Skip to main content

Spiritual Emphasis Week

As I mentioned in last week's prayer request post, this past week was Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW)...This year the school invited Scott Davidson and Chad Martin (along with Scott's wife Katrina). Scott and Chad have a blog/ministry called "2 Guys and a Bible" and have started a more focused ministry called "The Redemption". They are both involved in church ministries in the States (well, the Davidsons are in Canada..)

During SEW we have chapel every day and there are various activities planned for the SEW team to interact with both staff and students in order to get a clearer understanding of what God is doing at ICSV. We have had a great time getting to know Scott, Katrina, and Chad and have been very blessed and encouraged by their ministry here. They focused on Jesus (usually a pretty good topic) and how He is Supreme, The Redeemer, and a mighty warrior. They finished off this week with a more focused discussion, splitting up the boys and the girls to discuss the challenges they face in their lives.

I was really happy to see that these folks were willing to present the Gospel in a pretty straight forward manner. They avoided any sort of "gimmicky bells and whistles" that are sometimes used to engage young people. Granted, these "bells and whistles" are not always bad...but I think many of the students welcomed the message of the Gospel presented without the extra flare. This gets into a separate blog post, but I think too often we water down the message of the Gospel in the hopes of "engaging" the audience.

The SEW team had a chance to connect with the kids with some after school activities: volleyball games,  dinner with the 11th and 12th graders, coffehaus (still to come). I was also grateful for the opportunity to spend time with the SEW team at a planning prayer dinner on Monday and at dinner on Thursday night a place where they served meat skewered on a sword!

Please continue to pray for the students at ICSV as many of them struggle with who Christ is in their lives. Pray that the Spirit will continue his work in their hears and the we as staff at ICSV will show wisdom in working with these students. Also please pray for Chad, Scott, and Katrina as they travel back to their respective homes and continue with their ministries there.

Please visit their websites/blogs:
2 Guys and a Bible
and/or
The Redemption
Scott introducing the week's focus
Students during SEW day 1

Scott and Chad sharing

Boys soccer team celebrating after beating the girls volley ball team.
Chad is keeping score in the background

Schnitzel and pork chops on the sword...pommes, chicken wings, and chili in the tray. Chad is in the background



Chad playing with the sword
Scott playing with the sword

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

and baby makes four...

that's right...our little family will soon become a foursome. We have found out that Rebecca is 6 weeks pregnant! There is definitely "something in the water" as all the families that live within our block have recently had a baby or are currently pregnant. Our baby will be the 6th baby born to ICSV staff in a span of less than a year (first one was born in early November and we will be welcoming our new addition in September). So, kind of unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!
13 comments
Read more

an update on the transition and the simplicity of obedience.

As many of you might know, it has been over a year and a half since we moved back to southern california. It been a wonderfully difficult time. The reminder in James 1:2 to "Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds" has never been more real to me than this year. These past months have been a experiment in examining the "various kinds"...and in God proving the promise that these trials will produce steadfastness. It's been too long since I have updated this page. In some ways, I think it is losing its "effectiveness". With our mailchimp updates and our facebook group page, it almost seems like we're falling in to the trap of over-communicating...and in this trap, updates are lost. But...I think over-communicating is "better" than isolation. Plus...God has done some amazing things during this time and through the challenges, has placed our entire family in positions of growth while stretching and strengthening our faith. For...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who are these kids at ICSV...

Hi everyone... The first week and a half of school has been absolutely amazing! We have had some great opportunities to begin building lasting relationships with the students that God has brought to Vienna to be educated at the International Christian School of Vienna. Rebecca has been adjusting well to her role as secondary secretary. She is learning quickly the many demands of her new role and is doing quite well in supporting us teachers and the rest of the staff. Rebecca hard at work I have been really enjoying my classes. I have a total of 43 students spread out over 4 periods. The students I have represent 14 different home nations, with many of the students who are "Austrian" are first generation, so they are of other nationalities as well.  I have also had the opportunity to begin working with the soccer team...again, many nationalities are represented on the field, truly an international squad. Here are some pictures of the team training at the local club...
5 comments
Read more