Look what God has done

I'd never understood what people were talking about when they were glad to see a month end. Sure some months were often tougher than others, but I never blamed it on the month itself. Until this past February. It was bad from start to finish, full of crises and challenges and bad news. Those of you who helped pray me through it remember! March didn't come soon enough, and it definitely turned a corner. High school retreat picked up our spirits, and then we all headed in spring break with mission trips and uplifting conferences. I looked back at February 2010 and said, "Good. Riddance!" February was rot, dust, ashes.

Last week and today, the Black Forest Christian Fellowship (the English-speaking church that meets at school) had baptisms. I decided to forgo my German church to see some of my current and future students make this big step of obedience. Well, no one told me EY was among those getting baptized. EY was the one who helped blow the whistle on the sexual abuse case in February, and so many of you have prayed for her and her healing process since. Today I saw some of those prayers answered. God has brought beauty out of the ashes!
There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Especially from all the boys you can see in the front of the picture - her dorm brothers. During the prayer time, her mother asked everyone who'd invested in EY's life or at any time ever prayed for her to stand. The entire auditorium was on its feet, and I couldn't help but think of all the people and supporters around the world who'd also laid EY at Jesus' feet. It was a beautiful picture. Do February storms also bring May crowns?

Not to overlook all the other students who took big steps today as well, here are some other snapshots. The first one is a girl who'll be my student next year! The middle one had a testimony of loss that also made me sob, and the final shot is one of the boys from the dorm I volunteer at every Thursday. Such sweethearts all of them!