This was a tough morning for me! All week soccer tryouts have been taking place at school, and this morning the lists were posted telling who made the team. If you don't know the soccer culture outside the U.S., well... it's a big deal. We had 14 guys from our dorm trying out (half the dorm), and for a lot of them, it would be a dream come true to make it on the team. There were 42 guys in all trying out and only 30 spots available. That means 12 young men needed to be rejected, and eight of them ended up being our guys. That. Stinks. To put it lightly. I think they were kind of preparing themselves for the letdown, but I know each of them is still very disappointed. It's not that the ones who were cut are bad at soccer. Many of them are quite skilled, play with so much heart, and were so excited by the idea of playing soccer for BFA. Six of them are HBR seniors who have never played soccer on the team before so they started off at a disadvantage. I'm not saying the process and final decision were unfair, but I was surprised that so many good players failed to make the team. I think I was feeling worse about it than some of the players themselves. I was in a bad mood all morning. But this weekend should be able to cheer everyone up.
This weekend we are embarking on the annual high school retreat. Every high school student will be loaded on a bus and driven five or six hours away to the city of Nurnberg (or Nuremberg). This will be a time when the kids can just get away from school and Kandern and enjoy the weekend in a new place. RA's are not required to attend this event, but many of us are going anyway. All four of the RA's from HBR will be there. While there, we will get to shed all of our normal duties and be able to merely hang out with the kids and enjoy the weekend with them. I will be helping to lead a small group of six sophomore guys along with Tommy, an RA from Sonne (check out the link to his blog on the right). Please pray for the spiritual growth that may take place this weekend. As you know, taking students on a trip like this out of their normal surroundings sometimes opens them up to realize things they normally wouldn't, and it is often camps or retreats that kids point back to as a major event or turning point in their spiritual lives. So pray that the students' hearts would be softened and would be vulnerable to the Word of God and the words that the speaker and the small group leaders would have to share. I myself am looking forward to a great weekend, and I will be carrying the burden of prayer along with you. We're leaving tomorrow morning (Friday) and will be coming back Sunday night. Thank you to those of you who will be praying!
Auf Wiedersehen,
Brandon
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