Two Weeks in

We've been in school for two weeks already! We're on the third week of classes. So far, it has been a lot of fun. I love all the classes I'm taking, and the professors. I am taking five courses this semester:

Introduction to the Old Testament

Christian Spirituality

Life and Teachings of Jesus

Introduction to Children's Ministry

Galatians-Philemon (Paul's Letters)

I have a brand new friend this year, who came all the way from Bolivia. She is an amazing friend, and sister to me. I can talk to her about anything (without being shy), and she can do the same with me. Her and I like to sing together all the time, and we have the same love for children. I am in all of her classes, but I have one more class than she does.

I made it into Ignite! this year! In years past, Ignite! has been the school choir. This year, it is a bit different. Free Servant is no longer a part of this school, so Ignite! is the school's worship ensemble. There are still a couple of singers for each voice, but we have a band playing along with us as well. We had one practice a week ago, and we have one this evening as well. Ignite! is going on tour in April to Texas. We will also be playing in different churches and school and things.

If any of you think of it, I would appreciate prayers as I go through another year of Bible College, so I don't get too overwhelmed. Thank you!

Samantha

School starts again!

Hello!

This past weekend was very very crazy.  Friday was my last day of working at the daycare, and after that I went to Winnipeg with someone to pick up a good friend of mine from the airport who was coming back to Manitoba for the school year.  When we got back, we hung out until almost midnight, and I went home to sleep for the night.  The next morning, my mom, sister and I got up early to get ready for my cousin's wedding.  We then drove about an hour and a half to get there and witness this beautiful moment of their's.  This wedding was somewhat different than other weddings I've been to, because it was a dutch wedding, but it was quite interesting.  I am very happy for my cousin and cousin-in-law.  The next day (Sunday) was my ninteenth birthday.  I was sick though, and it really wasn't much fun for me.  That evening, we took my aunt and grandma to Grand Forks for them to fly out to Kansas the next morning.  We stayed the night, and quickly bought a pair of boots for my birthday on Monday morning, and left as soon as we could.

The reason we left to come home so early was because I had to be at school for one o' clock.  I did end up arriving a little bit late, but I made it there.  That day was a ton of fun.  We greeted all the first year students, helped them get settled in, and held a barbeque and games day for them.  We had a worship night, and then a get-together at the deans houses for all the first-year students.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we were back at school for a mandatory breakfast for everyone, registration and orientation, picture day, and just hanging out all day.  A friend and I went to the mall for a bit, and afterwards I went for supper and coffee with another friend of mine from high school.  At eight o' clock I had to be back at school for a meeting.

When my highschool friend and I were driving away from A&W to Timmies, she had quite a bit of trouble with directions.  We ended up going on Main Street, and going back to the highway on some side-streets.  When we turned off Main Street, we saw five young men pushing a car down the street with no one in the car.  I covered my mouth so they couldn't see me laugh, but they definitely noticed.  I could not stop laughing till after we were parked at Tim Hortons.  My friend was starting to get scared because she didn't know where the hospital was (I couldn't breathe from laughing so much).  It was quite hilarious.  I did finally stop laughing so much, and we had a fun evening after that as well.

Today was the first day of classes!  I am very excited about my Old Testament course, and loving all the first-year students.

Excited for what tomorrow brings!

Bye :)
Samantha

Lovely

I have been listening to a lot of Chris Tomlin lately.  I really like a lot of his songs.  One of the songs I've been listening to and singing more than others is the song "Lovely".  Here are the lyrics to the song:

"I watch Your wonders fill the sky
Over the mountains reaching high
The same majesty floods my life
I stand in awe

Lovely, there is none more lovely
In all the universe, there is no one lovelier
Worthy, there is none more worthy
I try to find the words, there's so much more You're worthy of

Up on the cross with open arms
The love of God reaches far
The same majesty floods my heart
I stand in awe
Lovely, there is none more lovely
In all the universe, there is no one lovelier
Worthy, there is none more worthy
I try to find the words, there's so much more You're worthy of
There's so much more You're worthy of

As long as I live, I'll praise You, Lord
Name above all, be lifted high
All of my days, I worship You
I worship You

Lovely, You are lovely
There is no one, there is no one more worthy
You are worthy
I try to find the words, there is no one lovelier
Lovely, there is none more lovely
In all the universe, there is no one lovelier
Worthy, there is none more worthy
I try to find the words, there's so much more You're worthy of
There's so much more You're worthy of
There's so much more You're worthy of
You are worthy
You are worthy"

You should really listen to it.  The lyrics are amazing, and you will be inspired by it.

Morning!  Yesterday was a crazy day.  Had some good parts though.  Work was really crazy, I think the kids are all ready to be back in school, and not in daycare anymore.

After work yesterday, a good friend from work came over for supper.  We had soup and buns that my grandma made...Mmmm!!  It was quite tasty.  After that, we went to Tim Hortons for coffee, and went for a walk at the AD Penner park. It was really cool, because I felt comfortable to talk to her about a lot of things that have been going on in my life.  I usually don't talk about any of it out loud.  And she could talk to me about things too.  We had a really good talk for a couple of hours.  While walking back, my ankle started to bug me though, and it kept getting worse; so bad that I had to put ice on it as soon as I got home.  It's a little bit better today, but I'm a little worried about it.  I had lots on my mind yesterday though, I didn't really get to sleep that early.  God is with me though, I have to always remember that.  He is an incredible Daddy. :)

My Life Story

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how God's been seen in my life.  I decided I'd share my life story on here.  It's long, so bear with me.  Here goes!

Hi. My name is Samantha Schroeder. I was born on September 4, 1992. I grew up in a Christian home, going to church every Sunday. I always put my loony in the bag, but I had no idea what it was for; it was just something I did. Later, when I was about thirteen years old I was told what it was for, and I started doing it with my own money that I made babysitting.
At the young age of about 6 I accepted Christ as my Saviour. I asked my mom where heaven was and she pointed to the ceiling. I said "on top of our house?" or something like that. Then she told me "no, in the sky." She then asked if I'd like to go there someday. I said yes, knowing I'd see lots of people I knew there. I didn't quite understand everything, but I would learn. When I was little I always enjoyed it when people would read all those traditional bible stories to me. I really liked the sampson story, the baby Moses story, where he was put in a basket to float along the river, and the story where baby Jesus was born. There was also a song I really loved: Amazing Grace. When I was a little older, probably twelve or thirteen, I re-invited Jesus into my life, when I understood a bit more. Since then I have been going to church for a reason, not because I had to. I've learnt a lot of things from going. 1John 5:11-12 says "This is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have eternal life."
I have had a lot of injuries in my life, which includes my left arm/wrist broken several times, my right hand broken once, a bruised heel bone (April, 2008), a torn tendon in my ankle (January 2010), and many more sprained ankles that weren’t as serious. When I bruised my heel bone, I had to walk on crutches for 3 weeks and had a limp for a long while after that. I was always wondering why God would allow me to hurt myself all the time. About 4 weeks after the injury, I was getting so impatient. I was lying on my bed crying one night because it was so painful. I asked God why this was happening to me. He instantly put a song in my head--"Find me in the River". So I sang it, and when I got to the last verse I was crying so hard and realized that God had allowed it for a reason.  I didn't know what the reason was yet at that point, but I knew God had a reason for allowing this. The last verse of the song goes like this: "I didn't count on suffering, I didn't count on pain, but if the blessing's in the valley, then in the river I'll remain." Ever since that night I've grown closer and closer to God. I have also been able to reach out to some people. After my January (2010) injury, my ankle was in a boot-cast for six weeks, and was in a brace till summer. And I re-injurd it in March. Anyways, I've lost patience many times with this injury. A week after the January injury I had completely fallen apart. I didn't know what was happening to me. I had just completely lost patience and felt like I wasn't looking to God enough. I cried myself to sleep that night, but I was singing "Revelation Song" in my dreams all night long, and still when I woke up in the morning. The next day, God told me that this injury thing is a type of role He's given me. So I have a different take on in now. No, I don't enjoy the pain at all, but I hate it worse seeing other people hurting. It breaks my heart to see that and wish I could take their pain away. I get them all the time and know how much they suck. God afflicts me with these injuries to make me merciful and able to empathize with those in pain. That is my role. I have lost patience since then, but am often reminded of this. I love Isaiah 41:10 which says this: "Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will help you. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." it's so encouraging!
Grade 12 was a very stressful year for me. My mom has been in the hospital quite a few times in the past and was again closer to the beginning of the school year. This time it hit me really hard. I'll start from the beginning of the that hospitalization. The doctors were saying that her liver was producing too much of something but they were unsure of what it was. They thought it might have something to do with her gall bladder(which mom thought for 4-1/2 years before they finally believed her) so they finally took out her gall bladder. She hadn't been able to keep anything down this whole time either. i think it was about a week after she was admitted that it really hit me hard and made me cry. Then that same day I found out that a kid I babysit's dad was also admitted to the hospital. He's been in and out of the hospital for about 4 years now. He'd started giving up on life and saying that if this is life, he didn't want it. That also hit me really hard because he had a little boy to raise. He couldn’t give up! Anyways, mom was having way more pain than she should've had after the surgery...and they didn't know if it actually had anything to do with the problem. But God's hand was definitely in everything there. The day after surgery (I think) we went to see her and she'd kept her lunch down. We were so excited, but just before we'd gotten there she brought up her supper. And she said her pain was a tiny bit less but not good at all yet. We didn't think she'd be coming home anytime soon. But we were wrong! The next morning she called and said in a perky voice: "Come pick me up!" I was so excited! Right after that, I got sick and was sick for two months and then broke my arm the fifth time. After that I found out I have a form of tendonitis in my wrist, which had already been three years old. To top that all off, my mom had two miscdarriages a while ago, which only hit me that year. I would have two more siblings and I was really wishing they were here. I knew they were up there having fun with their grandpa and Jesus but I couldn't help but wonder what they were like. I've thought about them a LOT. I cried a whole lot too. Then one night I was bawling my eyes out and really wanted to see my two little siblings. That night I asked Daddy Jesus to give them and my grandpa a huge hug from me. He did, and gave me a vision of it. The next day I was drawing a series of pictures to a song (which I'd started a while back). I was looking for a picture to draw that would go with the part of the song I was on. The first picture to come up was the one of Jesus welcoming a child into Heaven with a big hug. I just felt like the Holy Spirit put that picture there for me. When I saw that picture, Jesus gave me an amazing peace about my "sibling situation" and told me that they were having an amazing time up there. I drew that picture, and now everytime I look at it, it brings tears to my eyes and am always reminded of that day. Then in January this big foot injury happened. I think that a lot of this has been the devil trying to attack me, but I've felt the Holy Spirit's presence and love the whole time, and it's been a bumpy yet amazing road. :)
I started going to Bible College this past January (2011), and found a brand new family. The support at SBC is amazing. Right when school started, my mom was sick. So many people from SBC had been praying right away for her and our family. Then the day after valentine’s day, she came home from work early, slept, and threw up all over the bathroom floor. My neighbor took her to the hospital because of her blood pressure. It was crazy. I was extremely overwhelmed with that and school and everything else I was busy with. I broke down a lot. But my family at SBC kept lifting me and my family up. I remember the thursday night very clearly. I was sitting in her hospital room working on homework. She said she'd tried eating a quarter of a sandwich earlier that day, and brought it up. While I was there, she tried to eat half a slice of bread, and brought it up again. I ran out of her room horrified because of seeing her bring it back up. I left, trying so hard not to cry. My closest friend at SBC called me at that time and prayed. I bawled really hard. I stayed at a lady from my church’s place that night because of a snow storm we had, and had a similar experience. We were just sitting and talking, and she prayed and I bawled again. It was absolutely amazing to see all the support we were getting from people. Mom came home after 10 days, and everybody kept praying and supporting us because she is still sick. She isn’t throwing up as much at the moment, but still once in awhile. The doctors still don’t know what it is, but God’s faithfulness has been wonderful.
I found my calling a year ago to get employed with Compassion Canada, a child-sponsorship and leadership development program based out of London Ontario. I’d like to share a bit about how this came about. For about six years, I was sure I would become an elementary teacher. I was completely set on that. one day in November when I was in grade 12, I was sitting in a classroom during my spare, probably drawing, when the Holy Spirit told me that I wasn’t going to be a teacher anymore. I was really surprised and confused at this because I was so set on it. God didn’t reveal to me what I was supposed to do until May the next year. I was vacuuming the church sanctuary once, and was stopped by the Holy Spirit when he revealed to me that I was supposed to get employed with Compassion. That got confirmed this past November in a dream. It’s pretty funny, but it really made me think. So I had promised the night before that I wouldn’t go anywhere because I had the day off of work. I forgot about the promise I made, and went to visit my high-school because I missed it. I found my friend Michelle in the library, and we talked for awhile. Eventually she asked me if I knew why Andrew came to school. I said no, and she said that it was because he was showing other orphans that they could learn too. I pulled into the garage just as my mom drove onto the driveway. She got out of the van with papers in her hand, grabbed me by the arm, and said ‘Let’s go.’ I was so confused and I was crying and screaming,a nd finally got the courage to ask where we were going. She said we were going to Andrew’s house. That’s when I woke up. I went throughout the next day thinking about the dream. My mom was giving me up! I know she’d never do that, but it is reality in so many families around the world. Parents sell their kids at such young ages, or they leave them in dumps do die, or they neglect them, or whatever else. They don’t care about their kids. It’s really crazy and sad to think about, and that dream made it real for me. It made me really excited about my career and missions path, and I know that God will use me to his glory.

There's definitely more to my story, but that's the jist of it.  Thanks for reading, I hope you have a good night!

Samantha

busy day

Hello!  I realize it's a bit late to be on here writing a blog, but this is my first one, and I don't actually care what the time is right now.  Today was a busy day.  I was at my grandparents place last night, and went for breakfast with them this morning.  I had delicious bacon and eggs...mmm!  Shortly after that, the Grunthal Parade took place.  A good friend of mine met me at the parade, and I got to meet her nephew for the first time.  It was a lot of fun.  The little guy caught a whole bunch of candy, and shared it with all of us.  They had to leave right after the parade, so I found some other friends and went for a chicken dinner with them, which was quite tasty!  Right after lunch, I went back to my grandparents to get ready for a wedding I was about to go to.  A good friend from where I used to work got married this afternoon.  It was a beautiful wedding, and the bride looked STUNNING.  No exaggeration.  She looked amazing.  They had quite a yummy supper there too!  Boy, I'm just being fed so well today!  When I left the wedding, I went back to Grunthal where High Valley was about to play.  I watched and listened to the band with the same friends as I went for chicken with, and watched Rio right after that.

This morning in between breakfast and the parade, I had a bit of down-time, so I began memorizing the Sermon on the Mount.  In one of my classes this coming semester, we have the choice of writing a paper, or memorizing the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew 5-7 is one of my favorite passages, so I decided awhile ago that I would memorize it.  I've now memorized The Beattitudes, and the first verse of Salt and Light.  I'm quite excited to do this assignment; excited about what God will teach me in the process.  I know that it will be a challenge, but I'm okay with that.  It will also be a lot of fun.  Even if it doesn't stay memorized forever, parts of it will always come back to mind when I need them for something.  Jesus teaches a lot in that passage, and it is quite wonderful.

Well...I really should go to sleep now; gonna go to the Community church service in Grunthal tomorrow, and spend the day there again.  The fair days are on this weekend.  Good night!