Dear Kristy,

Man, I was hoping you forgot about the OBU blogabout!! I remembered that today was the day for bloggers/OBU alumni to share about their Ouachita experience. The problem is I have too many incredible memories to nail down in my tiny brain and express through the keyboard. But hey, it’s worth the try now that you have gone and shared your stories!!!

I remember when Kevin Wieser, my youth minister in Hobbs, NM, suggested I visit Ouachita. I was a senior in high school unsure of where I wanted to go to college. I went to Baylor for their Preview Days and found myself overwhelmed. Then one night at church Kevin handed me a OBU yearbook and said I should consider this small Christian university. I remember giving a funny look at the annual when I realized the spelling of Ouachita. Not quite what I was expecting.

When I arrived at OBU for their Preview Day in April of 1989 it was also not what I was expecting. It was way more than I expected. Randy Garner picked me up from the airport. I had never been to Arkansas. I distinctly remember the drive to Arkadelphia on I-30 with all of the pine trees, a drive that became way too familiar. It was quite a contrast from the desert and tumbleweeds I called home.

Once we arrived at OBU I was greeted by several other ‘Kevin’s Kids’. Randy was smart in lining me up with other students (Cindy Shopmeyer, Shelley Anderson to name a few) who were part of Kevin’s youth ministry. He had warped us all so we all had a kinship with each other. Once I stepped on campus and experienced the magic of OBU land I was hooked. I signed on the dotted line and sent in my senior photo to the admissions office for them to staple on the bulletin board with all the other upcoming freshman. That was the beginning of special days of blessings for me at OBU.

The obvious blessing for me is that is where I met my husband. Without getting all melancholy and such I am truly blessed by God for giving me Jeff Noble. He is perfect for me, big lips and all. He was coined with big lips in college by his buddies. Funny, I like his big lips but I love his heart for the Lord more. We have been in ministry since we both left OBU many moons ago and it has been a journey, let me tell you. We have two rotten kids, Sam (13) and Adelyn (11), that are continual blessings. We have experienced mountain top ventures like church planting, BCM work,  and seeing God move in the lives of people. We have drudged through the valleys like church planting (smile), cancer, financial woes and the disappointment that sometimes comes when you open yourself up to investing in the lives of people. All in all, it has been unreal, incredible and I find myself in a place where I feel unworthy of it all.

Another blessing for me is the friendships I made there.  It was friends from all circles. My roommate (Melanie Cicero Jenkins), my suite mates (Lori Abbott Motl was one), my classmates, my professors (Dr. Wight), my pastor (Scott Duvall), my RAs (Shelly Ravencraft Mullins), my EEE sisters (ha! Kristy!) and even friends like you that didn’t even go to OBU when I was there. It is crazy and kind of freaky the bond that Ouachitonians have but that’s neither here nor there.

It was those friends while I was there that became my family. I was many miles from home when I found myself in Little Rock with the diagnosis of lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. Jeff and I were engaged to be married. He was living in Texas attending Southwestern Theological Seminary. My family was two states away in NM.

After finding out the diagnosis I realized that I would have radiation treatment in Little Rock at CARTI every weekday for nine and half weeks. I could have gone back home with my mom. I could have dropped out of my senior year of college. I could have felt all alone by the bleakness that sat in my lap. But I COULDN’T. I couldn’t because of the love and support that overflowed, especially in Arkadelphia, AR. I WAS scared, shaken by the C word but what better community than my Ouachita family to find myself in a battle against cancer. A family that offered prayers, help with school work and encouragement to hang in there. I had a different friend each day of the week take me 90 miles to Little Rock CARTI to spend thirty minutes of treatment. Everything became a daze by the end of it all in March 1992. I really didn’t think I was going to make it another day. My days were dark. How I got my school work completed to graduate in May 1992, I do not know. A miracle I witnessed first hand. I am confident it was because of the prayers of my family and friends, the support of my OBU family and the hand of God who had a plan called out for me.

Whoa! I know I say that a lot. I am truly humbled. Humbled by God and his blessings in my life. He knew what he was doing when He used Kevin Wieser to introduce me to a small, magical place in the pine woods of Arkansas. Ouachita-I sing your praises!!!

OBU Alumni 1992,

Carolyn

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