A word from my heart...

I promise that this will be my last entry for the day, but this is something that I yearn to share with you. In these entries, I have spoken of the children, I have shared pictures, I have described in part what we are doing here, but I haven't described how I am doing.

Last night, I was so grateful for a two-hour conversation with my precious friend, Katie Klepacki, who was my roommate and Co-RA for two years at Grove City College. I miss her...a lot.

Over the past month and a half, I have been so busy--learning how to drive, learning about residence life policies, meeting new people, cooking meals, cleaning, running errands, getting to know children, etc.--that I didn't realize how empty I was.

Last Friday, I was reviewing my Birkman personality test results with a Campus Crusades missionary and I lost it. The poor woman! We were talking about my personal needs and when I realized that there were needs not being met, I could no longer fight the tears that were beginning to wet my eyes. As a missionary, I am not perfect...I am not a saint...I do not possess exhaustive knowledge about the Lord...I sin...I fall short...I have real pain, real hurt, real struggles...and I have real needs. I need the Lord and I need His people.

While I do love my job and while I do rejoice that the Lord brought me here, it is hard to be so far away from family, friends, and the women who have been such a great source of spiritual wisdom and encouragement. I confess that I still grieve the loss of community and fellowship that I found at GCC and the church in Oklahoma. I miss my family too. I would be so grateful if you joined me in prayer over my need for fellowship. Please pray for a mentor, an older woman who might have the time to study Scripture with me, pray with me, and share life with me here.

Despite these moments of homesickness if that is what one would call them, I was gently reminded last Sunday in a sweet time with the Lord that He is for me!

The Lord used the following Scripture from I Peter 1 to speak to my heart and provide me with the peaceful assurance of the work He has already done on my behalf...

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last time for your sake." (vs. 18-20)

After being so moved over the course of last week by this Scripture, I continued to process the realities of "emptiness" and "fullness." The following is a summary of how the Lord's Word became life for me here...

Beloved,

I have redeemed you from the empty way of life. The precious blood of my Son was shed for your sake. I have not called you to Germany to be empty. I have not called you to Germany to live an unmeaningful and void life. I have called you to Germany to live a full and meaningful life. You need only to run to me, the source of living water, and you will never be thirsty again.

I will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land, I will strengthen your weary frame, you will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

DO NOT ENTER: Communicating

My little brother, Jake...

Introducing you to G.I. ...

...and his buddies, A.J. and Josh

In addition to my entry from earlier today, I wanted to take a moment to begin introducing you to our some of our students. Today, I want you to meet G.I.

G.I. is an eighth grader at BFA who loves to play the piano (his most recently played song is Jason Mraz's I'm Yours) and for his age, I am so impressed by his spiritual maturity. G.I. reminds me of my brother, Jake, because he is somewhat tune deaf but has a gift for memorizing lyrics just like Jake :) G.I. gently corrected me recently when I sang the wrong words to a pop-song. It made me laugh because it reminded me of home and my sweet relationship with my little brother.

This past weekend, G.I. accidentally missed the late bus from BFA and decided to walk home (7 km). Being directionally and geographically challenged, G.I. did in fact get lost. Instead of walking towards Liel from Kandern, he walked in the opposite direction towards the town of Sitzenkirch. Silly guy! Several BFA staff and I spent about an hour and a half looking for him on Friday night. Part of me was frustrated because we have had trouble with G.I. getting "lost" at school and he seems to have trouble being on time as a result of his absentmindedness; yet, when the director of residence life found him and returned him to Liel, I found that I simply couldn't be upset with him. His shirt was soaking wet from his adventure and he proceeded to tell me about all the things that had been going wrong the past few days--laundry falling on the ground, difficult homework that forced him to miss snack and a game of Ninja in the basement, hitting his head while walking down the steps, stubbing his toe, and now missing the bus...

[A brief tangent--The night before in the midst of all these frustrating occurences, he posted a sign on his door that said "Do Not Enter: Communicating." I hadn't seen G.I. for the most of this evening and was worried about him, so I ignored the sign, knocked on the door and opened it after he asked me to come in. G.I. was on his knees in prayer. I was struck. Struck because I was witnessing a 13-yr-old boy humble himself before the Lord, reverently bowing down and making his requests known to his Father. He even posted a note on the door! He was fighting for his time with the Lord because he knew the great importance of it. I was convicted because even as an RA here at BFA who needs to desperately fight for her time with the Lord, I don't. I don't write signs on my door that ask for privacy because I am communicating with my God. These children are teaching me so much about what it looks like to be a child of God who boldly and publicly seeks the Lord.]

Now, to return to my conversation with G.I.--But as he described these challenges and hurts,G.I. was smiling because he explained that Satan would not get the best of him. As he dropped his laundry, he said, "Ahh, thank you, Jesus!" As he bumped his head, he said, "Ow, thank you, Jesus!" As he missed the snack and game, he said, "Ah, thank you, Jesus!" As he missed the bus, he said, "Ah, thank you, Jesus!" G.I. was living out I Thessalonians, when Paul was asking the church to be joyful always, to pray continuously, and to give thanks in all circumstances. G.I. was boasting in the Lord because despite the challenges of the day, Satan did not win. I couldn't help but smile and exclaim, "Oh, G.I., praise the Lord!" I was so proud of him and so thankful to see a glimpse of this child's spiritual depth. Amazing, yes? Ah, I wish you all could meet him.

One last word about G.I. before I wrap this up. About a week ago, G.I. asked me how I got to BFA and as I explained the story, Aunt Sue (dorm mom) chimed in and said that both she and Uncle Bob had been praying for the RA that they would be working with in Liel. She admitted to G.I. that they were worried about it being someone that they might not get along with, and then she said, "But G.I., the Lord answered our prayers and He gave us an angel." G.I. walked over to me, paused for a moment and gave me a comtemplative look... and then he said, "Ah, I see your angel wings." In that moment, my heart was lifted up. I was flattered by G.I. sweet comment and so encouraged by Sue and how she sees me as a gift and an answer to prayer. Every now and then G.I. will endearingly call me "Miss Angel." :)

I am so blessed, so flattered, and so honored to be here.

Sue warned me that I would be falling in love with these children... I am :)

I LOVE my job

Our first Liel Family photo! Hochblauen--Sept 5

So, the blue paint didn't just go on the door...meet A.J. :)

Liel--Sept 4

The Liel Ladies are making scones! Tea of choice: Apple-Vanilla

It has been 19 days since my last entry and there is so much to tell! This week marks the fourth week of school for our students and it has been such a sweet time of getting to know them. When people ask how my time is going at Liel, the first word that comes to mind about the children is delightful. Oh, how they make me laugh :) I enjoy everything about them from their deep spiritual questions to their English blunders.

So, what kind of things have we been up to in Liel, Germany? A few highlights...

1. During our first full weekend with the kids...On Friday night, the girls and I made cinnamon and lemon scones as they are quite the necessary treat for an authentic tea party. On Saturday, we unhinged their doors from their rooms and each set of roommates were able to paint their door. We traveled to a local store and bought several colors of paint. "Uncle Bob" (dorm dad) organized the activity and the kids had so much fun making thier door their own. On the girls floor, we now have an array of colorful doors--lilac, dark purple, red, and yellow. I love it.

2. Every Sunday night, we have dorm fellowship after dinner which is a time where Bob, Sue, and I have an opportunity to share a spirital lesson with the kids. We are all reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan, which is an excellent book that exhorts believers to respond to the Lord with the same crazy love that He has undeniably shown us. Last Sunday, we took the kids to Hochblauen, which is the highest point in this region of Germany. On a clear day, one can see an outline of the Swiss Alps and the Rhine river that flows between Germany and France. It is a truly magnificent view and as we climbed to the top of the look-out tower, Bob gave the kids time to think about God as Creator as he shared several Bible verses while Sue played worship songs on the guitar. Last night, I was able to share a lesson and show the kids a brief video clip about the supremacy of Christ made by a GCC alum. We discussed what it would like if we never thanked our parents or acknowledged all the ways they love us and provide for us. Ira explained that it would make a parent feel like this child did not really belong to him or her. Wow. As we connected this idea back to the Lord and what it would like to never respond to His love and never acknowledge His gifts, the students were quiet. Please pray for our students as we continue to share and discuss this crazy love of Christ. Pray that they find and discover ways to love Him back. Pray that they make Christ supreme in their hearts. Pray that they do not ignore their Creator who died for them. Pray that the Lord would protect them from forgetting His extravagant love.

Bob and Sue took thier first weekend off this past weekend. In their place, we had the most wonderful dorm parent subs, Mark and Becky Mendek, come and help me manage the house and our 10 kiddos. During our fellowship time last night, Mark explained that while Christ is supreme in and over everything is this world and universe...there is one place where He is not always supreme--our hearts. Mark explained that we have a choice to make Christ supreme in our hearts--it is a deliberate choice. In the Lord's supreme grace, He gives us exactly what we want. If we desire Him, He is ours. If we do not want Him, He offers us a place where we can be completely separated from Him--hell. He loves us so much, friends, that He gives us exactly what we want. My prayer for you is that you would know the Lord's desire to be supreme in your hearts. He wants all of you, but will you respond and give Him all of you?

We are never the same after we encounter the love of God. If you have not let this love transform you, my prayer is that you would relent and receive this beautiful, radical, insanely marvelous, and free gift of love and ultimately life.

"This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is LOVE: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another...If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him." I John 9-16

I love these children. I love the fact that I get to share life with them. I am in love with our God who brought me here. I love my job.

"All over the world [in Liel, Germany, too] this gospel is bearing fruit and growing." Colossians 1:6

Thank you for sending me to the nations.

Yours,
Lauren