Our visit to Liberty University

In mid November we took a weekend and traveled to Liberty University for their "College for a Weekend" (CFAW) program. Krypto had already been accepted but we wanted to be on the campus for more than just a 2 hour tour (like we did when we were back in the US in 2017) to see if this really was the school for him (and hopefully for Gwangi and Sissi as well). By the end of the weekend, they were all sure, Liberty is where they want to go to school, and we're thrilled that they all want to attend school together and support each other while we're back and living in Kyrgyzstan.

We definitely enjoyed our time in the gift shop...we didn't buy much gear because we were still trying to figure out if this was "the place". Next time though, we'll purchase all the merchandise.

We spent most of Thursday with the ROTC detachment. They were amazing and very welcoming. Kyrpto was able to attend two classes and the Leadership Lab, meeting many of the students, including the Cadet Wing Commander. He's pretty sure he'll join ROTC, at this point he's just waiting to hear back about whether or not they'll provide a scholarship for him to attend school. That would be such a blessing!

Sitting in the Leadership Lab.

I think they told us they have 120 students in ROTC at Liberty University. It was a much larger group than we expected.

We took a quick walk over to the History Department and chatted with them for a few minutes. We didn't get to meet everyone during the time they had a table out in the hallway as that overlapped with the Honors Department meeting and so we prioritized going there...and we're glad we did, we jumped on the Honors application process, once he was sure he wanted to join the program, and we found out he was accepted in mid December. 

Krypto is pretty sure he wants to major in History and minor in Creative Writing and continue writing novels as an adult, possibly teaching as well.

Dinner out with our friends, Madison and Kylee Welton at a local Mexican restaurant.

We spent lots of time walking around campus with them, hearing their stories and experiences and getting the full CFAW experience even though the kids couldn't stay in the dorms due to COVID.

A visit to the Scriptorium to see Bibles from as long ago as the 1500 and 1600's.

Up to the top of the tower to look out over the campus and the city of Lynchburg, VA.

Two super cute girls...not getting near the edge. I think this was a replay from our trip up the Eiffel Tower together back in December of '18.

We got to meet up with another friend...from all the way back in our MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) days at Cornerstone Assembly up in Bowie, MD.

Walking around the library and finding all the good study spots.

Convocation was held virtually, in large classrooms all over campus.

We got to see Lee Strobel being interviewed and that was super cool.

I think by this point in the weekend he was pretty well convinced about attending and so we took the requisite picture of him in front of the LU sign in center campus.

We got to try out skiing at the Snowflex facilities!

The lodge there is decorated in a warm and comfy kind of way.

Doing the LU sign with our hands...and having so much fun with our friends.

Going up the moving walkway to also try out the snow tubing.

Another place we checked out was down by the lake/river area where they had a bonfire. We were a bit late because we had spent some time with our friends over dinner, and most everyone was already leaving by the time we arrived, but we still got to see the location and we'll be back again.

The next morning we did a hike with a group of students and parents up the hill that has the LU monogram on it...it reminded me of Colorado School of Mines. I went to CU Boulder, but had lots of friends at Mines (we had a cross town agreement with their ROTC detachment) and I remember many a night with the lit up school monogram on the hill in Golden, CO.

By this point we had bought a few things to represent!

Marching band...sigh...I remember my marching band days! Loved them!

Doing all the dorm tours! Krypto has already done his dorm selection and he'll be in Commons 2, on the 2nd floor, with the rest of the Honors students.

The food selections at Liberty were great. Now, I hear they ramp things up a bit during CFAW, but even still, they have some great food there!

We love these kids! So thrilled we could visit.

Meeting up with another TCK (Third Culture Kid) friend from Turkey! I cannot wait for our kids to be at Liberty and spending time with so many of their "people".

Gotta love the blue jello cups!

Ahhh, leaving campus on a game day, and we see a storm trooper. It's always good to know that even in college the kids like to dress up and Star Wars is always a hit.