The Liel Ladies!

Liel Ladies

August 23, 2011

The girls are here! Despite the fact that school at Black Forest Academy has only been in session for three days, the girls have jumped right in! Six of the girls tried out for volleyball and made the team. Three have auditioned for the fall musical, Suessical! And two have auditioned for private music lessons. What can I say? They are just that talented and I am super impressed :)

In my post today, I wanted to note a few things that have been so beautiful to observe around the house...

Friendship This is certainly a diverse group of girls who call 11 different countries "home" and yet their cultural differences have not kept them from reaching out to one another. I love how they see past color and age. Every girl is a new friend completely worth getting to know. On the first day of their arrivals, five of the girls were playing foosball in the basement. I watched for a moment as they laughed and jumped up and down... they were strangers and yet it looked like they had been friends for years. It was beautiful.

Praise Talya led some spontaneous worship before bed two nights ago and then again the following morning as she was waiting for the bus. The girls couldn't help but sing along and Troy (the dorm dad) couldn't help but enjoy that moment instead of enforcing our first bedtime/lights out...haha. It was beautiful.

Faithful The girls are incredibly respectful and obedient. We discussed the BFA dress code with them and in an effort to abide by the rules for modesty, the girls have come to me several times to make sure that their skirts aren't too short ("Lauren, do you have measuring tape so we can make sure that my skirt is exactly 2 inches above my knee?") or that their shirts have appropriate sayings ("Lauren, do you think my shirt that says 'How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?' is okay?"). Precious.

Security I have the pleasure of living with the four sophomores in a place that we have affectionately called the "loft" which is separate from the main dorm building. The past two nights, we have shared prayer requests and the girls have been surprisingly open. They have admitted the difficulty of this new transition to BFA, they have admitted homesickness, they have admitted struggles with language, and yet there is no shame. They already feel secure enough to share and to be vulnerable. We are already trusting one another. This is a gift from the Lord. This is what I prayed for.

More introductions, observations, and stories to come...

Christus Victor

It is hard to believe that our students at BFA will arrive in 9 days. The past two weeks have been filled with Residence Life meetings (discussing policy, expectations, assigning responsibilities, reviewing schedules, working through a philosophy of discipline, etc.), welcoming new Residence Life staff, orienting and getting to know new staff, preparing the dorm, and praying over/for staff and students.

To be perfectly honest, I struggled several weeks ago with all that would be new this year--new dorm parents, a new RA, new students, a new high school dorm with a completely different schedule. Though I have not written much about the move to Germany and the transition to the German culture and the BFA community, it has been a struggle. Everything is different here, everything was so new to me in the beginning--driving, shopping, banking, traveling, eating out, currency, language, dress, etc. There have been moments when my knowledge base was completely shallow, perhaps even dry!

I do not doubt that the Lord gave me the courage and the strength I needed to move here and leave my family, but I must admit that after that HUGE change, I began to value the predictable and familiar around here--the middle school schedule and the mix of little brothers and sisters in the middle school dorm. Yet, even after being here one year, everything is changing again. This is challenging. It is exhausting to be in a place of such intense adjustment and transition all the time, especially just as you are getting accustomed to a new job and ministry.

However, I have been so encouraged these past few days by the reality that this is all the Lord's doing. This is His will and there is great purpose in it. The change isn't in vain. The change helps me understand to some degree what it must be like as a missionary kid--just as I need stability here, so do they. Just as overwhelming as it may be for me to live with new people each year, so is it for these young students. As they transition, so must I. As they grieve the loss of family, so must I. As they search for friends, so must I. As they long for home, so do I. As they trust the Lord, so must I.

It is so comforting to know that Christ is victorious. I love this truth. He is victorious over change...he is victorious over new relationships...He is victorious over moves across the sea. He ordains it all. As He gives and even as He takes away, we are all challenged to bless His name. Oh that my heart would sing to Him and not be silent!

Praying that you too would know Christ as the Victorious One--"The victorious life is the

victorious Lord living in you and living in me in utter mastery."

A cross with the crucified Christ, seen upon entering the village of Liel

(Sunset, August 2010)

As you think of BFA, please pray for us! The new Liel dorm parents (Troy and Michelle) and I are waiting for our new RA, Carolyn, to arrive. She is not able to come until 90% of her financial support has been raised. Pray that the Lord would provide these monies soon because we certainly need her help with the 14 students. We trust that she is worth waiting for and that the Lord needs this time with Carolyn to prepare her heart and mind for ministry.

Pray also for our Liel ladies...

I am truly excited to meet them and begin introducing you to the 9 new girls!

Laura

Lynnea

Priscilla

Joyce

Jaz

Kyra

Erin

Talya

Ji Soo

Yae Ji

Michal

Eseli

Some fun end-of-the-year pictures with Laura and Britta...

May 2011