What I've been up to lately

Inviting some missionary kids over for Pizza Night:
Keeping the official score book at basketball games with friend Rachel:
Getting ready for Candlelight Dinner: (if you don't get my prayer updates and would like to, let me know)Taking pictures of the Carnival Parade from my window:And enjoying gorgeous sunsets over Kandern (actually rather rare but definitely stunning):
(the nutshell version)

When Jesus saw THEIR faith...

It's Friday evening, and I finally have time to settle into my lazy-boy and share some of my reflections of the last few weeks with you all. They've been tough, to say the least. To hear 3 weeks ago that two students were being expelled for sexual misconduct was hard. To hear the following week that there had been multiple cases of sexual abuse constituted a crisis.

I hadn't been really close to any of the students involved, but several of my students were close, and it's obvious they've been hurting. The Monday the news broke (we call it "Bad Monday"), my two 10th grade boys spent most of the next hour staring out the window. One wanted to talk about it, the other not at all. Counselors have been available on campus, tears have been shed, hugs have been passed out freely, and grace has been abundant. It's been beautiful to watch the Body at work, and yet, I've really questioned over and over what I can do. Why would God have worked so hard to have me here already this year when he knew this crisis would break out?

The day after "Bad Monday," I was reading in Luke 5 about the friends who carried a paralytic on a mat to Jesus and ended up having to break in through the roof tiles in order to actually get to Jesus. It says, "right in front of Jesus" no less. I was moved by their dedication to fight through all obstacles and make sure the wounded person of the group was brought before the Healer. It was such a clear image to me that I needed to bring my wounded students to God in prayer. Sometimes it might be most seriously wounded girl, EY, on the mat. Other times the perpetrator, JN. Maybe it would be me on that mat every now and then, but that's the beauty of the Body. We can bear each other and lift one another up before the throne of God.

And I was also moved by the ending. After Jesus had forgiven sins, put the Pharisees in their place, and healed the paralytic, Luke writes, "Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, 'We have seen remarkable things today.'" Oh how I beg that BFA will be able to say that about this situation one day! Until then, I just keep bringing the paralytics. Keep returning to the throne.

Meaningful Lyrics

Hear our cry, Lord, we pray
Our faces down, our hands are raised
You called us out, we turned away
We've turned away.

If we've ever needed you,
Lord, it's now, Lord, it's now
We are desperate for your hand
we're reaching out, we're reaching out

All our hearts, all our strength
with all our minds, we're at your feet
May your kingdom come in our hearts and lives
Let your Church arise, let your Church arise

If we've ever needed you,
Lord, it's now, Lord, it's now
We are desparate for your hand
we're reaching out, we're reaching out

We need you now.

(portions of "If We Ever Needed You" by Casting Crowns)

Rough days for BFA right now.

Chipped Tooth

On Tuesday at 12:01, I was sitting in my office, sneaking a few bites of my sandwich early, when I suddenly felt something hard in my mouth and my tongue kept hitting something sharp. Yep, I spit out a small piece of my left molar. Ewww! I panicked and called Catherine, who told me to call the nurses, who gave me the numbers of the two dentists in town. Both of them, however, had closes at noon and didn't reopen on Tuesdays.

I wasn't in any pain, so I considered leaving it until Wednesday when I could make a real appointment, but it was suggested I should at least get the sharp part filed down, which I did at a dentist in another town. Now, I pretty much loathe dentists - something to do with the 21 teeth I've had pulled in my lifetime. Sitting in a dentist waiting room is fairly the worst torture you could come up with for me. So Tuesday was pretty much ruined for me. And then so was Thursday when I had the real appointment here in Kandern for the filling. Talk about a painful 1 hour of waiting and another even more painful 45 minutes in "the chair." Might as well be electric. Tomorrow's supposed to be the check-up, but I'm considering canceling. Shhhh, don't tell.

Typical day with my students

Student: I had a very weird dream.
... Long pause. I put down the book and wait.
Student: It was very strange.
... Another long pause.
Me: What was it about?
Student: I don't remember.
... End of conversation. Huh?

DW likes to talk or sing to himself when he does his homework. Sometimes he makes weird noises. Today, he started breathing very loudly.
DW: *Hooooooo* Inhale. *Woooooooooosh* Outhale.
All the rest of us burst into laughter.

JB had some free time last Saturday and drew a mural on the white board:
Can you tell he loves basketball?

And finally, so you don't think they never work when they come to the Resource Room, here's VW's final project on the Egypt unit:It's a diagram of an Egyptian tomb. Very fun to make with him.