Momentum
Trying to gather some scattered thoughts
But it’s a happy person who loves you, God, and in you loves his friend, and loves his enemy because of you. The only one who never loses anyone dear to him is the one to whom everyone is dear through him who can’t be lost.
And who is that if not our God, who has made heaven and earth and fills them, because by filling them has made them? No one loses you unless he leaves you, and in leaving, where does he go, where does he run away, if not from your favor and to your anger? Where does he not find your law in the form of his own punishment? Your law is truth and the truth is you.
St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
After an uneventful August and a September that flew by in a whirlwind, I’m happy to announce I’m at last in a spot where I’ve secured by bearing enough to get my thoughts down into words. It’s about time! I flew to the States on Friday the 6th and began the drive to visit my first schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I started my new role at GDQ in mid-August with a mix of last-minute teacher recruiting, job description clarifications, and staff orientation. After a couple of course adjustments I’ve settled into a pace oriented towards the goal of full preparation for my trip Stateside in a few weeks time. As daunting as it’s been stepping into a role that hasn’t really been done before at the school, it’s been cool to see the job start to take form as a new way to take part in GDQ’s mission. Having a little bit of a behind-the-scenes look into the recruitment plan, chewing on GDQ’s purpose as a school and trying to condense that all down into something succinct enough for an elevator pitch is quite different work from teaching history classes and reading children’s books to first graders. The GDQ advisory board has been a great help in personal coaching and putting together a plan of action for recruitment as I put materials together to take to the schools I'll be visiting.
Most of my work in the last few months and a bit has been preparation for the trip, but I also substitute taught for the first three weeks the Social Emotional Learning course given to grades 3-8. I don’t remember being taught about wellness in 3rd grade, but the curriculum has quite practical insights tailored to young ages. I think I’ve learned just as much as the kids!
I wanted to give you a list of the areas I’ll be coming through mid October-mid November; if you would like specific dates, would like a time to meet up, or might know students/faculty at Christian colleges who would be interested in hearing about Albania and GDQ, email me here!
Washington D.C.
Pennsylvania: Lancaster/Harrisburg, Langhorne, Philly
Ohio: Cleveland, Xenia, Cedarville, Cincinnati
Michigan: Grand Rapids, Holland
Illinois: Chicago, Wheaton
Indiana: Winona Lake, Indianapolis, Upland, Marion
Virginia: Lynchburg
Tennessee: Cleveland, Dayton
My Stateside travels are made possible by families, friends, friends of friends, all of whom have generously opened up their homes to me during my month of travel. I’m grateful and excited to see what might be revealed through it. More to come!
GDQ recently started a blog that I had the chance to contribute my story to- I talk about returning to GDQ as an alumnus, the transition to teaching, and the call back to Albania. You can read it here.
Hospitality has continued to be at the forefront of my mind since Norway. Our family had the chance to host a group of Australian travelers, one of which I met when at that YWAM base in Grimerud. One of them, Beth, decided to stay with us for a few more weeks. Beth’s stay opened my eyes even more to the potential of hospitality as a ministry opportunity. We travelled down to southern Albania for a weekend to join the Rainbow Gathering, an intentional community of travelers (and hippies) that set up a decentralized village on a beach for a month. I had picked up a hitchhiker heading down to the gathering last year, and it peaked my interest and decided to check it out this year. I’m struck by how deeply this community desires to connect with each others’ humanity- treating each other as part of a larger global family, all food and supplies shared among those that need, embracing the beauty of creation living in an olive grove on the seaside, community conflict resolution and building projects. In Beth’s words, they’re so close to perfection but missing Jesus as the piece that holds it all together. You could sense just how hungry these people were for some deeper meaning, a more fulfilling type of connection, that could only come from relationship with Christ. I’d be curious to see the potential there’d be for ministry among this group.
Please be praying for these college visits- many of them I’m going to for the first time on cold visits and praying that GDQ’s mission will resonate with students and faculty at these schools and that relationships with these education departments will begin to develop into recruiting opportunities. Please also pray for my safety while driving!
Sorry for a short one this time. More to come.
Aaron
