Hannah's Coming Home Tonight!

Just a little update:

Hannah will arrive home from the Dominican Republic at about midnight tonight.  She lands in S.F. and will be driven home by some friends.  I can't wait to get the call to go pick her up!  I know she'll be too tired to tell me much since she won't get to town until at least 3:00 AM, but after a good sleep, I look forward to hearing all about it!  She turned 18 while she was there; she left the U.S. a child and is returning an adult.  I missed her on her birthday especially; she was in my thoughts and prayers all day.  It will be good to give her a hug!  Tonight, I'm thankful for a great daughter arriving safely home.  :-)

The San Francisco Airport as Hannah will see it coming in tonight.

I'll Get to Use the Measuring Cups!

As I have watched the news and read the newspapers this week, I paid careful attention to what was happening with the Telegraph fire.  In my last post shared the loss that I felt knowing our trailers were gone, along with the sentimental items that were my grandmother's.  However, tonight I received this email from my sister who just arrived home from a family vacation:

Hi Gigi: (That's what my nieces and nephew call me)

I just checked on your blog--we got back tonight at
8:00. I don't know if you have been in contact with
Uncle Warren, but he called Dan last night and said
that our trailers were saved and that the CDF is using
our knoll as a staging area. The hills look very
different because they used the cat, but our trailers
still stand.

Maybe you know this already, but I thought I'd send
you a note about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No.....I didn't know that, and I am so giddy that I want to just jump up and hug someone, anyone.  From all accounts, it looked as if the fire went right through our property, but amazingly, the CDF must have worked hard to keep the fire away.  It will be interesting to see how the hillside looks, as I'm sure many of the trees and manzanita are gone.  It will also be barren driving the dirt roads back in there because I'm sure the hillsides are charred.  I'm not sure when we will be able to get in there ourselves, but it looks like we still have a place to go.  I'll use my grandma's measuring cups with renewed thankfulness and wonder next time.    

Chapel Update

Thanks to all of you who prayed for me this morning. It went better than I expected, even though I didn't follow my notes much. That's okay with me because I hate to feel tied to my notes; it just doesn't seem personal or natural enough for me.

I had shared a few things from my personal life that tied into the scriptures the Lord had given me to share. I had shared that my parents divorced when I was their age in junior high, and one student, a boy whose parents have just separated and filed for divorce, came up to me afterwards. He said with an understanding smile, "Now I know why you gave me extra time on that assignment, Mrs. Larson." He caught on to my compassion, so I think we're on the same page now. I told him he could talk to me anytime, and I pray there is good fruit from that connection.

Another student, a sweet, thoughtful kid who just lost his mom to cancer this summer, nodded ever so slightly at me with his knowing gaze when I was sharing that I didn't understand how God could have let my high school girlfriend die after going into a diabetic coma. She was the only one I knew who truly loved the Lord and lived for Him. She didn't give in to things the rest of us gave into, and she loved everyone, so I wondered, "What's up with that, God?" This student understands those feelings even better than I do. He's already written papers about his mom twice this month. Right now, the students are working on a personal narrative, and of course, he is writing about his mom's struggle with cancer and how it has affected him. Some of the precise details he shares are haunting. Oh, how I pray that through his writing for my class, he will begin to process what's going on inside of him. Please pray for him if you think of it.

I ended by handing out bookmarks (Hey, I'm an English teacher, remember?) with the scripture verses printed on them. Just to make it fun, I included a typo on them! :-) Actually, that's just what happens when you decide to make bookmarks at 11:00 PM the night before you need them! Anyway, I was amazed at how many didn't even notice; in fact, no one noticed before I told them! That says a lot about the editing skills I've tried to teach them, don't you think?

Thanks again for praying. I am now looking for someone to speak the next time chapel is assigned to me, so if your up for sharing with junior highers, let me know! :-)

Yeah!

Well, I thought I'd let you know that Hannah was able to deliver her address at school today, and everything went well. We may have to color her hair again when it is able to handle it, but for now, all is quiet. Thanks for praying with me for my daughter. She has stepped out in a spiritual leadership position, and I do believe that perhaps there were forces at work that didn't want her to be able to share in chapel this morning. By the way, our youth pastors, Jake and Jennah, showed up with their son (who also had a birthday yesterday) for Hannah's chapel today. Is that great, or what?! They will probably never know what their presence and encouragement meant to her (or the countless other youth they love and serve daily), but she will carry that memory always in her heart, feeling that she was special enough to them that they would find a way to be there for her. Thanks Jake and Jennah for showing God's love through your love.