Where in the world did March go. One of my middle schoolers told me about their upcoming April fools day shenanigans, and it dawned on me that they were talking about tomorrow!? Yikes. Time is flying by. Here's a quick recap of two of our March events and some prayer requests for our spring break retreat.
Indoor Skiing
A few weekends ago we took a group of high school students to an indoor skiing hall in France (just under 2 hours away). It was pretty cool - and a great place for beginners and not so good skiers. They offered both skiing and snow boarding. I'd never been in an indoor ski place before and it's cool. You don't have to worry about wind or extra coldness. It made for a fun day with students and it's definitely going to be a repeat event... like in July when we want a break from the heat!
^ The left side of the picture, in between the red barrier and wall is the bunny hill. To the far right is the "big" hill. There was a pully thing that pulled us to the top - it took 4 minutes to get up there.Mad Hatter Tea Party
Last night Heather and I got some of our middle school gals together for a Mad Hatter themed tea party. It was super fun! Heather and Jess decorated the place and it looked amazing. The girls thought is was pretty cool. As we sat down at the table, the girls were really impressed with fancy tea cups and cute dessert-y foods. They thought it was special.
After spending a lot of time deciding on what type of tea to try and after loading it with sugar and cream , one girl began to sip her tea. Heather asked her how it was, and she said good. We looked at each other knowing she didn't like it, but was trying to be polite and drink it. Heather told her she didn't have to drink and that there was punch available. She said, "oh good, I think I'd like that." haha! It was cute to watch the girls practice being polite and lady like.
Our friend and co-worker Jennessa taught a lesson on modesty and did really well. She gave each of the girls a rose and reminded them of how special they are to God and how they should dress in a way that honors Him and protects them.
I like my middle school girls. : ) They've been faithful in coming to Bible study this year. Earlier this year we went through some Beginning and Growing in Jesus books. Last week we began a new study called "How do we know the Bible is True?" So far, we're off to a good start. The study raises a lot of good questions about how we got the Bible and why we can trust it.
Coming Up... Spring Break!
Shorebreak, our annual Spring Break retreat is one week away! It's coming up fast. I was anticipating about 35 students. As of this weekend, we have 55 students signed up! Whoa, 20 extra teens!? We are excited!
The theme is "The Illusion." We'll be looking through the book of Ecclesiastics and the life of Solomon. The speaker will challenge students about the things they are pursuing - popularity, materialism, etc. and how often they pursue those things thinking they will end in satisfaction and fulfillment. He will challenge them instead to pursue things of eternal value - i.e. a relationship with Jesus!
Today we met for a day of staff training, to prepare our volunteers for the retreat. We are extremely blessed to have some great, very solid staff this year. I'm confident that our students will be loved well.
Would you begin praying for students. Of the 55, I've got 30 girls. At least a third of them either don't know Jesus as their savior or aren't currently walking with the Lord. The remainder of the students do know the Lord. Would you pray for them as they process the speaker's talks and think through how they can grow in their faith and minister to those around them.
One morning at camp I'll be teaching a breakout seminar on being a Third Culture Kid. I'll focus on moving and transitioning. I'm going to spend time talking about saying goodbye and some of the things they might encounter as students move back to the states and transition to college. Would you pray for me as I finalize my talk this week? Pray that God would give me wisdom into knowing what students need to hear and that I'd be able to communicate well and encourage students.
THANKS for praying!!