Anna Branca and the Flat Tire Adventure

My friend Ann White, aka Anna Branca drove all the way from Oklahoma City, OK to Abilene, TX on Saturday to see me. In total she was here for about 24 hours before she drove back. Ann and I met in Brazil last summer. She is a pretty great person and I was super pumped to get to hang out with her even though it was brief. Something I have learned about Ann is that adventure follows her wherever she goes, whether in Japan, Brazil or here at home in the US. Ann and I went for a little drive around Abilene on Saturday after lunch. We had gone to Wal-Mart and then she had the goal of finding the Abilene mall. We never did find the Abilene mall but we did get a little bit lost. It was quite a humorous situation and as much as she says that she has a great sense of direction I am a little sceptical. Eventually we gave up on the mall and came back to campus. As we got out of the car there was a telltale hissing sound coming from the rear driver's side tire. This was Ann's reaction...
In a matter of ten minutes or less the hissing had stopped and the tire was completely flat. I was very surprised by the fact that Ann didn't know if she had a spare tire or not. Luckily there was a donut in her trunk as well as a jack. The problem was that the jack was not the original one that came with the car and so the tire iron, which was the original would not work to lift the jack. This left us in a slight predicament...

As we were standing there discussing what we were going to do a very kind gentleman on a bicycle stopped to ask if we needed assistance. This was where my self-sufficient, independent self was really wishing that I had what I needed to be able to do it myself. I don't like looking like a helpless woman, I know how to change a tire. Anyway, this kind man, who I cannot remember his name went on a mission to find something that would work with our jack to give enough leverage to lift the car. While he was on his mission a couple pulled up in their truck and offered to help. Her name was Pamela and I think his name was Craig or Chris...I can't remember but I know it started with a hard "C" sound. As soon as I saw their truck I was happy because it had a big toolbox in the back. Sure enough Craig or Chris pulled out a big screwdriver which worked well with the jack that we had. Our friend on the bike came back with a crowbar which wouldn't have worked anyway but we were thankful for his attempt to help us. In the end, with the help of some strangers we got the donut on at the cost of a couple of dirty hands...

We went back to Wal-Mart and in a matter of 20 minutes the car, which has a nickname but for the life of me I can't remember it, was sporting a nice new tire. It was a slightly frustrating situation but we made some great memories and laughed a lot in the process! :)

Sunday morning, after very little sleep the night before, Ann and I went to worship at the Highland Church of Christ. I was hoping to run into some people who had been to Brazil. Highland sends campaign groups almost every other year to Itu and I had been around for two of those different groups. I did run into a few people which was nice. I saw Mitsi Adams, Ryder Jensen, Clay Stansell, and Jordan Lott. Most of them had the same reaction as Reid did, "What is this misplaced Canadian doing in Abilene??" After Bible class I ran into someone that I never would have placed in Abilene. Chris Johnston, who I went to high school with in Dauphin, is living and working in Abilene, go figure!

After Ann and I had lunch we took a stroll around campus. Ann wanted to show me a sculpture that is relatively new to ACU's campus. ACU commissioned Jack Maxwell to create the sculpture Jacob's Dream for the ACU campus in honour of the philanthropy of the late Grace L. Woodward and her family. The sculpture weighs more than 7,000 pounds and stands over 30 feet tall. It is a metal rendering of the biblical story often referred to as "Jacob's Ladder". The sculpture, which consists of four bronze angels, engraved scriptures, and a small baptismal pool, is seen in this picture with the Bible Building in the background. I'm not sure how much time we spent walking in and around the sculpture but with each turn I discovered more elaborate details. It is a fantastic and inspirational piece of art.

It seems like the Jacob's Dream sculpture is a prime place for a photo shoot. There was a very kind man taking pictures of his pretty little grand-baby and he took a moment to take a picture of Anna Branca and I for us. Aren't we cute? :)