So in a few weeks the whole school will be loading up on some busses and heading across the border to Switzerland for High School Retreat. Dorm Staff doesn't typically go as this is a school side event put on by the Chaplain's department, however you know me, if they put retreat in the title I am totally sold. Honestly, a lot of why I want to go is a chance to understand more about the spiritual atmosphere at BFA.
I am not always the best about keeping open expectations. Coming to BFA, I took what I knew about high schoolers in general, blended it with a bit of what I had been taught about TCKs (Third Culture Kids) and then tossed in random things I had heard about what students here were like. I knew better than to expect a school full of kids who were totally sold out to God and only made incredibly wise and responsible choices. I'm not quite that naive. However, I think I came in with this idea that apathy wouldn't be a thing here. I expected kids to be either totally on board with Jesus, or pretty strongly opposed to Him. I also thought that I was going to be working with students who were just light years of maturity above the average teenager I had interacted with in the States.
I know this will shock you (sarcasm font) but somehow my expectations were wrong. That seems to happen to me a fair amount. I am pretty sure that is the entire process of becoming an adult.
In so many ways students here blow my expectations out of the water in a positive way. In other ways I had elevated the idea of a student who loves Christ being someone who just "gets it" I forgot that developmentally, while many have lived life in a big way, and have experiences I will never get, they are still in fact teenagers. And I mean that in the most perfect way. I don't use the phrasing, "Well they are teenagers." in a negative way. I like the stage of life that is teenagerdom. It is a weird, hard, and confusing time, but I think it is cool how God uses it. I'd say I am probably somewhere in my teenage years in relation to my faith.
This is a really long way to say, the students here are highschoolers. And while in many ways they are different from my previous frame of reference for what that means (at any given meal four or more languages are thrown around the table) at the core, there are so many similarities to myself and my friends in high school.
There are students who just really love Jesus. They are figuring out what that means, but they are enamored with Him. And it does my heart good to know that students like that exist here.
There are students here who may just flip if they here the name Jesus one more time. They are tired of it, they have heard it their whole lives and are just done with the whole spiel. It does my heart good to know that they are here.
There are students who ache for "church" to look like what it does at "home" There are students who celebrate that here they can have "church" that is different from "home"
I could go on and on. I think my point is that it would take a lot of words for me to explain students here, because, much like at home they are made up of layer upon layer of unique story.
So bringing this back around to retreat. Kids are a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to how they feel about retreat. And I would really love it if you joined me in praying for them as this time of spiritual focus draws near.
Things to pray for:
~Speaker: Jon Schliep Ask that God would continue speaking to him as he finishes his preparations. Pray for his wife Ellie and him as they travel here. Pray that during the times that he is sharing, God would give him clear and distinct guidance on what to say.
~Worship leader: (I don't know their name.) Pray that they would enter worship in Spirit and Truth. Pray that they would be focused on leading us into worship, not entertaining us.
~Chaplains Office Staff: Pray that they would be able to work through all of the details with ease. Pray that logistics would not become a distraction from the work of God.
~Small Group Leaders: Pray they would be able to guide students into real and honest discussion about their relationships with God and others. Give them wisdom to know which ways to steer conversations.
~Students: Pray that God would soften hearts. Pray that students would be able to lay aside various distractions and listen for God to speak. Pray against illness that would prevent students from attending. Pray that the retreat would be restful and spiritually renewing. Pray that the work God does in hearts during this time would not be left there, but brought back to continue meaningful impact in the community.
I want to leave you with a short Psalm one of my girls wrote at retreat two years ago. She was watching the fog rise over the mountains. We will be returning to the same location this year. I have an expectant heart that God will lift the fog in the hearts of our students again.
As the fog lifts up by Mary Moon
As the fog lifts up
So does my fears lift up to you
As the fog rises up
My hope rises up to you
When I feel afraid
When I feel hopeless
Your hands lift up the fog in my soul
And present your might and glory
Like a mountain fixed powerfully
And its trees reaching the skies with the tips of its fingers
My arms lift up to you
And I cannot help but stand in awe of you
Father you are the Creator
Father you are the Almighty
Though my future seems dim like a fog
And my fears blind me
Father, you are still behind the fog
You have never left your place
My hopes soar like a bird
Hovering through the fog
And I trust in you presence behind the fog
I am not always the best about keeping open expectations. Coming to BFA, I took what I knew about high schoolers in general, blended it with a bit of what I had been taught about TCKs (Third Culture Kids) and then tossed in random things I had heard about what students here were like. I knew better than to expect a school full of kids who were totally sold out to God and only made incredibly wise and responsible choices. I'm not quite that naive. However, I think I came in with this idea that apathy wouldn't be a thing here. I expected kids to be either totally on board with Jesus, or pretty strongly opposed to Him. I also thought that I was going to be working with students who were just light years of maturity above the average teenager I had interacted with in the States.
I know this will shock you (sarcasm font) but somehow my expectations were wrong. That seems to happen to me a fair amount. I am pretty sure that is the entire process of becoming an adult.
In so many ways students here blow my expectations out of the water in a positive way. In other ways I had elevated the idea of a student who loves Christ being someone who just "gets it" I forgot that developmentally, while many have lived life in a big way, and have experiences I will never get, they are still in fact teenagers. And I mean that in the most perfect way. I don't use the phrasing, "Well they are teenagers." in a negative way. I like the stage of life that is teenagerdom. It is a weird, hard, and confusing time, but I think it is cool how God uses it. I'd say I am probably somewhere in my teenage years in relation to my faith.
This is a really long way to say, the students here are highschoolers. And while in many ways they are different from my previous frame of reference for what that means (at any given meal four or more languages are thrown around the table) at the core, there are so many similarities to myself and my friends in high school.
There are students who just really love Jesus. They are figuring out what that means, but they are enamored with Him. And it does my heart good to know that students like that exist here.
There are students here who may just flip if they here the name Jesus one more time. They are tired of it, they have heard it their whole lives and are just done with the whole spiel. It does my heart good to know that they are here.
There are students who ache for "church" to look like what it does at "home" There are students who celebrate that here they can have "church" that is different from "home"
I could go on and on. I think my point is that it would take a lot of words for me to explain students here, because, much like at home they are made up of layer upon layer of unique story.
So bringing this back around to retreat. Kids are a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to how they feel about retreat. And I would really love it if you joined me in praying for them as this time of spiritual focus draws near.
Things to pray for:
~Speaker: Jon Schliep Ask that God would continue speaking to him as he finishes his preparations. Pray for his wife Ellie and him as they travel here. Pray that during the times that he is sharing, God would give him clear and distinct guidance on what to say.
~Worship leader: (I don't know their name.) Pray that they would enter worship in Spirit and Truth. Pray that they would be focused on leading us into worship, not entertaining us.
~Chaplains Office Staff: Pray that they would be able to work through all of the details with ease. Pray that logistics would not become a distraction from the work of God.
~Small Group Leaders: Pray they would be able to guide students into real and honest discussion about their relationships with God and others. Give them wisdom to know which ways to steer conversations.
~Students: Pray that God would soften hearts. Pray that students would be able to lay aside various distractions and listen for God to speak. Pray against illness that would prevent students from attending. Pray that the retreat would be restful and spiritually renewing. Pray that the work God does in hearts during this time would not be left there, but brought back to continue meaningful impact in the community.
I want to leave you with a short Psalm one of my girls wrote at retreat two years ago. She was watching the fog rise over the mountains. We will be returning to the same location this year. I have an expectant heart that God will lift the fog in the hearts of our students again.
As the fog lifts up by Mary Moon
As the fog lifts up
So does my fears lift up to you
As the fog rises up
My hope rises up to you
When I feel afraid
When I feel hopeless
Your hands lift up the fog in my soul
And present your might and glory
Like a mountain fixed powerfully
And its trees reaching the skies with the tips of its fingers
My arms lift up to you
And I cannot help but stand in awe of you
Father you are the Creator
Father you are the Almighty
Though my future seems dim like a fog
And my fears blind me
Father, you are still behind the fog
You have never left your place
My hopes soar like a bird
Hovering through the fog
And I trust in you presence behind the fog
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