Amada

When we first started at Faith Covenant, I was in awe of how many beautiful women there were in the Senior High ministry. The church is filled with young women who are desiring and seeking the Lord. It honestly continues to excite and amaze me, and I find myself crying happy tears at getting to be a part of this journey with them, however short a time if has been.

There is a particular group of girls, this years' sophomores, who consistently teach me how to love Jesus through everyday living and loving. I was broken into them on the Fall retreat of 2008 when I was their cabin leader. I had no idea what I was getting into, but found myself housed with a large group of silly, sarcastic, serious teenage females. Over the course of the weekend, they broke me into their brand of love - which is SO similar to my own. Right away they drew me in and accepted me through the Love Language of Sarcasm. It sounds strange, but it is the truth - beyond the verbal language, they spent the weekend hiding the alarm clock, hiding my bed, hip-checking me on the walking paths, and laughing at the new shared experience we were creating. Since that weekend, which was their official 'Welcome to Senior High', we have had a silly, God-honoring, God-ordained relationship. I love these girls like I can't even explain.

And with this budget-lead decision at the church, I have to let go of the last two years I would have had with them. I have to trust that the Lord will take care of them, provide for them, lead them, grow them, and stick someone in their way that will love them like I do. And by far, this is the hardest and biggest thing I have to trust God with. And I don't want to. I don't want to give up my weekly love relationship I have with them. I don't want to leave. I don't want to let these ladies grow up without me... but I am choosing to trust the Creator, the one who made these crazy silly girls just the way they are, and have faith that he will continue to do the good work in them that he began so long ago.

Amada Stapp, one of my sophomores, gave me the best gift I have ever been given three days ago. On the end of our regular Wednesday night programming, she handed me something wrapped in hot pink tissue paper, and written in pen "To Keri: Love, Me. This side is the front." I waited until most of the students had left to open it. Inside was a regular white three-ring binder, the kind you would use for school, with a hand-drawn cover that said "23 Days of Keri". The first page was a letter from Amada, written on the day we told our kids that we were leaving Faith Covenant. I remember how awful that day was for me, and how shocking it must have been for our students, because I clearly remember none of them reacting to the news - like it was so shocking that they weren't quite sure what we were saying was real. Amada had written a letter to me that day, saying that she didn't know how to handle the news and how awful it was - and to process it, she was going to write me a letter each day reflecting on some of the things she has seen and learned in and through me during our time at Faith. What a gift. She used 22 letters of the alphabet and chose a word per day to reflect on. She also found verses for each journal entry. It is seriously the most affirming, most special, most precious gift I have ever received. Thank you Amada.