Spring Break Recap

^ Everyone at Spring Break... all 200! 

 ^ Our Ramstein students

Thanks for praying for our Spring Break retreat, we had a great week. Highlights included ... 3 days of sun (a rarity in Germany!), roasting marshmallows and playing dodgeball at the foot of the alps. I really enjoyed my small group ladies! We had some great conversations as we discussed the speaker's messages and sought to make some real life connections and applications. 

(Above) Belly Bumper Soccer

(Below) Earth Ball

One of my responsibilities at camp this year, was to lead a morning worship track for students wanting to learn how to study their Bibles and get something out of their quiet times. I had way more students attend than I anticipated. We spent 3 mornings looking through 2 Corinthians 2-5 and looking at what it means to be ministers of the new covenant.

^ The first day of morning worship

^ Some of my wonderful girls striking their best olympic pose 

(Garmisch hosted the winter olympics a number of years ago)

A mission's team from Good Shepherd Community Church in Boring, Oregon came to serve, and they were great. They helped to lead team competitions and some late night activities. The speaker was wonderful! He spoke on the theme of "Rescued" and taught how we're all in need of a rescue and only Jesus is able to save us from our brokenness and sin. He talked about fully surrendering our lives to Jesus. He used the illustration of a car, and how Jesus doesn't just want a ride in our car, He wants to drive our car... and He wants our full keychain, not just a few keys off the ring. 

Throughout the week there were a number of opportunities for our students to spend time together and get to know one another better. I felt that our students connected well and that we came home a more tight knit group. Of the 25 students we brought, 3 had never visited our youth group and 2 were fairly new. 

We were super blessed to have some great volunteer staff with us!! They loved our students so well and engaged them in great Jesus centered conversations. I couldn't have asked for a better group of volunteers. 

Thanks so much for praying for our week! 

There's just over a month left of school. The moving season is fast approaching. Would you begin praying for our coming months of transition. In the military community, June - August is the main moving season, at least one-third of students will move. It's a pretty tough emotional/relational period for everyone as we have to say goodbye to dear friends and prepare our hearts to welcome new families. 

We've begun preparations for our annual Hungary mission trip. Applications will go out in the next week or so, and budget/number crunching and planning will begin. Would you pray as we select our mission team and as we make logistical plans for the trip?

Dear Prayer Team, 

Hello! I realized this weekend that it's been way too long since I've sent out an update. I hope you had a good Easter last weekend. It actually felt like home… since there were snowflakes floating around all day. I know in the upper midwest snow this time of year is normal, but not so much here in Germany. I am looking forward to some sunny days! Germany set a record low this winter for the amount of sun we received. But speaking of sun and warming up… spring break is just days away! 

Spring Break

On Monday morning we setting out for our annual high school spring break retreat. We are spending a week in the beautiful German Alps. Our retreat theme is "Rescued." It comes from a Gilligan's Island spin off… stuck in need of rescue. Our speaker will be talking through the week on sin and the things that ensnare us and God's ability to save us. I think it'll be a really relevant theme for our students. I'm looking forward to time with my small group, a group of freshman girls whom I'll meet with each evening to discuss the day's talks. 

A few prayer requests for the week - 

1. Group unity - We've got a number of first time campers coming with us, and a several students who are brand new to our group. Would you pray that students would connect with one another and seek to build relationships. 

2. Safety – Please pray for physical safety as we drive about 6 hours to our location, for safety during the week as we play hard during team competitions/rec, and for relational and emotional safety as students share their hearts and process what they hear from the Lord.

3. Wisdom – Please pray for our staff (there's 6 of us, and only 2 of us have been on this retreat before). As we invest in students, pray that we'd have ears to hear what they say, and what they don't say and that we'd point them to Jesus well. Pray for endurance as camp is 5 full days! 

4. Camp Leadership Team – Please pray for our speaker and for his staff who will be helping with various components of camp throughout the week. Pray that our students would connect with them. 

5. Me – I'll be leading an optional morning devotional time for students who want to learn ways to study their Bibles during their quiet time with the Lord. We'll be working through 2 Corinthians 2-5. Pray that they'd be compelled by the love of Christ and would boldly lead their friends to be reconciled with God! 

In other news… 

Ministry is going well! This spring semester we've been going through a series in youth group that we've dubbed "Hollywood Mythbusters: Theology Style." We've been looking at how Hollywood portrays spiritual things like God (The Trinity), heaven, hell, angels, demons, end times, and we've compared that to what the Scriptures actually teach about these things. Each week we've busted a variety of myths ranging from – no, you don't become an angel when you die and no, Satan is not leading Richard Simmons aerobics in hell. Our students are connecting well with this series and come ready with questions each week. 

Bible studies are still in full swing. My high school girls have been watching a Mark Driscoll (from Mars Hill Church in Seattle) sermon series on the book of Esther. It's great and I highly recommend it! I listened to it this fall and found it really interesting and challenging and wanted my girls to hear the messages as well. I've been going through a understanding your Bible book with my middle school girls. They have all memorized the Old Testament books of the Bible and we're moving onto the New Testament! We're doing a basic walk-thru overview of the Scriptures to give them a better idea of what's actually in their Bible and what's the storyline. 

Our Cadence Student Ministries, Team Ramstein has changed a bit. As you know my last co-workers moved back to the states in July. This fall, Steven Harvell began a year long short-term assignment. In December, Kevin and Sharon Scheible, joined Steven and I. So together, we've been holding down the fort and loving on the students of Ramstein! Steven will be leaving (he recently got married, and will move to the sates with his wife) in June. It's been nice having him here this year, as that's allowed Kevin and Sharon to transition in at a more comfortable pace. Would you pray for our team as we learn how to work together and as we begin planning for our summer/fall? 

Thanks team! Your prayer support is SO appreciated! Hope you're doing well!!

For Christ,

Beth