My wonderful students

Gawk. Here's reason # 3956105762032 of why I adore Middle Schoolers and the way their minds are working and growing and maturing - both good and goofy.

In 7th grade Geography, we've spent the last two days setting the context for Planet Earth. It is, after all, going to be our subject of study for the year. Part of my goal was for them to see how small Earth is compared to other planets, let alone stars and galaxies and the rest of the universe, so I showed the class part of Louie Giglio's "Indescribable" video here. In our follow-up discussion, I asked the question "What is Earth's purpose? Why did God create it if it's so small and insignificant compared to everything else?" They came up with some good answers about God giving us a place to live and wanting to show up his creativity, etc. I was still trying to prompt them into seeing that all of creation glorifies God when MC raised his hand, and I called on him.

MC: "So, maybe God created the Earth as a home for us, okay. But why did he even create us?"

Me: "Do you mean 'why did he create humans'?"

MC: "Yes, why did he waste his time with us? Especially if he knew many of us would not even believe in him?"

Whoa, 7th graders asking philosophical questions most intellectuals can't even answer. My heart skipped a few beats, and of course my mind began racing for an answer. I chickened out and turned the question back on them.

Me: "Why do you think God created humans?"

AP (timidly): "Maybe he was lonely?"

Me: "Um, ... anybody else have any ideas?"

NR: "Maybe he wanted someone to love him."

Me: "Good, keep the ideas coming?"

Sadly we didn't have enough time to fully unpack it. We did eventually end with God's glory, and I'm planning on reviving the conversation on Monday, but HOW COOL IS MY JOB?!?!?!? Where Middle Schoolers can have spiritual conversations at the drop of a hat?

Bring on the kids

As of yesterday, my classroom is pretty much ready for the start of the school year. Here's one view of the back where we've set up a "chill area" (since there's no room for an actual student center at the new campus, there are a few such couch areas around the school), and then there's a shot of the front with me and my lovely geography maps. I'm so much more relaxed this year around.

New Middle School

Here are just some of the pictures of the summer - all the work that went into transforming the old Elementary School into our brand new Middle School! Pictures of the final product to come.

putting together 24 computer lab chairs

Ikea drawers for the teachers

destruction of the rotten playground

out with coat hooks and cubbies - in with lockers

shoveling rocks: by far the greatest summer challenge!!!

setting up book shelves for the library ...

... and then filling them! :-)

A first in 12 years!

Today I woke up and missed America. Not the people - I've missed them many many many times in the last 2 years - but actually America with all its conveniences, amenities, faults, culture, and food. I really just wanted to hop over to Caribou for a morning jolt followed by a trip to the public library (because both WILL be open all the time). I'd throw all my trash into the same bin and make calls knowing each one isn't going to cost me extra. And maybe I'd stay up till 2 am just so I can go buy my Peanut Butter M&M's at a 24-hour store (one with a Redbox preferably).

Okay, it's not really that bad. My "missing America" only lasted about 10 minutes and then I remembered everything I love about Europe (and the fact that I seemed to only be missing the shallow consumerism aspects, and I don't want my emotions controlled by THAT). Truly, I'm doing great. I think it just hit me that I haven't been away from America this long in one stretch since before I moved there in 2000. Besides, these are good feelings to have 10 days before school starts because it reminds me what my students will be feeling when they leave all their various home countries to come to school in Germany.

Impressions from Camp

Christian camp in Austria is so different from any camp I've been to in America. For starters, we're usually in some farmer's field, and we set up our own tents, build our own kitchen in the forest, find a spring to tap water from, chop our own firewood, and dig our own outhouses. This year, we had it a little cushy because there were toilets and showers nearby that we were allowed to use. Granted, the water was usually cold, but hey, I actually showered at this camp!

our homemade oven

Cooking over our homemade stove with "dining room" in the background

We were a conglomeration of teens (and leaders) from the Baptist Church, the Calvary Chapel Church (both in Spittal), and 1/3 outsiders, meaning they'd been invited by a friend and had no previous church experience. We spent a lot of time building the camp and doing the daily duties of cooking, gathering water, chopping firewood, etc, plus the regular camp things such as Capture the Flag, roasting s'mores, and playing with electric fences (teenagers!).

broken bridge when we got there

the bridge we built over it

Teaching them Capture the Flag - they LOVED it!

Yes, they did actually play around with an electric fence.

On Wednesday, we packed up our sleeping bags, some clothes, and a bunch of tarps, and we went on a 2-day hike. Wow! On the first day, the complaining really got to me. Of course, the kids' packs were very heavy, and for some of them, hiking for 5 hours was quite the new feat. However, I was more than ready to throw in the towel by the time we got to our overnight spot. The kids all fell to the ground, some in tears, and refused to move. So, we girls cooked them dinner while the guy leaders set up all the tarps, collected firewood, and found fresh water, and then we tucked them all into their sleeping bags. Our evening leader meeting found us all on the verge of tears and in prayer, and I can't begin to describe how beautifully God worked. The kids truly enjoyed the sleeping outside and woke up on Thursday morning entirely new kids. The hike back down was so much more enjoyable, and the hike marked the turning point of the week between complaints and great attitudes. I think we experienced a spiritual victory that night!

Johannes with the map and compass; the kids took turns leading us.

Break time!

Lovely sight on Thursday morning: everyone still sleeping under their tarps.

The most important facet of the week were the spiritual messages. Each day was devoted to a different topic, e.g. How to deal with disappointments, Building healthy friendships, Sexuality and love, Living with one's parents, etc. The disappointment day was especially hilarious because I drove off in a car and came back with McDonald's sacks. However, when they opened them up, they found only an apple and a piece of hard bread. (Don't worry, we fed them real dinner later.) I was also in charge of a tent of four girls, two of whom were non-believers. They were so much fun and asked some really good questions. If you'd like to pray, pray especially for Marie and Julia who were very open to having God in their lives, but no decisions were made this week (that I know of).

McDonald's disappointment

One of my girls: Lisa.

Thanks for reading!