Aren't they lovely?

This past Monday, BFA didn't have school so we took our students on a 3 km hike to a local castle in Lorrach. While at the castle, we took several pictures together...one was a serious family shot, but my favorite was our goofy shot. This is the one that best illustrates what we're like in real life--silly, distracted, chill, wild, close...family :)

Can you feel the LOVE tonight?

So, it's 1:39 AM in Germany, which means that we are officially able to celebrate Valentines Day! Tomorrow is my day off, so I was able to stay up late tonight to work on a special little project for the ones who are sleeping now :) After tucking the last girls into bed, I spent the next few hours writing notes to the girls, boys, Bob and Sue, and our dorm brother, Marshall. In each note, I shared a verse of Scripture about the steadfast love of the Lord because it is that love that I am reminded of today...it is that love that I celebrate today.

I also wanted to share those things about them that just make me love them--Joyce's heart for worship, Priscilla always trying to tickle me under the chin while I am praying before bed, G.I.'s adorable laugh and the way he calls me 'Miss Angels," Kate's enthusiam for life, Luke's passion for reading, AJ and his daily cornflakes (eaten with several spoonfuls of sugar), Laura's inquisitiveness before bed ("Lauren, what will heaven be like? Lauren, what how do you imagine God to look? Lauren, does Satan really have horns? Lauren, what will your wedding dress look like?), Britta's appreciation for tea and her daily requests for hugs, the way Ira takes notice of my dry hands and proceeds to bless me with hand massages and lotion, and Josh's innocent humor. These children are so special to me and the more time I spend with them, the more I love the silly things they say and do...the more I love their individual personalities and creative natures, and the more I love them just because they are!

So, in an effort to bless them tonight/today/this morning ...haha...(what time of day is it if I haven't gone to bed yet?) I attached Valentine Fruit Roll-Ups (those special treats that Mom would pack in my lunch in elementary school and middle school) to heart-shaped notes and placed them in front of their doors. I also made this into a bit of a prank because I can't forget to tell you that I cut up several pieces of red and pink paper and covered the floor in front of their doors with this confetti. I am secretly hoping to hear laughing when they wake up :)

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends :)

"Once thing God has spoken,

two things have I heard:

that you, O God, are strong,

and that you, O Lord, are loving."

Psalm 62:11

"But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love

in the morning.

For you have been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, are my fortress,

the God who shows me steadfast love."

Psalm 59:16-17

"The soul is healed by being with children." -Fyodor Dostoevsky

It seems that I don't really know where to begin today. And yet, there is so much to tell, so much to rejoice in because of the children who surround me and heal my soul...


(Left: Liel Family Photo, Christmas 2010)


I'll start with the title of today's blog...
Dostoevsky? I recently picked up a copy of The Brothers Karamazov and I am excited to continue reading Dostoevsky again as the foreward explains that this story will change me as a reader. To those who may not be familiar with this Russian novelist, Dostoevsky was a brillant writer! He is known as the "novelist of ideas" and he was a deeply religious man that passionately believed in Love, Christ-like Love.


I was surprised this week when I received a package in the mail from a dear friend of mine, Megan Maley. Megan teaches at Grove City Christian Academy and her 5th and 6th grade students are pen-pals with my 10 middle schoolers at BFA. The package consisted of the second round of letters between our students as well as one addressed to me from Megan. The card was handmade and on the front of the note it said, "The soul is healed by being with children. --Fyodor Dostoevsky"

After the past several weeks, I am beginning to identify Dostoevsky's brillance because I can testify to a soul being healed by the love of Christ and His children.

This year, my journal entries/blog posts have been an opportunity for you to meet our middle schoolers, receive a glimpse of this residence life ministry, and also share in the some of the spiritual truths and lessons that I have been learning. What I have not shared in great detail are the events of this year that have been hard, hurtful, burdensome, and deeply challenging. Because of the reality that this is a public domain, there are certain things I cannot share. Out of respect for our students' safety and privacy, there are other things that I cannot share.

But this year has been hard.

I honestly did not expect my first year in missions to be as hard as it has been, BUT I can tell you that when my soul was wounded...when my heart was hurting....when I was feeling empty, Christ came, Christ rescued, Christ healed... through various means:


Through the children...

• During the first week of Spring semester, after my personal computer was left in the States to be fixed and repaired, Joyce gifted me her old MP3 player with 396 of her favorite worship songs
• During one of my days off this semester, I received a note under my door from one of my girls that said, "Lauren, JESUS LOVES YOU and so do I!"
• During the first weekend of the semester, the girls and I were watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Ira came and filled my lap for the first time

Through my co-workers...

• The prayers of His people are beautiful! I have been profoundly encouraged and blessed by the laying on of hands--by dorm parents, the chaplain's assistant, fellow RAs, and my small group leader. In experiencing difficult circumstances, God has helped me to value my community of believers as I had neglected to do before. Over the past two weeks, these sweet friends and brothers and sisters in Christ have spoken truth to me that I had forgotten.
• Gifts of comfort from a fellow co-worker: wool socks and Irish tea :)
• Staff Support: when there is a situation that I am not qualified to handle in the dorm relating to a student's health (physical, emotional, or spiritual), I am able to process with these staff members at any time, call them at any time, and ask for advice at any time. It is a relief to know that I am neither working alone nor bearing student's burdens alone

Through Scripture/Devotionals/Truths...

• Psalm 33 "Our soul waits for the LORD, He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you."
• Jerimiah 29 "For I know the plans I have for you....plans to give you hope..."
• Streams in the Desert, January 20, "God never uses anyone to a great degree until He breaks the person completely. Joseph experienced more sorrow than the other sons of Jacob and it led him into a ministry of food for all nations... It takes sorrow to expand and deepen the soul."
• Prayer of a friend, "Christ has pursued you to His death..."
• Prayer of a friend, "God's will and His plans for you fit you exquisitely."
• Streams in the Desert, January 23, "Darkness is a treasure. There is immeasurable wealth in tribulation."
• Commentary on Psalm 10, "However distant may be the day of justice, one promise is not delayed: THOU WILT STRENGTHEN THEIR HEART."
  

In short, I guess I never anticipated what it would take for the children and the people here to minister to me. I expected that I would do the ministering! I expected that I would do the praying. I expected to be the missionary! Afterall, I thought I came to give, not receive. Yet, I was so very wrong. How silly it was to think that I would not have sorrow here. How silly it was to think that I would not have needs.

And yet, God knew I needed to be made broken before I could do any kingdom building here. He knew that before I could be a comforter, I needed to experience real pain. He knew that before I could exhort someone to walk by faith, I needed to learn how to trust. He knew that I needed to experience loss in order to understand true gain.

The Christian life was never meant to be an easy one. It is neither about wealth nor health. Jesus commands us to take up our cross! How could I ever expect this to be painless? Just because I said 'yes' to Jesus does not mean that I deserve an easy life. Just because I decided to be a missionary does not mean that I will never walk through a valley. Peter was crucified upside down. Paul was imprisoned. Stephen was stoned. These men were deeply committed to Jesus--they loved Him and they were willing to endure all things to stand for Christ.

Christians and missionaries alike are not exempt from having wounds, suffering, and needing help. And just because Lauren Roop suffers, does not mean that she is loved any less by her Heavenly Father. May we all learn to more gladly receive and embrace our suffering and our sorrow as we trust God to use it for something beautiful and good. Afterall, He turned the cross into something glorious.

I praise God today that my soul has been/will be/and is being healed by Christ through His Word and through His children, both young and old.

To the One who makes all things whole,
Lauren

A few pictures...

Our super studious middle school girls on the first day of school...I love it!

Priscilla, Britta, Joyce, and Laura

January 11

Catching up over tea with my Grove City girls :)

Natalie, Amy, Jade: You are so great!

This is Katie...she is getting married in April. She is pretty excited, can you tell?

Our visit together over break was wonderful!

A New Start...

So, it's been exactly one month since my last update when the fall semester was ending and our Liel kiddos were preparing to go home. As of yesterday at 1:30 pm, our Liel family is back together for a new start and the beginning of the spring semester at BFA! All of our students were able to go home to South Korea, Moldova, France, Italy, and all corners of the earth it seems! I was also able to spend three weeks in the States which was such a special time for me. I am so grateful to my financial supporters who made it possible for me to go home...thank you!

A few highlights to share from our first few days back in Germany...

• We welcomed a new student to the dorm on Monday and we are so glad to have Britta with us! Monday afternoon we spent some time getting to know one another over a "spot of tea" and it was such a treat! Britta explains that she thoroughly enjoys tea and researching names. She loves looking into the meanings of names and she proceeded to share with me the names of several of her future children :) I must confess that this is something I also did in middle school!
  
• Bob, Sue, and I are so thankful that we have one semester under our belts. We are so much more prepared and organized for this semester and we can see that our confidence is building in the work that was once so unfamiliar to us. It feels so right to be back together again. I can't imagine serving without Bob and Sue...I have grown in love and admiration for them and their hearts for ministry.

A few highlights from my Christmas break...

• Muskogee Church of Christ (MCC) invited me back to Oklahoma for two days to share with the youth about my work in Germany. MCC is one of my supporting churches and it is also the place where I interned for two summers in 2008 and 2009. I was delighted to go back and see how the kids have grown! No only are they getting taller, but I can see how God is continuing to enlarge their hearts. I was able to share what it has meant for me to walk by faith and leave my family. I was able to explain how faithful God has been and continues to be. I also brought back several pieces of German chocolate and used them as an object lesson to illustrate what it looks like to embrace a gift we are given despite our lack of understanding as to what it is ...what it contains...and what it might taste like. The kids couldn't read the German on the wrapper...they had no idea what kind of chocolate it was...whether it was good or bad. They couldn't ask their friends or their parents about it either. So they trusted me. They trusted that I wouldn't give them something that would harm them. So they took and they ate. And they tasted something really sweet! They quickly identified the parallels. So often we don't know or can't understand what God is doing in our life or where He is taking us or what He requires of us. But despite our lack of understanding, we trust in the God whose demands are not burdensome...we trust in the God who feeds us good things...we trust in the God who has come to give us life! As my time of sharing ended, one of the adults, and a wonderful friend of mine asked those present to pray over me. I was overwhelmed. As hands were laid on me, I felt more encouraged than I ever been as "my kids" began to pray. One boy thanked God for my "kind heart" and how I have been a role model to him. Another girl prayed that we might be more open to trusting God with the "sweet things" that He gives us. I was so touched. Oklahoma is one of my heart homes and I walked away from my brief stay there feeling so encouraged because people could see the joy that I have as I spoke about Liel and the kids that I have grown to love. I am so thankful. To my Okie Family, you have blessed me in ways that I never thought possible. I love ya'll :)
• Earlier in the break, I was also able to share with another supporting church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Utica, Maryland. I was able to speak briefly with an adult Sunday school class and then I sat in with the middle school/high school class (consisting of three students). I was really blessed by the time I was able to spend with these three students and two adult teachers particularly because of one special little guy who had $2 for his offering. After explaining that I had to raise my own support, he insisted that I take $1...now, I realize that this is only a little bit of money, but he gave 50% of what he had. I was touched and humbled by his generosity :)
• As many of you know, it has been difficult for me to be disconnected from my community at Grove City College...there are moments when I miss these people so much. I miss them because they know me so well and have supported me and encouraged me for four years...to be an ocean apart, well...that can be hard. And yet, God in His awesome faithfulness let me have sweet fellowship with friends from Grove City...some of the fellowship was planned and some of it was a surprise. Just seeing these people again filled my heart with joy! Jade, Natalie, Amy, Stephen, Rachel, Ali, Erin, and Megan: Thank you for our visits..it was really special and it was exactly what I needed.
  
• I was able to celebrate the engagement of a very dear friend of mine, Katie Klepacki. I was delighted to share in her and her fiance's joy because I can see that this relationship is completely of the Lord. And that is beautiful!
• Family time: People have asked me several times what I miss most about the States. For me, the answer is simple--my family. After not seeing them for five months, my heart longed to be near them. I knew this would be the hardest part about going to Germany, but I trusted God to provide me with a spiritual family and He most certainly has...I have 11 new brothers and sisters :) Even still, the very fact that my family was tangible over break was such a comfort. Just to be hugged by my parents and lifted up by my brother was such a gift--perhaps the best Christmas present ever.
• Special Cards and gifts: While giving is not my love language, I was touched by several special Christmas cards and gifts over break. It is so sweet to be blessed by those who love you and care for you! Though I wasn't expecting this demonstration of love over break, I appreciated it so much. It certainly filled my cup! To my special givers, thank you for your loving kindness!

There will definitely be more updates and highlights to share as time goes on, but for now, I must stop and fold some laundry :) Please continue to pray for us at Liel. It was hard for me to say goodbye to my family at age 22 and yet these students are as young as 13, so I can see that it is much harder for some of them. These past two days have been particularly hard for a few of our girls who are already feeling homesick and missing their moms. If you think of them, please pray that they may be comforted by the Father who is always with them.

Praying for you, my reader, as well...that this new start to the year would be one that you are blessed and challenged by for good.

Peace,
Lauren

Holiday Highlights

October: Kate's finished pumpkin... and she is a first-timer!

October: Josh and G.I...

Carving culture into their pumpkins--can you see "KOREA?"

November: Thanksgiving Desserts

December: Ira with her colorful Christmas cookies!

Over the past several entries, I have been introducing our students to you. Today, I wanted to share a few holiday highlights in order to give you a glimpse into what we do with our free time around Liel...

• October: Celebrating Fall! Though we couldn't take our kids to Brookfield Pumpkins in Maryland (our dorm budget would not have allowed for 14 international plane tickets...haha), we were able to stop at a road side stand and pick out several pumpkins and gourds. Some of our students had never carved pumpkins before, so it was really special to see them get excited about their "art projects." On the night of October 31, we set our our pumpkins and we had several German locals stop by for treats.
  
• November: Thanksgiving! While the Germans naturally do not celebrate this holiday, we still wanted to introduce the traditional Thanksgiving to our students, American and Korean. Bob, our dorm dad, wanted to make sure that we also included an ethnic dish to our dinner (as the Indians certainly brought something of their own as they sat at the table with the Pilgrims...right?), so I made Thai Coconut Curry to delight the taste buds of our Korean students :) We celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 21, and sat about 22 people around the table. It was so special! After the meal was complete, we went around the table and asked each person to say something they were thankful for...Bob, Sue, and I were especially encouraged because so many of our students expressed thanks for their dorm staff. We were flattered.
  
• December: It's Christmastime! At the end of November, we visited a local farmer in Liel, knocked on his door, sang he and his mother "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and then we proceeded to ask if we could buy one of his Christmas trees :) I must admit that I have never picked out a tree with 14 people, but it didn't take long for us to all be in agreement about the one tree that would be ours. After paying the 25 euros, our boys carried the tree home. The same weekend, we pulled out all of our Christmas decorations and spent a Sunday afternoon decorating the tree, putting up stockings (14 in all), decorating sugar cookies, drinking hot apple cider, and listening to Christmas carols. It was really special and our kids were really excited to be part of it...both the guys and the girls! And then to bring our semester to a close, Sue organized a Christmas party last night (as it was our final weekend together). We enjoyed plenty of yummy foods, played games, and exchanged a few presents (but before you recieved your present, you were required to a sing a song of your choice....roommates and family members sang together....haha, I was left on my own for this one, but asked for the help of the students to sing "I Used to Drive a Little Ford...Now I'm Cruising for the Lord" with me--it was pretty great). Bob, Sue, and I were incredibly suprised to receive two very special gifts from our students. With the help of our weekend dorm subs (Mark and Becky Mindek, who sub for Bob and Sue when they have a weekend off), they made a quilt for Bob and Sue and a large pillow for me. On the quilt and pillow, each student had made a fabric flower and sewed it on to the pillow or quilt by themselves! Each fabric flower was different and each student picked out a fabric that represented them in some way. They were so excited to give us their homemade gifts. I was so touched. It's interesting because as many parents would understand, it is often the case that your work sometimes goes unnoticed. You just keep serving and caring for your children because you love them and because it is your responsibility. So that is what I do too, I keep serving, I keep caring, I keep loving because I love them! I will usually get a 'thank you' for finishing someone's laundry or for making a special snack, but this pillow...it represented so many thanks, it represented so much appreciation. I feel loved. These children have become my family here. My little brothers and sisters. I love it! Before this entry comes to a close, I need to share one last thing... after our Christmas party was over, I went up to my room and found a beautiful note from one of my girls on my pillow, it read... "Lauren, you are so awesome and I love you tremendously. I will miss you tomorrow [Mondays are my day off]. Today was such an awesome day! I really felt like we were all family. I could have cried I was so happy! Love you."
  

Last week, I was really missing my family and friends in the States. It was like this wave of homesickness just crashed over me. But you know? God invites our tears and He has this beautiful way of lifting us back up. He lifted me up this weekend and I praise Him for that. My dear friend, Jade, recently sent me a beautiful necklace with three hearts of different sizes. She explained in a note that she hoped God would really enlarge my heart during this new season of life. Her prayers are being answered! My heart is being enlarged! With each passing day, I am growing in love for these girls and boys. With each passing day, I am embracing this work more and more. With eaching passing day, I am learning to trust and obey the God who brought me here not to be homesick, but to be well.

I will be flying home this coming Sunday, Dec. 19, and I am so excited to see my family for the first time in five months. I love the reality that they will be tangible and hugable! But at the same time, I know that will I miss these students and I know that I will be ready to come back to Germany on January 8.

Please pray for our students as they begin taking their final exams and preparing to go home this week. For most of our students, they have never taken final exams and they have never traveled without their parents. So, we ask that you intercede for them... for endurance as they study, for protection as they travel, for rest as they spend time at home.

In the Joy of the Coming Messiah,
Lauren

My Okie girl...

Priscilla--my Okie girl!

During the summers of 2009 and 2008, I had the joy of working with middle school and high school youth at Muskogee Church of Christ in Muskogee, Oklahoma. As I pause to remember that ministry, I can see how God used that experience to enlarge my heart for His children. It was in Oklahoma that He really helped me to understand how investing in youth brought me great joy. Serving at the church certainly opened the door for me to come to Germany and I am so grateful. While it was difficult for me to leave Oklahoma, God reallyblessed me with a piece of Oklahoma through the life of one precious little girl named Priscilla. She is my Okie girl :) Let me tell you about her...

Priscilla was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has been a student at BFA for the past two and half years. Her parents are missionaries with Jews for Jesus and they have powerful testimonies about how God drew them to Himself and the mission field. They both speak Hebrew and are incredibly passionate about helping Jews see the reality of who Christ was, is, and forever will be. Priscilla's dad spoke at our dorm devotional this past Sunday and explained that Jesus' name in Hebrew is Yeshua, meaning 'salvation.' At the time of Jesus' birth, parents named their children according to who their child was...for Mary and Joseph to name their child Jesus/God/Yeshua would have been considered blasphemy, and yet it was true. This baby Jesus was and is God and He was and is salvation. God became Yeshua in order that we could live! I found this message so insightful as the advent season has begun and as we anticipate the arrival of Christ.

Okay, back to Priscilla...

Priscilla is now in 8th grade and she is the President of the BFA Middle School Student Council. She is extremely disicplined in her studies and she is extremely competitive in her sports. I love seeing her play basketball in the driveway with her dorm brothers--she is super tough and it's easy to see that the guys respect her game. Priscilla also has such an energetic and enthusiastic spirit--it's contagious really...it starts at 7:30 in the morning and ends around 10 at night! Sometimes I have to remind her to watch her 'volume' and it's really funny because she can usually anticipate when I am about to mention this ...she just laughs and gives me that beautiful grin that you see in the photo above. Ah, I love her!

Together, we love to reminisce about our time in Oklahoma--the friends we have there and the places that we've visted. It's so wonderful to connect to Priscilla in this way and to share about the place that means so much to us. We are both planning a visit there over Christmas break...unfortunately, we won't be crossing paths this time.