Spring Break 2011

"Spring break at Shorebreak 2011 with Hume Lake in Garmisch was amazing. New friends and memories were made, it was sunny, it rained, and it snowed in the middle of April, outrageously long french mustaches were worn, epic duals with cheap wooden swords were commenced, and most importantly, God was glorified." - from a student's Facebook status post the day after camp

^ The view from our hotel - it's a Galp! (German Alp)

^ All 180+ of us following rec time

Shorebreak was great!!! Thanks for praying for us throughout the week, God was at work in the hearts of our students.

Our camp speaker did a great job of communicating the Gospel and Jesus' love for each one of us, in a very relevant student friendly way. Many students responded to the messages. I'm super thankful for several great conversations I had with kids. It's amazing how much students open up when they get away from the distractions and noise of their everyday lives back home.

My favorite conversation was with one gal towards the end of the week. Our speaker shared the story of Jesus calming the water after His disciples woke Him up while sleeping on the boat. The student shared with me the different storms she'd been facing - divorced parents and an absent dad who doesn't reach out to her, broken relationships at school and an unwanted reputation, an upcoming move to the states this summer... the list seemed to go on. She threw herself into time consuming sports to escape the drama and to avoid being at home. As she poured out her heart, I felt my heart breaking. She felt unloved, unwanted and alone. I had the privilege to share with her Psalm 139 and tell her how God sees her. I then asked her where Jesus was in the midst of the storms? Was He on the shore? The boat? Nowhere to be seen? She said, "I think Jesus needs to wake up." We stopped right there, and prayed together - asking Jesus to wake up and calm the storms. It's my prayer He'll make Himself known to her in profound ways and take her hand and guide her through the chaos of life.

Some of the other fun times of the week for students were the recreation/team competitions, a high ropes course, an afternoon walking around town shopping and eating gelatto, and an afternoon at an indoor water park on our way home. Fun bonding times!!!

^ Our Ramstein Community

^ Ramstein Girls during community time

^ Jordan and Christie, cheering on the teams during rec time
^ Small group gals, out for gelatto during free time

Many of our students got into the musketeer mustache look on double spirit day : )

^With my Stuttgart CSM friends

Faithfully Flexible

Hey Team!

Today marks 6 months and one week, since I arrived to the field. Time is flying by! Thank you so much for journeying with me.

Here's an update from the ministry front...

The Marine Corp motto is Semper Fi, always faithful. Our field director likes to joke around, that as missionaries to the military community, our motto is “Semper Gumby,” always flexible. In the past few weeks, we’ve had a number of opportunities to practice living this motto.

The recent/current events in Libya sent bases across Europe into heightened security levels, which have greatly impacted our upcoming high school spring break retreat. About two weeks ago, we learned that our selected facility in Italy did not meet the new security requirements (we weren’t going to be a near a base, and as a large group staying in one location for several days, we could potentially draw some unwanted attention). We had two options: move camp or cancel it.

So how do you move a camp for 180 people just 2 weeks before spring break? You pray. A lot. : ) God opened up doors and provided us rooms at a really nice lodge for military personnel and their families in the German Alps. (How this place had enough open rooms is beyond me, it’s a popular vacation getaway for many - especially over holidays). Praise the Lord!

Had things stayed as planned, I’d be leaving on a bus for Italy tonight. Due to availability at the lodge, camp will now run Monday through Friday. The shift in location and dates has thrown a few wrenches in the mix, as we consider how to change our program to accommodate the new reality. Our camp includes students from the Air Force and Army communities. This has caused some challenges, as both branches have different security measures and interpretations of policies that impact various camp components. But God is faithful and has poured out the endurance, patience, grace and favor to make it happen. He's also blessed us with great field leadership who've worked extremely hard in the past few weeks.

9/11 occurred the beginning of my senior year of high school. In the days, weeks and months that followed, I struggled with living on base and desiring a sense of “normalcy” in the midst of heightened security. I remember being late to school games and concerts because the base would go into a lockdown state to practice dealing with security breaches. I was annoyed that so much “real world military” stuff impacted my daily life. I didn’t sign up for the military, so why was I being treated like I did?

I see similar frustration in some of our students. “Why can’t we just have a fun, normal spring break at the beach?” “Why is it such a hassle to go on a trip?” I pray that God would use these as teachable moments, to remind us that the world is bigger than us and we’re not the center of the universe. I pray bitterness wouldn’t take root in the hearts of students.

I’m excited for next week (as I shared in my last e-mail, I'm excited for the students we have coming - they're great!!), and I look forward to sharing highlights with you when I return. Thank you so much for praying for our military community!!!!

Prayer Points:
Students - pray that hearts would be softened and students would be ready to hear the Gospel and boldly respond to whatever the Lord prompts them to do. Pray they'd leave knowing Jesus loves them deeply.

Staff - pray for wisdom as we lean into students and encourage and challenge them. Pray for endurance to run hard for a week, and for grace and patience when we’re tired.

Hume Lake - pray for our camp directors/leaders as they’ve traveled from California to lead our program (teaching, worship, games, tournaments). Pray God would use them in mighty ways as they serve our students.

Thank you team! You're a blessing to me and my wonderful students!

For the sake of The Name,

Beth