Wow! November already? I can't believe how fast this fall has gone! Someone's sitting on the remote and holding down the fast forward button...
I hope that all of you have enjoyed as lovely a fall as we've had here in Germany. I've felt so spoiled by all the beautiful sunny days and colorful leaves. One of these days, winter is going to hit, but for now, I'm loving it.
Okay, well let's get right to the highlights of October.
1. Underclassman Weekend
Every year, our juniors and seniors take class trips to Normandy and Rome respectively, and the dorm is left with only underclassmen for a full weekend. I've told you about this "Underclassman Weekend" before--since we have such a small group (we were down to 4 this year), we try our best to fill the days with fun things that we wouldn't ordinarily be able to do with a group of 24. This year was no different--we had our traditional messy game night (featuring shaving cream twister, blind makeovers, and a bubble fight in the kitchen), we made a fort in the living room (for lounging, sleeping, and watching movies in, of course!), and we took a trip into the mountains to enjoy what's called the Rodelbahn. The Rodelbahn is basically a 3km rollercoaster ride down the mountain. Everyone gets into an individual car and controls her own speed by only applying the brakes when she wants to. It's terrifying, but so fun (and totally safe, I'm sure...). The girls loved it--and so did the staff!
2. Game Tournament
It's also become a tradition to hold a dorm-wide game tournament with scorecards and prizes. We played twister, ultimate spoons, Jenga, and Just Dance. This was also a super fun time, and gave all the girls a chance to bond and laugh together by playing silly games. One of our freshmen made a video with highlights of this night, so I'll include that here to give you a glimpse of what it looked like.
3. Pumpking Carving
Every year we get together with a guys' dorm and have a pumpking carving contest. The kids are split into groups and have half an hour to design, carve, and present their unique pumpkin. We get a lot of really creative pumpkins each year, and this was no exception. This year's contest featured a Darth Vader pumpkin, a kitten pumpkin, kissing pumpkins, a pregnant pumpkin, and a 3-tiered, multi-faced pumpkin snowman with a strobe light. Good work, everyone. I'm including a picture. :)
2. Herbstmesse
It would also be remiss of me not to tell you about Herbstmesse, the annual fall festival in Basel, Switzerland. We loaded everyone up into buses and crossed the border into Switzerland for a night of carnival rides, cotton candy, Starbucks coffee, and bumper cars. It's always a little unnerving to think that we're releasing 300 teenagers into a city on their own, but they love the rides, the friends, and the memory-making. (And we didn't lose any! Hurray! :) )
Those are the main highlights so far, but it's by no means an exhaustive list. I can't include all the spirit days, movie nights, sports events, RA parties, late-night conversations, story times, and dorm fellowships. This is a full and blessed life I lead.
But before I close this post, I do want to ask for prayer. Even though these have been some really delightful weeks, they've also been hard. Transition is hard, and I am (and our whole dorm is) deep in it. Even though the setting is the same, this dorm feels like a new place every year, especially now with new dorm parents and so many new students. So please pray for joy in this journey: for me, for the girls, for Katie, and for Bryan and Jennifer. As we move into the colder and grayer season, this would be a prime time for the enemy to strip us of our joy and our unity and our love for each other. So would you join me in praying against that, so that I can really model Christ's love well for these girls and so that God will work what he wants in the lives of these beautiful young women?
I'd also appreciate continued prayer for my decision-making process. Next year is still a big question mark for me, and even though I know that God will always make himself clear in his perfect time, I'm feeling restless and impatient for his direction. Someone once told me, "Wherever you are, be all there." Please pray for peace for me so that I can fully embrace this year and be "all here" for as long as God has me here.
Thank you so much, friends!
Love and prayers,
Amanda
I hope that all of you have enjoyed as lovely a fall as we've had here in Germany. I've felt so spoiled by all the beautiful sunny days and colorful leaves. One of these days, winter is going to hit, but for now, I'm loving it.
Okay, well let's get right to the highlights of October.
1. Underclassman Weekend
Every year, our juniors and seniors take class trips to Normandy and Rome respectively, and the dorm is left with only underclassmen for a full weekend. I've told you about this "Underclassman Weekend" before--since we have such a small group (we were down to 4 this year), we try our best to fill the days with fun things that we wouldn't ordinarily be able to do with a group of 24. This year was no different--we had our traditional messy game night (featuring shaving cream twister, blind makeovers, and a bubble fight in the kitchen), we made a fort in the living room (for lounging, sleeping, and watching movies in, of course!), and we took a trip into the mountains to enjoy what's called the Rodelbahn. The Rodelbahn is basically a 3km rollercoaster ride down the mountain. Everyone gets into an individual car and controls her own speed by only applying the brakes when she wants to. It's terrifying, but so fun (and totally safe, I'm sure...). The girls loved it--and so did the staff!2. Game Tournament
It's also become a tradition to hold a dorm-wide game tournament with scorecards and prizes. We played twister, ultimate spoons, Jenga, and Just Dance. This was also a super fun time, and gave all the girls a chance to bond and laugh together by playing silly games. One of our freshmen made a video with highlights of this night, so I'll include that here to give you a glimpse of what it looked like.
3. Pumpking Carving
Every year we get together with a guys' dorm and have a pumpking carving contest. The kids are split into groups and have half an hour to design, carve, and present their unique pumpkin. We get a lot of really creative pumpkins each year, and this was no exception. This year's contest featured a Darth Vader pumpkin, a kitten pumpkin, kissing pumpkins, a pregnant pumpkin, and a 3-tiered, multi-faced pumpkin snowman with a strobe light. Good work, everyone. I'm including a picture. :)2. Herbstmesse
It would also be remiss of me not to tell you about Herbstmesse, the annual fall festival in Basel, Switzerland. We loaded everyone up into buses and crossed the border into Switzerland for a night of carnival rides, cotton candy, Starbucks coffee, and bumper cars. It's always a little unnerving to think that we're releasing 300 teenagers into a city on their own, but they love the rides, the friends, and the memory-making. (And we didn't lose any! Hurray! :) )
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| It's possible that Katie and I love the bumper cars more than the students... |
Those are the main highlights so far, but it's by no means an exhaustive list. I can't include all the spirit days, movie nights, sports events, RA parties, late-night conversations, story times, and dorm fellowships. This is a full and blessed life I lead.
But before I close this post, I do want to ask for prayer. Even though these have been some really delightful weeks, they've also been hard. Transition is hard, and I am (and our whole dorm is) deep in it. Even though the setting is the same, this dorm feels like a new place every year, especially now with new dorm parents and so many new students. So please pray for joy in this journey: for me, for the girls, for Katie, and for Bryan and Jennifer. As we move into the colder and grayer season, this would be a prime time for the enemy to strip us of our joy and our unity and our love for each other. So would you join me in praying against that, so that I can really model Christ's love well for these girls and so that God will work what he wants in the lives of these beautiful young women?
I'd also appreciate continued prayer for my decision-making process. Next year is still a big question mark for me, and even though I know that God will always make himself clear in his perfect time, I'm feeling restless and impatient for his direction. Someone once told me, "Wherever you are, be all there." Please pray for peace for me so that I can fully embrace this year and be "all here" for as long as God has me here.
Thank you so much, friends!
Love and prayers,
Amanda
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