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A Beautiful But Brief Beach Trip

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Author: Katelyn Wissinger| Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2025-26

This past Sunday, we traveled to Sunset Beach, NC, for a relaxing afternoon and a welcome reprieve from the past week. While a trip to the beach is quite dependent on the weather, and ours was cut short because of the unwelcome rain, we enjoyed it nonetheless and got our fair share of the sun.

Around 8 am, we packed up the vans and headed off on the road, full of anticipation for what lay ahead. At about 12.30 am, we arrived at the beach, and thankfully, there was little trouble in finding a close parking space that made our walk to the sand a whole lot shorter. Once on the beach, students and faculty set about putting up the gazebos and setting up the camping chairs. Scarcely were we there for more than a few minutes before students eagerly dashed towards the beckoning blue expanse in front of them. Others, a little famished, stayed back and dived into the prepared pasta salad bowls for lunch. The sun was at its full height as it shone strongly on all the beachgoers. Some of the students took the opportunity to rest under the gazebos on the warm sands, but most eventually made it into the waves and enjoyed rolling and jumping into them. As expected, some got to experience the taste of the delightfully briny water a little too much. As the afternoon rolled on, the ominous grey clouds in the distance and the echoes of thunder drew closer and closer. Students and faculty prepared themselves, repacking our belongings as we closely watched the droplets of precipitation getting ever closer. The downpour eventually hit our location, and we all made a mad dash for the vans. 

While the beach trip may have been cut short due to the gloomy weather, the time we did enjoy on the coast made memories and allowed us to appreciate God’s creation. For some, it was their first time they were able to go so far out into the water to jump waves, and for others, it reminded them why the beach is such a beautiful place.

Why A Life Roles Class?

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Author: Katelyn Wissinger| Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2025-26

At Living Education, one of the courses we take is Life Roles. When we look at the world around us, there is so much confusion about what it means to be a man or a woman, or even about the differences between them. Mr. McNair addressed this in the introduction to the class.

To provide context for the reason for the course, Mr. McNair examined both masculinity and femininity. The world sees men as toxic, useless, and irrelevant. It sees women as oppressed and in the bonds of patriarchy. Yet God’s word challenges us to view men and women differently and to accept that they have complimentary – roles and responsibilities – a fact society around us wants to ignore. Godly masculinity is defined by the characteristics described as relating to a man in the Bible – not society. And godly femininity is likewise defined by the characteristics described as associated with a woman in God’s word.

The men’s and women’s life roles classes this year will teach skills and provide knowledge so that we can fulfill the roles God has designed for us in life. I, for one, am excited for women’s life roles where we’ll learn things like how to provide a healthy and nutritious diet for ourselves and our family, how to beautify and improve our life and life for those around us, how to care for ourselves, our husband and our family, and how to serve our church and our community. A number of ladies from the Charlotte congregation provide expertise in a wide range of topics, bringing their knowledge and experience to bear – and also building bonds of friendship with our Living Education women.

JAARS & Alphabet Museum Tour

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BMW Tour

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Winter Retreat

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Author: Katelyn Wissinger| Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2025-26

Over our winter break, we took a trip into the North Carolina mountains for a relaxing retreat before getting back to the books again. Despite the chilling temperatures outside, we students had the opportunity to go snow tubing and hiking through the winter scenery. When it was time to warm up, the students huddled around inside to play games, make candy, and catch up with each other. This winter retreat allowed us to make memories and build stronger bonds that will last far longer than just the couple of days of the trip.

Sunday

On Sunday afternoon, we set out for the three-hour drive into the North Carolina mountains to the rental house we would stay in for the next few days. The home was surrounded by a pine farm and sat high in the landscape, allowing us to fully appreciate the beautiful sunset. On the night of arrival, all of us students and the faculty members assembled around a long table for a group meal of taco salad. A major highlight of the night was a game of spoons that most students engaged in, eagerly on edge for that one remaining spoon.

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Monday

On Monday, we woke up to a continental-style breakfast prepared by some of the LE ladies who provided us with the nourishment we needed to go snow tubing in the chilly weather. Despite the long lines, the students enjoyed numerous rides down the slippery slopes, letting out whoops and hollers with the thrill of quickly sliding down the slope. After finishing snow tubing, we returned to the warmth of the house. The afternoon hours were spent relaxing and playing card games. Later in the evening, Mr. McNair announced to us that we would be in for a sticky surprise. Led by the 2nd year students, we were divided into teams to make the best-tasting honey taffy. We all found ourselves in sticky situations, but the result more than made up for it.

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Tuesday

On the final full day of the retreat, we traveled to Grandfather Mountain. While the fog hindered our views as we wound our way up the mountain, the Grandfather Mountain Park team provided us with an audio-guided tour in our vehicles that reviewed its history. Along the route, we stopped at the nature discovery center, where we viewed a short film on all the mountain offers its visitors. The fog parted on the way back down the mountain, and we got a much clearer view of the surrounding landscape. Back at the house that night, we all settled in for games of Bible-themed jeopardy, which made us realize how difficult it can be to come up with answers when put on the spot. The night’s activity reminded us of how much we have to learn yet and the usefulness of our classes in the coming semester.

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Reflection

This winter retreat provided our students with valuable memories that will last with us longer than the trip itself. While we may have been frozen on the outside by the crisp weather, our hearts were warmed by the stronger bonds we built between each other. Now it’s time to jump into the new semester!

Singles Movie Night

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Author: Katelyn Wissinger | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2024

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This past Saturday evening, the Living Education students helped coordinate a movie night for the singles in the Charlotte congregation. In the week leading up to the movie night, the LivingEd women’s and men’s RA tirelessly worked on the logistics, decorations, and snacks. The women had a blast digging out old decorations from the ladies’ dorm garage where they found signs and twinkle lights. The day before the movie night arrived; one student was making popcorn drizzled in sweet white chocolate. They tasted scrumptious! On Saturday night all of the students arrived at the meeting hall at our Headquarters facility to set up the chairs and tables for snacks. The kitchen was a hive of activity with popcorn and drinks hurriedly being made as well as the snacks being opened. The women enjoyed setting up the decorations and displaying the food for the movie night and a warm cozy atmosphere filled the meeting room. Once everyone had arrived, they settled into chairs or found a comfortable spot on the floor eager for the movie to begin. With the lights dimmed, the action started and everyone locked into the beautiful “Sound of Music!”

Fast and Furious

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This past Sunday, 15 students and five faculty members visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte. When it comes to North Carolina culture, NASCAR racing is definitely in the fast lane! During our visit, we viewed the exhibits, including a variety of winning race-cars, learned about the history of the sport and even had some good-hearted competition. 

Since most of group had little or no knowledge of auto racing, it was a surprise to learn that the origins of the sport dated back to the days of “running moonshine” in the Appalachian hills. Stock car racing took off in Daytona, Florida, in 1936, and that NASCAR was officially formed at the Streamline Hotel on Daytona Beach in 1948. Our group wandered around the displays, listening to the stories of famous drivers and learning about the development of the engines, car bodies, and the safety technology that has been a big part of the sport.

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When we found our way to the “pit stop” area, we were directed to form three-person teams and compete in head to head competition. In a side by side competition on two stock-car mock-ups, two teams were coached in the skill of jacking up the “half-car”, quick-changing the tire, and putting a replica gas nozzle into the car’s tank. With a “ready, set, go”, both teams raced to the mock cars, trying to clock the best time.

But the highlight of the day was the chance to drive a race-car simulator – experiencing what it is like behind the wheel in a race. Seated in replica cars decked with the necessary electronics, students and faculty had a blast competing for that sought-after trophy. Time and time again, we raced with the goal that we might come in first this time.

The drive home somehow felt sluggish after the high-pace racing, but we students were going back revamped and ready to take on the finals that appeared ever so daunting.

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Women’s Life Roles: Gardening

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