SnOw

It is a winter wonderland outside! I am sad it was not this last year when I was staying here for Christmas. Of course the year I am headed home it is snowing. But I am not downgrading the 75 degree weather I am headed for. I am excited to go embrace the warmth!

This semester I know the Lord has been teaching me a lot of patience and how to show constant compassion. Those were two things I feel like I struggle with and I know the Lord has been stretching me in. There is still a lot to learn, but I know that I am not who I used to be either.

Well, California here I come!!!

SwAp

Tonight was an adventure. We decided last week to have a dorm swap. Or actually all the RAs swapped dorms. We drew out of a hat and wound up at different dorms. I went to another girl dorm...Palm. I had a lot of fun. I mean I missed my Witt Chicks, but it definitely broke up the monotony. We played games, voted on fashion, ate dinner, and made baked oatmeal. I enjoyed watching how a different dorm operates as well as meet new students that I didn't know before. On behalf of all the BFA RAs I would say it was a successful surprise to everyone!

Fun Filled Football Fashion Fiasco

That is a mouth full and I am a little delayed about writing about this particular experience, but we had our Christmas banquet two weekends ago. All the girls looked beautiful. I just have a stunning dorm. 30-minutes before we left one of my girls came up to me and asked if I had any extra dresses because her dress didn't fit...so I told her to go and grab the one that was on my chair and get Laura to fix it. It turned out miraculously. Also, two of our girls were honored by the student body to be on the Christmas Banquet court. It was so exciting. Several of my friends and I went to a restaurant in town and ordered food to go. While we waited we made popcorn at our friend's house to take with us to the banquet. We brought our food to the school and watched all the performances of the students in the balcony.

The next day was our Powder Puff football game against one of the other girls dorm, Palm. I think it definitely brought our dorm together. It was funny...because many of our girls did not know how to play. Very few had actually gone to the practices I had with the girls. So when they went to play they asked...so what do I do, what is the point of this. One of our most confused girls was our best players. Too bad I couldn't play, but I was a great cheerleader from the sidelines (I have had years of practice...just a little).

Laughter is the BEST Medicine!

This old adage is so True! From time to time we see how this statement comes to life and last night was no exception.
Erin (my co-RA) and I were preparing the hot lunch for today actually. We were making a vegetable, ham soup. We had gone through the first step of instructions and then were on to adding the ham to the vegetables that were alredy stewing. Too bad that German ham bone is not pre-prepared like in the states, nor is it actually at all appealing. Erin and I called our dorm mom and she told us to just place it in the stew and let it cook. After about an hour of the meat simmering in the pot and the vegetables deteriorating into mush, we attempted to pull out the precarious piece of meat. I grabbed a knife to help add leverage to retrieve the victim. As soon as I punctured the skin of the ham (aka pork) blood came spewing out into the soup. I must have penetrated some artery. From my disgust came a horrendous scream. At that noise two girls came running into thekitchen to know what on earth was happening. Which lead into Erin and I being tickled because we refused for them to see our monstrosity, let alone what would have been their lunch for tomorrow. They left but returned with re-inforcements. I wound up placing the pan on the floor with me on top so that none of the girls could see inside. As I sat their with a moist darier, I figured I was going to begin the meal over again since this turned out to be a disasterous experiment so I caved to the girls' demands and showed it to them. They just stood with their mouths wide open. Complete disgust was written across their forheads.

Last night I was highly cynical and bitter about the having to prepare another soup for 30 people again, but today...I know I will never forget that moment of ecstasy.

SwInE fLu

Right now, our school is in the path of the dreaded swine flu. Students are dropping like flies and we have one confirmed case. The German government is threatening us with closing our doors for seven days. In our dorm at this moment there are only three, but I have a feeling there are several more that will become victims of this forboding illness. Please be praying that it is contained and stopped before it gets worse.

eMoTiOnS

There have been so much bombarding me lately.  Decisions, meetings, activities, girls, chores, errands... Life has just become a little overwhelming.  It doesn't make me tire or frustrated with what I am doing, it just makes me think more about the purposes for why I am doing what I am doing.  Why have I decided to travel half way around the world, live in a dorm with 20 high school girls, give up my independence, be far from family and friends, put life on hold?  I then think about everything that Lord is doing and has done and I wonder if I am being selfish and allowing myself to become my focus rather than what the Lord has called me to do here...

That's where I am at...

B-bAlL

Today I participated in an 3-on-3 basketball tournament.  I had never done a team sport like that before.  I did play soccer when I was five and I did play softball in 8th grade, but really...nothing containing as much contact.  I really enjoyed myself,  I wish we could have played more games.  It made me want to go back and play other sports when I was young, but I did love gymnastics and cheerleading.  My team lost two consecutive games.  But I stayed an watch everyone else play.  One of my girls, Kat, wound up winning the whole tournament.  I was so PROUD!!!