Now that I have lived life as an RA for 7 months, I can confidently tell you, this job is different. The whole point of my job is to get to know my students and then live my life alongside them, creating spaces for conversations, loving them as they are, and sharing the big and small ways God has and is transforming me. Most of what I do and hope for is small and quiet, not big and loud. Part of this job is sharing about the lives I see being changed by God and I have learned that is harder than it sounds. You see, it isn’t that God isn’t moving and changing lives here, it is just that the changes are subtle and often not flashy. Being able to see these things requires close observation. In short, my job here is to be a student of my students and to share about transformations, big and small. I was sharing with someone that the milestones that have felt big or exciting to me about my transition to Germany all have to do with knowing my students on a deeper level. Without that knowledge I would not be a very good RA.
I can sit in my apartment and tell you which boys are walking on the floor above me or which of the girls are coming home as they come onto the hall. I know how my kids like their coffee and what it means when they reach for a certain type of tea at the end of the day. I know a little something about all 23 of my students and that knowledge is what enables me to see change when it happens. This transformation is not flashy or loud, but it is real. It comes as I eat lunch with a student and hear their heart on an issue or while having a quick conversation after school. Or when a student finally hugs me after six months of relationship building (y’all I literally have had dance parties of joy for a single hug!). Or as I watch a student’s character grow over this year and now they are blowing me away with how they are engaging with people around them. Learning these things is abstract and hard to explain as “work.” Being a student of students is not exactly a job description and it doesn’t come with clear outcomes. But one thing is evident to me after these 7 months: God is here and he is moving in my life and in the lives of my students. This movement may be small at times but make no mistake, He is moving. Getting a front row seat to how God is molding all of us to be more like Him is an amazing honor and one I never want to take for granted. Being invited into that process is even more special and has forever changed who I am. My daily prayer is that these students see Christ changing me: I want them to look at my life and see Him. I pray that I may be sensitive to the ways that he is changing my students, my staff, and myself. I pray that I can share well the ways that He is speaking and showing up in this place.
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About MeI am a daughter of the king just trying to figure out the world. I am embarking on a new adventure come August and I could not be more excited! Thank you for stopping by, I hope you find something you like! CategoriesArchives
June 2020
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