May: Celebrations & Reflections

The final month of the school year is many things. It is a grind, a culmination, a celebration, and a time of reflection. It is bittersweet and so in many ways it is a season of complex emotion. For those of us in education it is one that comes around every May, but this one felt a little different. This past May we not only celebrated the senior class at Highlands reaching their milestone, but also celebrated the major milestone of Audrey finishing her degree at the College at Southeastern, where she earned her bachelor's degree in Global Studies (missiology). Praise God for the strength and endurance that He gave Audrey to finish her degree online through some tough circumstances. Although a little different in having to watch your graduation online, we were happy to have many at the school celebrate Audrey as best as possible, and even some of the students got in on it, which felt very special.

Audrey got the graduation trend going in early May, but the seniors at Highlands had to wait until May 22nd for their graduation. Before that glorious day we have a tradition at Highlands of having a bonfire at the school with just the seniors and any staff that were involved in their educational journey. It is a fun night of playing games all around campus and a cathartic time around the bonfire sharing memories, burning old homework assignments, and reflecting.

What we love about this time is the opportunity to not only laugh together and hear all the stories from throughout the years that each class has to share, but also just be real with them and have one last opportunity to pray for them and encourage them to cling to Christ as they move on to what comes next. This years senior class had a lot of "lifers", or people that have been at the school for over 10 years and spent most of their lives enrolled at Highlands.

We both have been at the school long enough to see this class go through all four years of high school. In their final semester class of Intro to Economics, in which Mark teaches, they play a stock market simulation game throughout the semester. It has become a tradition in the past 3 years for them to celebrate the end of the competition by going out for burgers. While Mark does pay for the three students who finish in the top, it is a small price to pay for another opportunity with the senior class before they go out into the real world and no long play with fake money in a simulated "no risk" game. It's a fun thing to do at the end of the year, and although it usually happens during their finals week, we were both encouraged by the amount of seniors that came out to talk and eat. It was a reminder and reflection of the relational ministry that is at the core of what we do at Highlands. Another outlet for relationship building and an avenue for sharing the Gospel is the basketball team that Mark coached this year. May ended on a high note with a massive 70-49 victory over a team that beat them in their first game of the season. It was incredibly encouraging for Mark and the team as they worked hard to practice rain or shine and grow as a team.

Reflecting on the year, Mark has seen a lot of fruit from the basketball season. It provides an opportunity to pray with his guys, to build relationships outside of the classroom, and to show them how much he cares for them because they know it is something he is doing without getting paid. He has had some good opportunities to speak truth and life as a result of coaching the team this year. Praise God for the increasing amount of opportunities that He has provided as we serve Him year after year. We are very thankful for the opportunity to invest in people and build Christian community in La Paz. While the tiredness is unavoidable at the end of the school year, it is also a time to reflect and be thankful. We have so much to be thankful for and we are so blessed by His love and provision for our lives.

The end of the school year is a time where we have to say goodbye to many that the Lord has called to move on from Highlands. It is bitter in that way, but sweet in celebrating the relationships he has brought our way and the goodness we received from those times.

We are currently back in the U.S. and are seeking to find rest as we reconnect to family and friends until flying back to Bolivia on July 20th. If you would like to see us then please reach out and we will try and make that happen as best as possible. Thank you for taking the time to keep up with us as we trust in God's calling for our lives.