Discipleship in the Classroom

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

We have been having a wonderful year at HLC (Hub Learning Center) learning and growing and experiencing Jesus and His love. God is drawing our students' hearts closer to Him as they spend time with Him and learn about His character and nature.

I teach Level K & 1 and it is such an honor to serve our community and families in this way of pouring our love and time and attention into these precious little ones.

Here's some of the sweet moments we have gotten to experience these past few months...

We loved our Easter Unit by Gather Round where we took three weeks and learned about:

• Passover and how Jesus was our Passover lamb and we had a Seder Passover meal

• Palm Sunday and acted out Jesus' joyful entry

• the Last Supper and washed each other's feet as a sign of serving each other

• Communion and Jesus' sacrifice for us

• Worship and what it looks like to worship Jesus with our whole lives

• The crucifixion and God's redemptive rescue plan and salvation!

• Jesus' Resurrection and new life through Him!

• The Simple Gospel and how to share with others through the wordless book

Click to watch this Youtube Short of one of our Kindergarteners sharing the Simple Gospel

(unfortunately I couldn't embed or upload it to the post)

We have enjoyed celebrating many fun days including St. Patrick's Day learning about the real St. Patrick who was a missionary to Ireland and how he taught the Druids about the Trinity using the three-leaf clover (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)

We also had a Wacky Wednesday, Fairy Tale day, Superhero day, Twin day, Character day, Valentine's day, and PJ day to help break up some of the winter blues.

Every afternoon we spend time "soaking" in God's presence, spending time focusing on Him, listening to Him, and learning to spend time with Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Often we use our "God journals" and ask the Holy Spirit to take us on adventures or write down what he says about us.

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Twice a month we take all the HLC students (level K-12) to Gateway House of Prayer and the middle school and high school students lead worship and intercession!

Last month we had a man from Pakistan come and share his testimony and the students prayed for him and shared words of encouragement for him. It was a really beautiful time.

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One bittersweet transition has been saying goodbye to Miss Wilna and blessing her into her next season. Miss Wilna and I have taught together for almost three years (since the first year of HLC) and she has been such an immense blessing for me and our students! She carries joy and laughter and fun and creativity and we miss her so much!

She felt God leading her to take over the kitchen management at YWAM Lancaster, which fills a great need and she loves cooking and will do a great job!

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PRAYERS & PRAISES

• Praise God for a fruitful year at HLC and growth in the students

• Praise God for steps of healing and good counselors and friends to help us in our grief journey

• Please pray for peace and comfort as we continue to grieve and heal

• Please pray for spiritual covering over our family and our marriage and health

• Please pray for two teachers and at least two aids for HLC for the fall

We so appreciate each of you for your friendship, love, encouragement, prayers, and partnership as we serve God in Lancaster and see the Kingdom of Heaven come on earth as it is in Heaven!

-The Shenks

Broken Vessels

Ten weeks ago, on August 11, our world entered a tail spin as we tragically lost my 21 year-old nephew, Cameron Weaver, in a motorcycle accident. I found out the news and one hour later, my sister Karen and I were on the road, driving 3 1/2 hours down to Lurray, Virginia where the accident happened. During that weekend and the funeral week, I stood in as my sister's support as we wept over Cameron's body at the funeral home, cried out to God at the accident site, and made preparations to celebrate Cameron's life and plan his funeral. I’ve never felt such intense pain.

Cameron and I were super close, and he was more like a little brother to me. I was only 10 years old when he was born and we really grew up together. He was one of my favorite people in the whole world and my heart hurts every day missing him.

Cameron was the best big cousin to our girls, playing with them, watching them show him all their tricks, spending time playing games, entering into their world and being present with them. We miss his laugh and his hugs. I miss cooking for him and playing games with him and hearing about his week. There are so many things he should be at and he isn't there.

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Two weeks after we buried Cameron, we had to bury my Grandma. My Grandma, Della Bollinger, entered into eternal rest on Sunday, August 27.

As we celebrated almost 93 years of grandma’s life at her funeral, common themes were her love for the lord, her hospitality, her servant heart, her tight hugs, and her spunky personality!

Grandpa and Grandma’s gravestone is engraved with “Not here, gone home”

She truly lived life with eyes in light of eternity. May that be my legacy as well.

I am so thankful to have a grandma like you

The dichotomy between the joy of heaven and the hole they left behind is strange and I’m wrestling daily with it. Knowing the truth of the joy they are living in, but feeling the immense pain that they are no longer here.

Grandma lived a full life of 92 years full of children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was ready to go and longed for heaven. I rejoice with her for her new body and her true home reached, home in the arms of Jesus.

Cameron was taken at 21 years with so much life yet to live. The grief of all the memories that will be missed is too large to comprehend. The physical pain is hard to explain.

Both of these amazing humans loved practically and served generously. They both lived out the Gospel through action and left an incredible legacy.

:::The picture on the right is of Cameron and Grandma the week of Cameron’s accident- the last time Cameron & Grandma met on earth. Now Grandma is giving Cameron the tightest hugs in heaven:::

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I have heard grief being described as a backpack that goes on and never comes off. As time goes on, you learn to function and keep living life, and some days you forget you are wearing the backpack, but other days it is so heavy.

Grief is also compared to the waves of the ocean. The waves crash down and then recede and then crash down again. The first six weeks it was hard to function and do daily tasks like laundry and dishes and brushing my teeth. It felt like every time I tried to stand up in the ocean, another wave would hit and I would get washed.

During this time, my mentors and administration at HLC suggested I take a bereavement period from HLC to rest and grieve and seek counseling. Another YWAM mom stepped into teach my class for the month of September and it was a healing time for me.

I’ve been working on a sacred grief project to remember, reflect, and heal. Collecting pictures of Cameron and I, collecting memories from 21 years together.

It’s a beautiful, messy project full of laughter and tears. 1,600 pictures later and I’m still not finished, but I have compiled my favorites from Cameron's first 12 years of life and I share them here as a tribute to his life and love.

One thing I’ve taken away from this grief project is that Big love really does happen in the small moments. Cameron taught me how to love, he forged the way for me to be present and to love my kids well. I love you forever Cameron Layne Weaver.

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During one of my counseling sessions, my counselor asked me what I thought Cameron would say to me if he was sitting on the chair across from me.

I know he would encourage me to live life and not to give up. He would tell me that life is worth living and to live every day to the fullest. That this time I have on earth is but a moment in the timeframe of eternity and not to waste a single second.

One night a few weeks after Cameron died, I had a dream where was Cameron cheering me on. I woke up with this verse loudly echoing in my mind.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

I saw Cameron as one in the cloud of witnesses that have gone before me, cheering me on.

So I will continue to get up and do the next right thing, I will love people like Jesus loved them, sitting with them and listening with compassion, teaching and pouring into the little ones he has brought to me in this season.

God has also highlighted the art of "Kintsugi", he is taking my broken pieces and melding them with gold. We are broken, and he will make beautiful things out of the broken pieces.

"Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item like new, the technique actually highlights the "scars" as a part of the design. Using this as a metaphor for healing ourselves teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually create something more unique, beautiful and resilient."

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HUB LEARNING CENTER

Tuesday, October 3, I stepped back into my classroom, nervous, but feeling like it was time. Time to walk out what God has called me to do, time to love and serve and teach, time to pour into my students with His love.

Each day since, I live desperate for God's peace, joy, and patience to flow through me to these precious students. I am a broken vessel, but God is gluing me back together with gold.

I will stand on the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I will move forward with my grief backpack on, holding Jesus' hand, celebrating the joys, and leaning hard on him for the lows.

Living each moment intentionally, listening to my body when I need to rest, and teaching these precious little ones who God is and what his love looks like.

Thank you to each and everyone of you for the prayers, cards, flowers, meals, words of encouragement, messages, and hugs in this difficult season. I could literally feel the prayers carrying us through the week after the accident, and I have never felt so loved by all the practical ways we have been supported.

PRAYERS & PRAISES

• Praise God for another year of HLC and for teachers and aids to serve at HLC

• Praise God for a summer full of good memories and growing together as a family

• Please pray for peace and comfort as we continue to grieve and prayers for Cameron's immediate family as they grieve.

• Please pray for spiritual covering over our family and our marriage and health

• Please pray for our HLC Director Amanda Vargas as she is getting Chemo treatment for cancer.

We so appreciate each of you for your friendship, love, encouragement, prayers, and partnership as we serve God in Lancaster and see the Kingdom of Heaven come on earth as it is in Heaven!

-The Shenks

Second year of HLC completed!

We have officially completed our second year of HLC! Whoohoo! What an adventure walking with and discipling ten precious world changers!

One of our high school students created a HLC newsletter sharing highlights from May!

TESTIMONY One of my favorite treasured moments from HLC from happened a few weeks ago during our field trip! We were at the post office for a field trip and when we were about to leave, one of my Kindergarten boys asked me, can we pray for our tour guide? I said, you can ask her! He was so bold and asked her if we could pray for her and she said yes! (HE’S 6 years old!) The kids all gathered around her and asked Jesus what He thought about her and pictures for her from the Holy Spirit and many shared pictures for her! One of the kids saw her sitting on Jesus’ lap on his throne. It was so cool!! She was visibly touched by these kids praying for her! It was such a special moment seeing the kids put into practice and LIVE out with a stranger what we have been teaching them at school and at home without me even prompting them to do it!

This is why we are doing what we are doing, this is why a discipleship community for kids is so important, walking out of boldness at such ages and BOLD GOSPEL WITNESS from 6 year olds!!

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We had so many fun field trips this Spring! We explored Indian Echo Caverns, went "camping" at my house, visited the post office and police station for Community Helper Day, and had a blast at Lake Tobias seeing many animals we learned about in our "Savannah" unit!

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MORE THAN EDUCATION CONFERENCE

The first weekend of May we had 70 mommas come to our second annual More than Education Conference! It was such a blessing being able to minister to mommas' hearts in our region and encourage them in their journey of homeschooling. I shared in a breakout session of creative ways to lead our kids into God's Presence and taught on teaching our kids how to recognize how to hear God's voice.

After the session, I got to pray for one momma who was having a hard time recognizing God's voice. As we prayed, I saw a wall keeping her from hearing God and I asked her, "What does God want to do with that wall?" She felt God say that he wanted to tear it down! She began recognizing the place God was speaking to her and experienced breakthrough! Praise Jesus!

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EXCITING FAMILY NEWS!

Two years ago, God began to speak to us about moving and buying a home. We were not even thinking about moving because we loved our house in Brownstown, but we trusted God and as we began to look at houses, God led us to our new home and fulfilled dreams in our heart better than we could have imagined!

God led us to a home in the woods on the mountain above Refreshing Mountain Camp and we moved in March! After we moved in, I realized how much noise we had been living in for the past 11 years. We have lived in the city or along busy roads with constant noise, and it has been incredible how peaceful and how healthy it is for our minds and bodies and spirits living in the quiet. We have an open floor plan to host and it has been amazing hosting family and friends in the past few weeks!

Our new home also has a finished basement and our heart's desire is to renovate it and create a safe haven for missionaries to stay on furlough or to live for a season to connect with God through nature in a peaceful atmosphere.

We are so thankful for the 30 people we had help us move on our moving day! What a huge blessing! I felt so loved by family and friends and YWAMers who helped make it all happen!

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PRAYERS & PRAISES

• Praise God for an amazing year at HLC!

• Praise God for our new house and a peaceful home for our family!

• Please pray for spiritual covering over our family and our marriage and health

• Please pray for our HLC Director Amanda Vargas as she is getting treatment in California for cancer.

We so appreciate each of you for your friendship, love, encouragement, prayers, and partnership as we serve God in Lancaster and see the Kingdom of Heaven come on earth as it is in Heaven!

-The Shenks