I imagine that if attending How To Survive at U of I was your first experience at Covenant Fellowship Church, you may have been thinking, “This is a really good show…. Wait.. Is this some kind of professional drama club? I thought this was a church. Will I be required to dance and sing if I decide to come here?”

Case in Point: Look at this formation….the color coordinated outfits. Is that a jazz hand I see in the back? I mean really... how good (looking) are these people?

Worry not, CFC is not a repository for aspiring broadway sorts (or not mainly at least). Speaking as a virtually talent-less person myself, I can safely say that this is indeed a church, and we love all kinds here.

This is supposed to be a recap of the night. Writing a recap of How to Survive is sort of like making a movie out of a really amazing book, meaning any effort really just pales in comparison to the real thing. And yet, here we go.

First things first, the whole night was one big musical that followed some new students through the delights and pitfalls of the beginning of college. Each number is a parody of a popular song with cleverly altered words. Sounds delightful no? Oh you’ll see.

Quad Day Decisions.. Decisions:

As I’m sure you’ve experienced, there are countless clubs here at U of I. How do you choose between pirate club and basketball league? Well, that takes time, deliberation and some experimentation. But we don’t have time for that now, so just sit back and enjoy the show.

Academic Woes:

Having trouble studying? Hold your books upside down? Oh you silly boy. Don’t worry.

Here’s a group of jazz dancers to pump you up. Ok, so that’s the storyline, but the real showstopper in this number was the dancing of one David “Suggey” Shin. More on that later.

Intermission - Mustard Seeds: All musicals have intermissions. Here at CFC, our intermissions are more like individual shows. Mustard Seeds is a group of dancing fools for Jesus. I'll spare you the commentary because you can watch it right here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxR6D6JrwCk

Lonely Boy:

Meet Paul (on the left). He’s a new student. Cute as a button too, don’t you think? Well, you are not alone. Yet, with all the girls chasing him in college, he can only think of one woman while he’s here in school. And who would that be?

That’s right, his guitar hero playing mom. Before you laugh, you should know that this is a real life story. Paul actually is the biggest mama’s boy on the planet, and he sure missed her dearly when he came to college. So don’t be ashamed. We all miss our mommies and we can look forward to hugs like these during Thanksgiving Break.

But let’s hope they aren’t being given by men cleverly disguised as our mothers.

Crazy Roommates:

This number was not only awesome, but by far the easiest on the eyes. The lesson to be learned is that we're all going to have roommates problems, big or small, but none of your roommates are going to look like these girls. Sorry.

Want to Give Up?: Chris is sad. College is hard. He just wants to give up. And he’ll do what he wants!! So he will give up!! Except that his friend Suggey won't let him. How will he do this? By doing his best Enrique Eglesias impression and serenading him with love.

I watched this number with equal amounts of disgust... and thankfulness for that thin layer of white cloth that was protecting me from Suggey in all his glory. Eesh. What is that? Is his body making a surprised face at me?

Anyways, shake it off. After I recovered from the shock, I thought it was actually very sweet. Although maybe not in this creepy fashion, the friends you make here will be there (singing or most likely just sitting) in those moments that you want to give up and quit. Very sweet indeed.

You Will Find Your Way:

This was the clincher. It’s hard to describe without having been there, but as these amazing voices sang the words “you will find your way,” and a video of all the friendly faces at CFC flashed behind them on the screen, I really had a feeling that despite everything, things were going to be alright and I’d find my way.

Well, except that I’ve already graduated from college at this point and I already did find my own way through an awesome 4 years at CFC. But you know what I mean.