It was the end of "Welcome Weekend".
Everone was on campus and classes had just started.
As part of the school year beginning everyone had a hall meeting.
Sitting there listening to the does and don'ts was as boring as youd expect.
As the half and hour meeting came to an end you could sense anticipation in the air.
From the freshmen it was anticipation to get back to studying or hanging out.
For the upper class men it was for Initiation.
"All right. so i think thats it then... its time" not the closing remarks for a meeting we expected.
after five seconds of silence and glances all around the hall all the upper class men jumped up and began letting out deep bellowing yells. it reminded me of a battle yell, the kind that between even the small number of men on our floor never seems to die down from that testosterone filled hum.
we were told to go and get a shirt and to bring nothing else. the freshmen were all hurried to their rooms by yells and shoving then quickly moved down the stairs. taken outside into the cool nite and lined up agains the back of the building.
"Hands against the wall!" we were commanded militantly. Then our extra shirts were taken and tied around our heads as blind folds. at any one time you were being commanded and yelled at by at least 3 different upperclas men so the best thing to do was to just stay with your hands against the wall. we were then all taken by the arms and run all around campus. Blind folded of course.
We were told we were out side of Girls dorms and then they made us sing im a little tea pot or twinkle twinkle little star in our highest voice possible. periodically we would be interupted and told to do push ups. This seemed more like boot camp than a Christian College.
after 15 min of running around blind folded doing rediculous things we were lead into the woods. you could feel the mulch of a path under your feet and the leaves of trees periodically brushing your arms or face. The one thought on my mind was... why the woods... nothing is back there except... the lake.
You knew we were all together because you could hear all the others around you. once we were assembled in a clearing we were all made to run in what fealt like a circle. someone grabbed my shoulder and escorted me away from the circle after about 3 min. i could hear 3 or four people around me but i could also hear that we were headed farther and farther from the group.
"ok now careful.. step up." the wood undr my feet. . could it be the dock?... would they relly do that. "ok .. ok.. step foreward carefully." i could sense mor people here. "now theres a chair behind you. sit down slowly" when i sat the chair was not sitting flat. i could feel two people behind me already holding the chiair. There was anothe person by my left leg.. he grabbed the chair. you could sence that they were getting their grip to lift the chair. my only question was to where. was it just to be lifted and carried around or lifted and then dumped with me into the cold lake. "put your legs out straight... tighten your abs. good legs straight!"i was directed..the man who had been guiding me set his hand under the right leg of the chair and then the question i was waiting for " do you have anyting electronic with you?"
before I could answere they began count down ... One! Two! THREE!!!
in that instant they ripped of my blind fold and...
before me sat an upperclass man who took gentle hold of my foot and dipped it into a bowl of warm water. another man began to read
"Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."
My breath was taken away.. they washed my feet and as soon as this simple, beautiful, servant action was done. there was a line of men ready to embrace me and say "welcome to Foso".
