Spiritual Retreat

Greetings once more!

We are back from an eventful week!  It is still hard for us to think that our fourth and last spiritual retreat at IA has come to an end.  Spiritual Retreat has been a special part of each year that we have been part of IA, and this year proved to be no different in that respect.  Due to a last minute change of plans, I ended up going on the high school retreat instead of the junior high retreat as had been originally planned.  Once again, we were blessed to be part of this time of seeing our students grow spiritually and in friendship with one another.

In yet another sign that Amanda and I are now veterans and no longer the new people, we were the only teachers on the high school retreat who had been to more than one retreat at IA.  I was also in the unusual (for me) position of being the teacher who spoke the best Russian and therefore got to handle the logistical details with the staff at the seminary facility where we went. Its strange that we are now often the go-to people for things like this, and is a reminder of just how much turnover and lack of continuity there is in schools like ours.  Teachers who stay who for four years are relatively rare, and it is even rarer for teachers to be able to stay for four consecutive school years, but that is probably a topic for a different blog post.

Our theme for retreat this year was Not a Victim - Victorious, and our speaker was actually the person who served as our interim headmaster two years ago.  While most of the students knew him as a stand-in administrator and teacher, his greatest gifting is his heart for Third Culture Kids and the issues that they face, and this retreat bore it out.  

Our sessions focused on the Book of Daniel and the ways in which Daniel represents someone in the Bible who was torn away from his homeland and was forced into situations were he lost friends and family and suffered persecution, all the while refusing to feel and act like a victim and glorifying God.  This is something that resonates deeply with our students as they have all been moved to Russia due to their parents work and ministries, and many have mixed and confused feelings about being in Russia and their own identity. 

The temptation to feel sorry for yourself or to feel powerless and marginalized is a big one for our students, and this retreat spoke to those very issues. Our students were challenged to live victoriously by looking to God for stability and identity.  We left feeling that the messages given at retreat were exactly what our students needed to hear, and were excited to see the way they responded in our group sessions and small group times.

As always, getting away from the busyness of life in St. Petersburg and out into the countryside was a wonderful time to refocus ourselves, and our students all seemed refreshed by it.  Please keep praying that the decisions and convictions that took place during our time would continue in the lives of our students.  Its easy to focus on God and hear from Him during times like retreat, but much harder once the normal pressures of life come rushing back in.

The retreat was also filled with lots of fun games, team-building exercises, and even some spontaneous musical theater (more about that below).  Here are some photos that documented our time!

The first night we played Castles and Cats, a game that Amanda found for her literature circles last year that has rapidly become a favorite for our students.  They even play it on their own sometimes:-)

This game was a variation of musical chairs that involved people having to fight over possession of a football to continue on in the game.  Much action ensued.

Amanda getting ready to toss the football into the melee. 

In the courtyard area next to our dormitory and near the dining hall.

One of our sessions on Daniel.

An intense game of Red Rover was also a part of the festivities.

Steal the Bacon, another favorite game, led to some epic grass stains and a few minor injuries.  What can we say, we have some tough and competitive students:-)

One of our team-building games involved trying to complete an obstacle course while blindfolded.  The point was that the obstacle course was unsolvable and the only way to find what you were looking for was to ask for help.  The idea was to teach the students that asking for help is not a sign of weakness and in some situations is the only solution.  It took quite a while for many of the students to catch on, and it was over an hour before everyone had figured out what to do.

One student even scrawled a message on the blackboard while blindfolded:-)

Trying to balance people on wooden pallets stacked on top of tires was another team-building exercise.  After successfully completing it with two pallets, they were forced to fit the entire group onto a single one.  It took some doing, but they achieved (very briefly!) the goal.

After team-building it was time for some good, old-fashioned every man for himself games.  The object of this game was to force other people to touch the tires or to let go of their partners hands.  People kept getting eliminated until only two remained.

The first game ended with no winners, but in the second game I participated since more people were needed and was actually the winner!

Things got quite acrobatic.

Amanda was a great sandcastle cheerleader.

Our last night always ends with a bonfire where we sing, roast marshmallows, and share what we heard from God during our time.  It's always a fun, emotional, and bittersweet moment.

Our students loaded up onto the bus on the way back to St. Petersburg.

One of the special highlights from retreat was when our students secretly organized a flash-mob to perform a song from the musical Les Miserables during lunch in the dining hall.  The incident was captured on video and was a hilarious and unexpected moment:-)

As you can tell, retreat was a great time and we pray that the things that took place will be used by God as a foundation for even more growth in our school.  Next week marks a normal school week, but its the normal routines where we are often challenged the most to live out our faith and we pray that as a school we will rise to this challenge.

Thanks for reading and for your prayers!

-Matt