (By the way, RA’s can unlock the doors for you, but it costs $5) I love the Study Room.

Tuesday: The Freshman had a “Street Meets” which was called a Lumberjack Dance. I don’t really know what the point of the whole thing was, but it was similar to a hoedown with plaid/checkered flannel. The highlight for me was when the RA’s from each dorm performed group dances. I wish I had would have been able to video it! Engstrom was the most amusing, but the Trinity RA’s had the most skill.  I wasn’t able to stay at the dance long though because I had a test the next morning as well as an Alpha meeting. We had our Alpha meeting at 10:30pm after getting coffee at the Cornerstone Cafe because it is the only time that fits our whole group’s schedule. Alphas group are a required once a week meeting with a random group of people from the Beginnings class, lead by an sophomore who volunteered to be an Alpha leader.  It was a very informal meeting and we just had a lot of fun sharing stories and eating delicious Pizookie (an ice cream and cookie dessert) that our Alpha leader Jen made for us.

TIffanys view from the dance

TIffany's view from the dance

Wednesday: Wednesday morning I thought I was going to have my first APU test. My teacher told us to study two chapters in our book. After staying up until 3:00am, studying the two chapters and one wrong one, I felt pretty prepared. Unfortunately, I was a bit over prepared.  My professor’s version of a ‘test on the chapters’ ended up being essentially a 15-question quiz worth 5 points. Needless to say, I realized I should ask for more information on ‘tests’ before studying in that class.

My hall had Family Dinner together! Family dinner consisted of as many 3N Girls going to the Caf together and fitting into one long table. The Caf was reasonable full when we got there at 6:30 and finding a table for 20+ girls was difficult.  The only tables available near each other were in a huge corner that made it hard for anyone to move around. A few of the girls resorted to climbing under the table so they could get more food. It was pretty funny and possibly a bit gross, but we were all able to eat as a ‘family’ (and that’s what counts :)  Every Wednesday Night we have Kaleo, which is my favorite chapel service.

Almost all of the 3N Girls

Almost all of the 3N Girls

I love Kaleo with all of my heart.  The services have been getting so crowed that people have started to line up as early as 8:15 to be sure they get in for the service at 9:00. We are going over the book of Daniel in a way that it is applied to our lives directly connecting to scripture.  Instead of going story by story, we are taking a chapter or two at a time and digging into it while making it personal. I’m sure I’m doing a terrible job at explaining it, but I promise, Kaleo really is awesome.

Thursday: I’m pretty sure something exciting in our hall on Thursday but again, the days seem to blur a bit.

Friday: Friday was a really exciting day for me! I had my normal classes that were great, but the highlight of the day was seeing my friend Lainey. I haven’t really been able to see anyone I know closely for a month and I was so happy to see her face! She goes to a different school about 45 minutes away, but neither of us have cars which makes it difficult to hang out.  Lainey and I have been best friends since 4th grade but she moved to Illinois in 8th grade. Seeing her was definitely a blessing.

My mom made me promise wed take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth instead :)

Promised my mom we'd take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth in my dorm instead :)

Saturday: I went to the football game vs. the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It was fun to cheer them on and even more fun when they won 23-7. There were some awesome fumble returns and an amazing field goal!

Libbys view of the APU football game

Libby's view of the APU football game

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Sunday: On Sunday I pretty much slept all day. I’ve never been able to go to bed early and college definitely didn’t change that habit. I use my weekends to make up for the 5/6 hours of sleep I get during the week. I basically spent all day in bed but I attempted to do homework too. I wrote my speech for Public Communications and almost started this blog :). I took a break of doing nothing to go celebrate my hall-neighbor’s birthday at Tutti Fruity, a local frozen yogurt place that is not only delicious but also gives APU students 15% off!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Monday: My Monday was a crazy day again which is why this blog didn’t get posted this morning.  I love my Exodus/Deuteronomy class but it sometimes causes a brain overload. The hardest part of the day was Public Comm because I was second to give my ‘Story Speech.’

My speech was a fairytale story I made up for the girls I nannied for this summer. I’m not a huge fan of public speaking even though I talk too much. The formality too it is a bit daunting for me and I was definitely nervous.

After Speech I saw a friend from my Into to Communications class and had a fun time hanging out in her hall. Unfortunately when I got back to 3rd North after 10pm I realized I had a quiz in my Health and Wellness class. A neighbor of mine has that class too so we attempted to study in the hall kitchen but we were very easily distracted by pretty much everything and anything. During our ‘study breaks’, which there were more of then actual studying, I started this blog. By the time I got to bed I realized like I hadn’t learned very much, my blog wasn’t finished or proof-read, and I had to be up at 7:45 for my Walk/Jog/Run class.

Tue: When I woke up, the day wasn’t looking too promising. I was tired and was worried about my quizzes. Thankfully, my Health and Wellness test was very easy for me and since we could leave as soon as we were done, I had time to eat and study a little bit more for my Into to Lit quiz. Now I plan on either watching something on Hulu or taking a nap before starting homework. Good day :)

Feel free to add comments or ask any questions!

-Kelsey

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us

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