Graduation Time!

Last night I had the privilege of cheering on these 3 fabulous senior gals, as they walked across the stage and received their high school diplomas. Each gal has been very involved in youth group during their time at Ramstein. They are growing into wonderful Godly gals, and I'm excited to see the Lord continue His work in them as they step out into the world. I'm super proud of each of them, and so thankful to have been a part of their lives! One is off to University of North Dakota (go Sioux... that's where I began college!), another to a tech school in Wisconsin (my home state, so we will be able to meet up again!) and the other to Baylor in Waco, TX. Each is uniquely gifted and I'm excited to see what the future holds for them. 

We are in the midst of one of the more challenging seasons in the military community. Over the past 2 weeks, we've already said goodbye 5 students. As the school year finally comes to an end this week, we'll continue to say goodbye to many more families. It's always a privilege to get to walk alongside students and encourage them in faith and life, even if it's for a short season.

Would you pray for hearts as we grieve saying goodbye to friends, and preparing our hearts for new relationships.

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

Escape ... The Unexpected Journey

Our annual middle school camp is officially less than one week away! We have 43 students and 7 staff signed up from our community, this is the most we've had in a long time, so we are excited to see the Lord growing our group and stirring an excitement among students. We're doing a Hobbit Themed camp this year, the unexpected journey. Our speaker will be teaching 5 times throughout the weekend on the amazing adventure that Jesus invites us to join in.

A few prayer requests for camp ...

Our students - many of our students are new to the group. Would you pray for team unity, and that students would love each other well and speak words of life to one another. Pray that God would prepare their hearts to hear His Word and that they would respond to Him.

Our staff - Kevin, Steve, Rob, Shaun, Suzan, Donna, Hannah and myself as we lean in with students, point them to Jesus and encourage them in faith. Pray for wisdom, ears to hear, words to speak and endurance... 4 days of camp with many high energy middle schoolers : )

Our speaker - Dave Lambert, a long time Cadence missionary and friend is coming to speak, and I'm really excited about that! Pray that he and his wife have safe travels and get over jet lag quickly. Pray that he connects with students and finishes up his talks.

Our camp team - A group of students from Multnomah University are coming to lead various components of the camp. Pray that they also have safe travels and adjust to Germany time. Pray that they would dive in with students well! Many of these students are interested in a future with Cadence after they graduate. Pray that God would speak to them and perhaps lead them towards Cadence.

Safety - We are maxing out our facility! Praise the Lord for the highest turnout in recent Escape history. Would you pray that the Lord would keep us safe - both physically and emotionally/relationally. As we near camp, we are still waiting on some final safety approvals from the various participating bases/youth groups. Would you pray that God would grant us favor with the right people and that He would make it all happen, in His timing.

THANKS for praying!! Our students are super excited for the weekend, and I'm excited for them to hear the Word and learn about Jesus.

Welcome to 2013, we're off and running!

Equip 2013
We spent January 25-26 with 20+ middle schoolers that were interested in growing in their faith and ministering to their peers. Our theme was "Team Captains" and we talked through the weekend about following our leader (God) and leading others to Him. Each of our CSM took turns teaching. I spoke the first evening about "Why are we on the team?" and how God doesn't need us, but has chosen to invite us to join in His work. That night I also lead an experiential game where staff hid around the building with different flashlights and students were sent out to find as many as they could. Some lights were dim and flickered on and off, others were bright and easy to find right away. Afterwards we asked students what sort of light were they? Did their light shine bright? Or did they turn it on and off depending on where they were and who they were with? Overall, we had a great weekend with our students! Praise the Lord for middle schoolers who are desiring to grow in faith and seek to impact those around them for eternity.

Good News 

A new twist on an old classic - if you've ever volunteered for VBS or little kiddo Sunday school, you've probably made a salvation story bracelet.

Black is our sin, 

Red is Christ's blood, 

 White  is for being washed as white as snow, 

Green is for a growing faith and 

Gold is for the promise of heaven.

I thought it would be fun to make this more middle school cool, so with Isaiah 52:7 in mind "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peach, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"we did Gospel style pedicures last week.

Bible studies are off to a good start this semester. With middle schoolers, we recently finished up a character study, where we learned what Christ-like qualities we need to be putting on and growing in. With high schoolers, we completed a worldview study, where we read through a book about how Christianity compares to other world religions and practices. For the next two weeks, we're going to look at the book of Daniel and discuss what it means to "resolve to not defile ourselves" as we live in this world. I'm still praying about March, but I'm currently leaning towards a study of Esther. Would you pray for my girls as we prepare for a new study?

MythBusters, Theology Style
"You know how when good people die, they become angels? Does that mean bad people become demons?" This was a question we were asked last year from a student. Hollywood is doing a great job teaching our students false truths about God. This semester we are seeking to bust many bad theology myths that are running rampart in our culture. Like... do all dogs go to heaven? Is Morgan Freeman God? Do we have a juke-box Jesus? Should we really set the world on fire? Are we really born that way? In the coming weeks we'll be looking at how Hollywood and the media have portrayed God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), Satan, demons, angels, heaven, hell and the end times. Then we'll take a look at the church and how Christians are portrayed in the media, and how the Lord calls us to be His witness.

Side note, on my flights to/from the states this Christmas, I started watching a few movies that really troubled me so much that I turned them off within the first few scenes. Each of them portrayed Evangelical Christians as total idiots, and I was frustrated by them. Christians and holy living is being mocked in numerous movies and sitcoms today, and I think it's important that it's addressed with students.

We'll also spend time talking about love/relationships, anarchy, following our hearts, the American dream and zombies/witches/vampires. It's going to be a fun semester!

Would you pray for our study... that students would understand Biblical truths and learn to filter the information they receive from media and discern what is truth and what are lies.

CSM Women's Retreat

Our annual CSM women's retreat was last weekend. We went to Rothenburg, a beautiful walled in city, about 2.5 hours away. So far, Rothenburg is my favorite German city. It snowed most of the weekend, but that was ok, our rental had a wood burning fireplace in the main lodge, and it was awesome! 

This year, Heather and I planned the weekend. Our goal was simple, to build community. Of the 13 women on the retreat, five are fairly new to the field. Each gal was given an opportunity to share her testimony of how she came to Christ and how she ended up in Germany - the 2 things we all had in common. In addition to testimony time, one gal led us in a daily devotion about hope. She went through part of Psalm 131 each morning. 

My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. 
Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. 

During our free time, we got to check out the Rothenburg Christmas market. We also went to a night watchman tour on our first evening. All in all, it was a great time of fellowship with my Cadence family! 

SEMP 2012

This past long weekend was our annual high school student leadership retreat - SEMP (students equipped to minister to their peers). I was blown away by our sign ups. This was my third SEMP. The past two retreats we've taken 7 students each time. This year, we had 20 students sign up!! Awesome! We ended up taking 16 students (a few had to drop because of sickness and a few family things). Praise the Lord to have so many students desiring to grow in their faith and seek out ministry skills in reaching their peers with the Gospel. 

Our speaker talked throughout the weekend on two things. One, knowing the Lord personally by spending time in the Scriptures and praying. He also talked a lot about knowing your strengths and how God has wired you in order to be able to use those gifts to minister to others. 

Last night at youth group, one of my students told me she had a God conversation with another student at school. He was asking her a variety of questions and she didn't back down or shy away in answering them. She was really excited to have had the boldness to walk him through some verses in Romans and felt confident enough to explain what they meant! Praise God! 

On the final night of the retreat, we did an experiential worship night. There were a variety of themed rooms set up for students to walk through. They included... a campus room for students to pray for their schools (peers/teachers), a silent room where scripture was displayed and students could sit quietly before the Lord, a candle room to symbolize being the light of the world, two artsy rooms for students to express their worship through writing and painting, a distraction room followed by a throne room where students thought about all that keeps them from pursuing Christ and then bright and quiet room that represented siting before the Lord in awe. 

There was also an identity room where students could spend time with their staff. Each of us staff thought and prayed about each of our students and asked God what He wanted us to say to each of them. Most of my girls came to that room and it was a huge blessing and privilege to get to speak words of life to each of them. One girl came in and said, "I've never heard God speak to me, I don't know what I'm doing wrong." I looked her in the eye and I said, "Well, I've been praying that the Lord would give me verses to share with you and here's what He led me to." I reminded her that God speaks to us through His Word and often times through other people. So I read her the Scriptures I felt the Lord telling me to speak to her. It was powerful! 

We came home from SEMP super tired, but joyful in the Lord and excited about what He's doing in our group. I'm really amazed at the growth taking place in our youth groups right now. I feel like God is working powerfully among our students and has really stirred a hunger in their hearts. For the third week in a row, we've had over 50 middle schoolers come to youth group. It's such an encouragement to know that students like coming to group and want their other friends to be there. We are almost done with Matthew's Gospel. In the coming weeks we'll be looking at what Christ did on the cross, celebrating His resurrection and challenging students with the Great Commission. 

 ^Ramstein Students

^ The whole SEMP group