Far More

Well, Term 2 is underway! With the exception of one girl whose flight was cancelled due to the snow-in at Heathrow in London, all 17 girls arrived safely this past week back to our KUE dorm. The one who still isn’t here will arrive on the 20th, and so I am praying that she’ll be able to catch up quickly after missing two weeks of classes. Having a six-week break was certainly wonderful, but I was ready to see them, and once again hear the giggles and squeals and shouts of laughter down the hallway.

While this term is shorter than Term 1 (12 weeks instead of 14), it will be more intense academically and schedule-wise. 6 weeks, then a 3 day Midterm Break, then 6 more weeks. The high-school students will obviously focus on their schooling, but also will participate in girls’ Field Hockey, guy and girls’ Soccer, “Banquet,” (sort of like Prom, but cooler), and Interim Trips for the Senior class. Of my girls, Jacquie will play Varsity Soccer, Kassie will play JV Soccer, and Bree, Segyo, Sigrid and Julia will play JV Field Hockey. Let me just say, though, the fields have been SO incredibly muddy! It’s been raining lions and monkeys here ☺ Just two days ago, we had 2 ½ inches of rain in one night!

Then, there is “Banquet.” This is a HUGE deal. On February 19, the Senior Class will be hosted by the Junior Class and its sponsors for a surprise evening of entertainment, food, awards, pictures, and much more. Each year, the Junior Class works on Banquet right from Term 1, and come up with a surprise theme. In years past, they’ve done things like “Under the Sea” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” From what I’ve heard, it’s amazing to see what the Juniors create. Then, the Seniors get to enjoy a Drama put on by the Juniors, as well as a sit-down dinner, prom-type pictures, gifts, and awards. The Sophmores get the special privilege of being the waiters and waitresses and bus-boys and kitchen crew ☺ And, the Freshman? Well, they just get to watch “the walk.” Oh, yes. THE WALK. The thirty minute or so period of time in which all the couples walk up to Banquet in their lovely dresses and suits and ties and the Freshman get to dream of THEIR moment three more years down the road. Don’t you just love high-school drama? ☺

Plus, there are Interim Trips in March for the Seniors, which is basically like a special get-away trip to do a big trip to the Coast for beach-bumming, or a mountain biking trek across parts of East Kenya, or the like.

So, here we go!

My girls are doing well so far – they have come back refreshed and eager as ever to enter back into life here at RVA. Just this past Friday, we had our first Dorm Mtg. and Night, and it quickly turned into a memorable evening of the Hendricks’ 9th grade Boys Dorm pranking us BACK from when pranked them in Term 1 ☺ First, a little background. My girls were begging me to prank their dorm, and so when we found out that the Hendricks’ boys dorm were having a rather domestic Christmas Party in which they would make Gingerbread Houses, we decided to have a little fun by sneaking into their dorm and creating a little mess before End-of-Term Cleaning. So, we doused their dorm hall with a nasty slop mixture of melted ice-cream and flour and gravy and put up a big sign that said, “Happy Mopping, Gingerbread Men.” (I must admit, it was rather exhilarating. Since I didn’t leave on campus during college, I missed a huge chunk of prime pranking years.)

And, so it was that the boys got us back this Friday by placing a similar, large pile of slop from leftover Cafeteria food on our front walkway with a little Flag on the top. That was just lovely to clean up, but it wasn’t the only thing! We had been invited up to their dorm to play games that evening after we finished our own little meeting here at KUE, and when we arrived, the boys were outside serenading us with “In the Jungle” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in suits and ties. (Note: I had coordinate with Mr. Hendricks the whole time, so I knew what was going to happen.) Upon the conclusion of their song, they promptly broke out with water balloons and started dousing my girls with buckets of water and pelting them with the balloons. Screams and squeals ensued, and by the time they had finished, we were all laughing quite hard and chanting cheers back and forth to each other’s dorms. What fun…

With the prank being complete, our two dorms then joined together down at Lower Field for a bonfire and S’mores. Can you believe it? Some of my girls had their very first S’mores taste that evening! American marsh-mellows and Cadbury chocolate and Digestive biscuits are the three main ingredients of RVA-style S’mores, but still quite tasty. It was such a fun night – my girls were so happy to be outside, and it turned out to be a cool, quiet evening with low wind and a perfectly clear sky filled with stars and visible constellations.

Earlier in the week, I had sort of been in a funk. Like, “What am I doing here again?” But, after Friday night’s fun, and other light and deep conversations and moments of laughter I have shared with my girls this past week, I felt a renewed peace from the Spirit that He has me right where He wants me to be in this year of 2010, in this world, in this season of my life. Though we find circumstances to be mysterious and rather unpredictable at times, (how can being a dorm-mom with 17 high-schoolers NOT be unpredictable, anyways?!) there are no surprises with God. He is not shocked or taken aback by the things that happen. And, most importantly, He is ABLE to do so much more than we can imagine. In fact, I had a conversation with one of my girls on Tuesday evening that simply blew me away. As she explained to me some things that God did in her heart and in her relationship with her mom over the break, I was just amazed at the power of God. Some of the exact things I had prayed would happen, DID. The bitterness and sorrow and anger that weighed down her faith and ate away at her joy, has now been released – and as the Holy Spirit revealed the reality of her sin to her, she chose to respond and turn from it. She has chosen to trust God with a deep trial she experienced two years ago, and I truly believe she is on the road of healing now…

During my Christmas vacation, a friend had reminded me of this notion from the book of Ephesians when I was feeling down about a trial that our own family is walking through right now. The Apostle Paul says,

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family [3] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Far more abundantly than all we ask or think.

I ask you, as I ask myself, do we truly believe this? Can we embrace the truth of God’s generosity and exceeding power in our lives? HE is able to do above and beyond our (often) limited view of His goodness. And, though hardship and difficulty will meet us, so will He- with peace and comfort and joy for our souls. And, HE will receive the glory.

I am excited about Term 2. And, I so look forward to sharing more stories with you of God’s grace, His plan as it is revealed in my life and in the lives of my KUE girls, and most importantly, the glory that Christ will receive through all of it.