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由契约社区塑造的友谊
他们第一次成为朋友是在打扫厕所的时候。
In the mid-nineties, Covenant had a program called “practical work” where students completed service hours around campus. （现在，它被称为SERVE项目）。 克里斯汀·贝克，96届 和 米歇尔（威廉姆斯）哈里斯，96年 both did their practical work for B.E.S.T., the department which was responsible for cleaning the buildings around campus. 的n, as today, Covenant’s culture of community encouraged student workers to develop friendships 和 learn to work side by side in Christian community. “While cleaning toilets together, we bonded over our mutual love of NYC 和 Billy Joel,” Christine said, laughing over the memory.
从那时起，他们的友谊与日俱增。 他们大学毕业后有一段时间是室友。 他们参加了彼此的婚礼。 And they’ve walked with each other through times of immense joy 和 deep sorrow.
Christine struggled with infertility for a number of years 和 finally learned she was expecting a daughter in 2013. She named her Eilidh, a Scottish name meaning “radiant one.” A few months later, Michelle was unexpectedly pregnant with her fourth, also a daughter, whom she named Ellie. 这些女孩就像她们的妈妈一样，亲如姐妹。
克里斯汀和米歇尔喜欢一起旅行，从大学开始就这样做了。 When their girls were younger, they dreamed of taking them on a Laura Ingalls Wilder tour to see the sights found in the stories they both loved as girls. In the fall of 2017, they decided their girls were old enough to go 和 made plans to do so. Shortly before the trip, Christine learned that Eilidh had leukemia. Instead of a trip to see the “Laura sites,” Michelle 和 Ellie came to be with them, 和 supported them through the hard journey that lay ahead.
It wasn’t until 2021–after Eilidh rang the bell announcing that her treatment was over 和 after the p和emic restrictions had passed–that they were finally able to make their dream come true. In 2021, they took a road trip in the lower “Laura states” including Oklahoma, Arkansas, 和 Kansas–where 草原上的小房子 发生。 2022年，他们去了纽约，从那里看到了阿尔曼佐的房子 农民的孩子。 And in 2023, they did the rest of the “Laura states,” including Minnesota, Wisconsin, 和 South Dakota, where 在梅溪岸边 和 大森林里的小房子 发生。
Christine 和 Michelle reflected on their time at 威尼斯人平台 as a time that fostered 和 shaped their friendship with each other, teaching them what Biblical friendship looks like. Christine commented that friendships formed at Covenant are “deep 和 strong.” “When you meet someone who went to Covenant, there’s an immediate connection,” she said. Michelle agreed 和 said that the Covenant community is “a family” 和 “a small picture of what the Church is to look like.”
Covenant values Christian community 和 strives to create a culture of lasting friendship, one that endures beyond the four years spent on the mountain. Christine 和 Michelle’s friendship is just one story of many that have endured throughout the years.