Our RA team consists of four wonderful young people; two girls and two guys. To protect their privacy all of their names have been changed for the purposes of this blog. So our girls are Violet and Taylor. They are really cool. Taylor is super outgoing and very spunky. Violet is a bit more reserved but she's a hard worker. Mo and Tom are the boys and they are equally as awesome. Mo is very hilarious and just as outgoing as Taylor. He is quick to take initiative which is really awesome. Tom is silent most of the time but he's funny in his own way. The whole team seems to really mesh well together and I'm really excited to work with them this year.
Today while the head dean, Matt, was in meetings the dean/RA team set to the task of cleaning every single dorm room in the dorm. Matt figured it would take us a solid three or four hours and we finished in around 2 hours. Like I said, great team of hard workers. Later on, we were told to move a pool table out of a room that is getting some renovations. If any of you have ever moved a pool table, you know what kind of daunting deed that is. We had to take the bumpers off and then balance this huge, three-slate table on a tiny furniture dolly and try to wheel this thing out of the room and into the chapel. (Ironic, I know.) After about 15 minutes of maneuvering this table toward the door we finally made it through the door that turned out to be just the right size and managed to move the table into the chapel around the corner. It took seven of us to move it. After we got it into the other room we had to remove the felt because we are re-felting the table too! We worked really hard and it was a great day. Matt was really impressed with the team's ability to do stuff so fast and so well; very efficient. :)
Tonight, Amanda and I played Apples to Apples with Tom and Mo while we were waiting for the girls to get back from volleyball practice. That was a great way to be able to sort of get to know their sense of humor, which is always great to know. After that we had a dean meeting. Now let me tell you, dean meetings are WAY more interesting than teacher meetings...mostly because dean meetings are actually helpful. We talked about being observant and noticing things that may not be quite as obvious. Also, testing our ability to notice specific things during chaos. It was interesting to see who could do it and who couldn't. Then we watched this clip from America's Got Talent about this phenomenal singer who sang some Frank Sinatra. It was astounding. After the clip was over we talked about how sometimes we pass over people who probably have amazing talents but they don't look the part. He read us the verse in 1 Samuel 16 that says "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" That's verse 7. I love that verse. As a dean that is something that I really have to be careful to look for. I can't "judge a book by its cover" so to speak because the ugliest book often contains the most beautiful story. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this year. I can already sense that its going to be a year I will never forget.
Another passage that Matt read was 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22. This section is Paul telling the Thessalonians how to live and what they should do to maintain their exemplary relationship with Christ. It goes like this. "And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil." Its a long passage but the more I think about it the more it perfectly describes how we, as deans and RAs, need to live our lives. One thing in particular that jumped out at me was the part that says "...warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all." That little section basically describes a dean's duties. That is my job description, 1 Thessalonians 5:14, 15. My ability to be able to do those things depends on how I carry out the next few verses. In order to do all the things that I need to as a dean I must also "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. That's it. That's the dean's commission. Interestingly, I was reading that passage last night and I ended up going back and reading 1 and 2 Thessalonians and 1 and 2 Timothy. It was a great encouragement. I'm so excited for what God has in store for this awesome team of people this year.
This is a really long post. If you've read all of this I commend you. If you stopped after the first paragraph and skipped to the bottom, I urge you to read the section right before this. Now I'm tired of writing and kinda sleepy so I think I'll sleep. 7:20am comes fast. Until next time, may the peace of God be with you.
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