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持久的友谊
不用说，威尼斯人平台独特的社区使它与众不同。 对于许多学生来说，他们在圣约的友谊持续了很久。 For one group, their friendships began as being roommates and hall mates, and then continued in the classroom, in studying abroad, in their involvement with student clubs, and on road trips to visit each other’s families on weekends. Now it even includes their spouses and children.
At first, these friends were able to see one another on a semi-annual basis by attending each other's weddings. When there were no more weddings to attend, the idea of having a yearly reunion was born. For the past 20 years, they have been meeting annually, except for one or two years. 的y all look forward to this reunion, even the kids, as they too have made friends with one another.
与会员会面：
露丝（艾莉森）2002年 嫁给了 杰里米·考克斯03. 露丝是一名退休的助产士，她现在 在家教育他们的五个孩子。 She was brought into the group by Bekah who was a hall
mate that pursued friendship with her. 杰里米 是一个 在控制自动化领域工作的电气工程师。
杰米·斯克里布纳01届 嫁给了克里斯蒂娜（她在威尼斯人平台读了三个学期）。 的y live in Lexington, KY with their four children, where Jamin practices as a Nurse Practitioner and Christina as a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). 雅明是福音俱乐部的领袖，他们中有几个人是该俱乐部的成员。
乔伊（沃恩）斯旺森' 03 是一位语言病理学家，也是一位在家上学的母亲。 She met Christina at a L'Abri Conference before she arrived at Covenant, and became friends with Rebekah through the Chattanooga Children's Ministry. 乔伊嫁给了 埃里克·斯旺森02年。 Erik是宾夕法尼亚州纽约新生命PCA的牧师。
约翰·奥廷格02年 是凤梨湾古典学校的副校长。 He was friends with Erik and spent many Sunday afternoons at the home of Erik's parents, David and Covenant alumna Debbie (Wentling) Swanson '73. 约翰和瓦莱丽结婚了。
杰克班尼特 ' 02 是圣约长老会的执行牧师。 丽贝卡（Sotelo）， 03年 是一个呆在家里的妈妈。 Jake became friends with Erik when they rode home together for holiday breaks. Rebekah met and befriended 快乐Swanson at the Chattanooga Children’s club.
柯伦主教' 02 earned an MDiv from Covenant 的ological Seminary and a PhD in Historical 的ology from Concordia Seminary and is the planting pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Milford, CT. 他的妻子是 Abby (Hudson) ' 02。 艾比在西卡罗莱纳大学获得特殊教育硕士学位。 She homeschools their 4 children, and 是一个ctively involved in the life of the church plant and their local community. Abby was in the Missionary Kid Club with Ruth and 杰里米, and went to Highlands Pres Church with Jake, Curran, and Rebekah. Curran studied abroad in Israel with Erik.
杰西卡（兰姆）01 是一位全职妈妈，管理着出租物业。 She 嫁给了 BJ罗兰, who attended Covenant 的ological Seminary with Jake, Erik, and Curran . Jessica was roommates with 露丝考克斯.
克里斯·鲍尔斯02 是一个 宾夕法尼亚州诺森伯兰郡诺森伯兰郡基督教学校的高中教师。 He met most of the members in the group during freshman year, several of them were his hall-mates and the others were friends he spent time with outside of class.
四月（计数）Eckstein '03 是北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市博世力士乐公司的人力资源经理。 She and her husband, Josh, have a son, Jedidiah. She was roommates with Rebekah (Sotelo) Bennet her freshman year and attended Highlands Church with Curran and Jake.
Mike Vendsel， 2000年 他在德克萨斯州欧文市的伟大心灵学院教授人文文学。他的妻子是瑞秋。 他与贾明·斯克里布纳、克里斯·鲍尔斯和乔尔·斯旺森是堂友。
乔尔Swanson '01, graduated from Covenant and Georgia Tech in 2003, and after 12 years as a civil engineer in Chattanooga, became an MTW missionary, first in Ukraine, and now in France. 他和妻子斯蒂芬妮一起在法国巴黎服务。 After starting Covenant with a couple common classes with Jamin, he got to know John and Jessica through common church-life at First Pres in Fort Oglethorpe, which included many Sunday afternoons shared at his parents' home. 他是克里斯·鲍尔斯02年的室友。 Friendships with 快乐Swanson, 露丝考克斯, Rebekah Bennett, and 克里斯权力 deepened during a semester in Glasgow, Scotland.
的 members shared some reflections on what this group has meant to them over the years:
“的se are my people, the ones that I worked really hard to become good friends with, the ones who chose me many times over the years. 的y became my family away from home, as I didn't grow up with extended family nearby, and both our parents were living overseas.” ―露丝考克斯
“除了家人，我认识他们的时间比认识所有人都长。 Even though we don't get to visit frequently because of the distance, I know these people care for me and have my best interests at heart.” ―杰西卡·罗兰
"Missing the annual gathering has been one of the hardest things about missionary life overseas; joining via a video-call simply doesn't replace having a few days to eat, pray, laugh, cry, hike, play games, and share life together with friends. Having these friends with a long shared history and the common foundational commitments, in spite of the displacement of moves and geographic distance, 是一个 precious gift. 这使我渴望在新地球上共同生活。” ―乔尔Swanson
“Being able to come back over the years to a group of friends with the worldview and values instilled in me at Covenant has been a blessing and source of energy and stability in our lives.” ―Curran主教
“我们拥有共同的价值观和历史，对彼此的承诺是罕见而无价的。 的re's no one else we've cried with, fought with, and laughed with in quite the same way.” ―快乐Swanson
“这是一个你可以回到的‘地方’，就像你从未离开过一样。 You're comfortable with people, no matter what's happened or how you've changed; you can come and still have a good time.” ―约翰Ottinger
“We've done life together, we've done stuff together, we've been through grief together, to funerals and weddings. 聚会是从婚礼中衍生出来的。 的re's a life-on-life aspect to it.” ―杰克班尼特
“的se friends have been with me through some of the best of times and some of the worst of times in my life. 的y have been a tangible expression of Christ’s care for me.” ―克里斯权力
“这是有意的——首先是有联系的，就像结婚一样。 It's rare
to find someone to connect with, but even more rare to build on that and make it work.”
―BJ罗兰
“全家人都很喜欢，因为这种信任程度。 的 kids enjoy coming as much as we do.” ―Erik Swanson
“I ‘married in’ to the group and got to know them as wonderful, godly people, and have become very good friends with a few of the wives, distinct from my husband's overall friendship with the group. I deeply appreciate the influence and legacy that Covenant has had on this special group of people.” ―瓦莱丽Ottinger
的se friends have shared a lot of life together and have found their friendship to be a source of encouragement through different circumstances and seasons of life. 例如，埃里克、杰克和柯伦一起上圣约神学院。 Several of the wives homeschool their children, and this group has become a space for them to share experiences and resources. 的y are truly thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness in bringing them all to Covenant, growing them closer as friends, and fostering their relationships over the years.
这个故事只是在威尼斯人平台建立的持久友谊的一个例子。 We would love to hear your story! Please email alumni@covenant.edu with your Covenant friends story