Marge at Large

Watching from the lodge as the students enjoy a beautiful day at Villars. At least the hot chocolate was good. Really good.

What happens in the bomb shelter stays in the bomb shelter.

Unless of course it involves working a 24 hour ski race in the Alps, dance party included.

Last weekend, promptly after finishing our lectures on the father heart of God with Mike Oman, the DTS and I headed to Villars to volunteer at the annual race to benefit handicapped children. We stayed for one night and two ski days, bunking in a military bomb shelter used to house skiers.

Which shows you the need for bomb shelters in a country almost always associated with neutrality.

Besides being able to start serving  and speaking locally, the trip was also a way to get to know each other outside of the classroom. It’s hard to ignore someone when every time you role over you’re breathing in their morning breath. Which in this case smelled like red bull and croissants.Yes, even at the bomb shelters in Switzerland they  have croissants.

Take notes America.

But the first couple weeks haven’t been all baked goods and slopes. The first full lecture week came complete with small groups, one-on-ones – which is YWAM jargon for student-leader talks – and a whole lot of meetings. The idea is to give the students as many outlets as possible to receive the growth, healing and preparation they need for outreach, and eventually, life after DTS.

And I can confidently say that we have a lot of work to do. But if I’d signed up for a five month vacation I would’ve looked somewhere a little more bikini-friendly.

Not that chocolate and snow aren’t.

The students aren’t the only ones making progress. My back brace seems to be doing it’s job and I am in less and less pain as the days go by. But Jon has nicknamed me “broke-back” and is planning on writing and performing a song named after it at Cafe Night.

We’ll see how far he gets after I body slam him in my metal brace.

And at least I’ll have nice thighs from all the grandma squats I have to do to pick things up.

As we head into this week on the holy spirit, I am excited for what is to come, and how God wants to move in these young people’s lives in new ways. I am so happy to get to play a role in it, however small.

Even if I have to start answering to broke-back. Which I won’t. So don’t get ideas.