What is to come?

One week from today our week long outreach trips begin. In the beginning of the semester we signed up on interest sheets and according to those we were placed into various ourtreach groups. Students that are musically or dramatically inclined joined sing and drama teams and those teams were divided up into the different groups also. There is one group going to Serbia to work with gypsies, one group staying here to host a large group of young children for a week, a few groups going to high schools in Germany, and a group going to a town near Stuggart to help facilitate an English camp. I was assigned the last group, the English camp.

Not all the groups, including mine, are going to straight up evangelize but we are going into settings that will allow, God willing, for us to share the Truth with kids. For example, the English camp I will be going to is not connected to the church, other than the fact that it is being held at a Christian conference center. The kids, who will be between 12-18, do not think that they are going to a Bible or religious camp, they are just going to learn and practice English.

At the English camp we will be helping out in the class rooms, facilitating workshops of sorts, and providing music and entertainment for the kids. When our group first met our leader asked if any one had teaching experience and because I 'taught' at the YMCA and I worked with international students at Madison, I raised my hand, not thinking that it would really effect me...well, at our last meeting I, along with the other girl who has experience, was informed that 2 of the 4 English teachers have to leave half way through the week so Christine and myself will have to take their places and fill in as the actual teachers....YIKES! I was not expecting that, and I was a little freaked out, but apparently they will have lesson plans ready for us so we just need to go in and execute them. I will be teaching a class of about 25 German kids of various ages...I am terrified...but when I think about it I am probably just as qualified for the position as the teacher whose place I am taking. So, I guess we'll see! I also may have the opportunity to prepare and deliver a message to the whole group of 125, but that is not for sure yet.

I guess a prayer request from me would be that all of our outreaches go well and that God, through us, really impacts some of the kids we will be encountering.

Another pretty exciting thing in the near future is our travel weekend. Each semester we are given a long weekend to travel. At first I thought about planning my own trip somewhere in Europe but then we were told that the school would be taking a small group of students to a hut or lodge in Austria. I decided to do this because it will be easier and cheaper and I have never been to Austria. So in two weeks I, along with about 30 other students and staff, will be headed to Austria for four days to hike and just hang out.