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!

Guilt tripping

5 reactions that have convinced me to keep my newest phone in my pocket as much as possible.

Reaction #1: A new cell phone, huh? Do your supporters know this?

Reaction #2: Why did you get that one? Everyone knows the old model is better. Plus the newest one is coming out in a few months.

Reaction #3: Looks like the materialism of the world has a hold on you.

Reaction #4: Don't you know that those parts were made by child slave labor in Asia? Children, Katrina. Children.

Reaction #5: Why didn't you get a case? Your phone is sliding all over my lap. You need a case. Oh, and the phone charger. Why don't you have non-stick pads all over your car? That'll help the phone from sliding. Where are all your apps? What kind of a low-grade phone is this?

Biblical Haikus

Rainy days always set me in a writing/reading mood. And since the tented Polka band across the street won't let me take my planned nap, I've been adding to my growing newest project: Biblical haikus. Sort of. I tend to like the rhythm of 5-5-7 better than the traditional 5-7-5, so I'm not sure what to call these guys. For now, I'm sticking with "Haiku."

It began with an online sermon a couple of weeks ago, and I loved the puns contained in the names of both the hero and the villain. The first haiku just came to me. Since then, my list has been growing, and I'm thinking I'll use them this fall in Homeroom as a fun guessing game. See if you can tell which stories the following three are from (the middle one being the one from the sermon, so all you GCR people have it easy):

Who knew risking all

- in times such as these -

Orphan's crown her people'd save?

Son of my Right Hand

Sword-wielding Leftie

Justice upon fat Cow-King

Leafy shadow's deed

Aside core and seed

Death-pierced heart which nails freed

Games

This summer has been amazing in that I feel it's been a wonderful balance between work, time for myself, and time with others. I'm getting a lot of sleep, hopeful to be able to store some up for the coming school year. :-) I've gotten to read a whole slew of books on my reading list, taken both long and short hikes with other BFA-ers in town for the summer, and played a ton of games.

Last week Thursday, 9 of my former students came over for a game night. We played Dictionary, Fishbowl, and Spoons and laughed a lot. JH even came up from Zurich, which was impressive. She and KO spent the night upstairs in my guest room.

Then on Saturday, I was invited to a Dominion tournament. Dominion is a fairly new game for me, though I already love it and own my own set now. I only knew a couple of the people at the tournament, which was super fun meeting more young couples, although I was still the youngest, which meant I got to start every round. Yipee! I came in 9th place - ouch - but now that I have my own set, I plan on getting better, so you all should consider yourselves challenged!

This week, I moved in with the E kids for three days while their parents were gone. 9-year-old NE apparently can't get enough of games, and his sisters were more than happy to let me take over the role of his playing partner. In three days, we covered Taboo, Set, Outburst Junior, Dutch Blitz, Speed, Stress, Who Is It, War, Skipbo, and lots of Mario Kart on the Wii. I didn't know that was possible. :-)

My Worth?

This afternoon as I was mixing and baking up some Patriotic Sugar Cookies, I was listening to KTIS on the radio. (It makes me feel warm and fuzzy, especially the weather and traffic reports. I still recognize all those place names versus the ones mentioned on German radio.) A song came on, and I thought I heard the following line: "... the lie that I am someone worth dying for."

Interesting, I thought, and began pondering what they might mean by that when the chorus came on again, and I realized I'd understood it wrong. The actual line was "Jesus, help me believe that I am someone worth dying for."

I guess I can see what the songwriter is trying to say. Earlier lyrics state, "Am I more than flesh and bone? Am I really something beautiful? ... I'm not just some wandering soul," and I wouldn't even disagree with any of those questions or that statement. I believe Christ's death on the cross carries the underlying message that as humans we are valuable, that we are more than skin over skeleton. I trust that even if I had been the only sinner on earth, God still would have sent his only Son to take my place because that's who He is. And in his working, that gives me worth.

However, asking Jesus to help me believe I am someone worth dying for still strikes me as completely backwards because the truth is: I'm not. I never have been and I never will be. Take me just as I am, and I don't deserve to have anyone lay his life on the line for me, much less the Son of God. I'm beyond unworthy to have him die for me, but he did it anyway. And now it's only because he dares to say I have any worth, only because he speaks those words, that I do. The order of things is crucial here. Not 1. I'm worthy and therefore 2. Christ died, but rather 1. Christ died thereby 2. making me worthy.

My intention is not to criticize this song. I just wanted to say that I almost like my first misunderstanding of it better. "Save me from the lie that I'm someone worth dying for, but remind me of the sacrifice of your Son and the worth this gives me."