Month: September 2015

I saw God over the weekend through downtown Zeeland. Living in downtown Zeeland, I get to see a lot of people and families. As I long boarded and biked through the small town, I loved seeing everybody’s happy faces. With the leaves falling and all the kids running around, it was a very peaceful weekend filled with the holy spirit.

Leah Cooper

Mrs. Roskamp

LA, 8C

10 September 2015

Descriptive Writing

The glasses card reminds me of the new job I started this summer at my church. Every Tuesday at 1 o’clock I would walk to my church that sat just a couple houses away from my house. The job was anything but easy. The church looked as old as Abraham Lincoln, and the services weren’t any better. My church is very old, but beautiful with all of it’s old charm. My job was to help our worship coordinator plan out each of the Sunday morning services. We would decide on the songs, banners, and design the bulletin. It was hard work, but I enjoyed playing a part in the planning of the service. Going into the job, my goal was to make a change that would benefit the youth at the church. Being such an old church community, most of the sermons and services were directed towards the elderly. I could practically hear the children and teens screaming for help as they sat through the long services. This job has been a huge blessing to me and I’ve begun to understand why the church does some of the things that it does. I enjoy the work and look forward to seeing where this job leads me.

The anchor reminds me of the week I spent at Camp Geneva, and how every morning we had to go ‘polar bearing’ in big pine lake. This summer, and summers before, I’ve gotten to go to Camp Geneva for a week with an amazing group of girls. This summer was very special, as we welcomed some new girls into our cabin, and had an amazing counselor. One of my favorite memories of camp was jumping into Big Pine Lake every morning at 7 o’clock. The lifeguard would come and wake us up, and we had only a couple seconds to be in our swimsuits and at the beachfront ready to jump in. Our cabin, along with all of the others, decided to make our entry into the water more fun rather than just jumping in. One of the mornings, we performed the Disney classic, Cinderella, and another morning we played out the Hunger Games. I can vividly remember the sound of Abby’s scream as we jumped into the freezing cold water every morning. It was hilarious! The water felt cold like Antartica, but the warm showers afterwards warmed me up as if I had never gone into the lake in the first place. Camp Geneva is such a blessing and everyday I wish I could go back. We made so many good friends. Some of our favorites were kids who go to Cityside and Creekside. Since we were all from Zeeland, we referred to ourselves as the ‘Z-Squad’. 🙂 I can’t wait till next year when I get to go to Camp again.

The money card reminds me of all the fundraising I did over the summer for my trip to the Philippines. This coming April, I’ll be going on the Philippines trip with school and need to raise $2,750 by then. This summer, I dedicated a lot of my time to raising this money. Most of my time was spent babysitting. I babysat for lots of people around Zeeland (and continue to do so). Babysitting was one of my favorite pass times this summer. I love taking care and being around all of the little kids. They’re innocent like angels (well some of the time that is). God has blessed me so much and I’m almost done with the fundraising. It definitely wasn’t easy having to spend so much of my free time doing fundraising, but I know that the more sacrificial the process is, the more I will get from the experience when it’s done. I spent a lot of days hanging out with one of the little boys I babysit for. We would always go to the ZCS park. It was so much fun! The only thing I didn’t enjoy was changing the dirty diapers. They smelled worse than a skunk! But it’s all going to be worth it. Overall it was a great summer and I hope the summers to come are much like this past one.

Leah Cooper

Mrs. Roskamp

LA, 8C

16 September 2015

“Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them

into practice is like the wise man who built his house

on the Rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew

and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because

it had it’s foundation on the Rock”

Matthew 7:24-25

Every year, the seventh graders are challenged with the task of coming up with a them for their following eighth grade year. As we sat in our little circle, which consisted of only about fourteen people, coming up with theme possibilities, I couldn’t help but be curious what we would come up with. I was very happy when Mr. Buteyn announced that our them was indeed, ‘Built On The Rock.’ Our theme, ‘Built On The Rock’, has always meant a great deal to me both as a student at ZCS, and as a christian of God’s world.

As an eighth grader at Zeeland Christian, and being on the eighth grade planning team, sometimes being a leader can be overwhelming. At the beginning of the year, the teachers put a lot of pressure on everyone about leading by example. I was very happy at the end of the seventh grade year to find that Matthew 7:24-25 was our theme verse. As a teenage girl, it can become very easy for me to forget about everybody else, especially God. When I am playing a sport, or get a good grade on a paper, I find that it’s hard to remember that everything that I do is to God’s glory, not mine. I love this verse because as I lead small groups, or talk to Mrs. Roskamp about the eighth grade planning team, I am reminded that I must dedicated my whole life to God and stay firm on him. I love the reminder of staying firm in God. There has been a lot of prayer requests that have been said in my classroom, about sad things that are going on in our lives, but if we remember to stay firm and faithful in God’s love, he will show himself and pull through for us.

I have to admit, it’s a crazy thought to imagine that millions of people, hundred of thousands of miles away, are worshipping the same God I am. It’s incredible to imagine that people that are on the other side of the world, might be sitting at the side of their bed praying to God, at the same time I am. I can’t even begin to imagine or think about what God has planned for me as far as being a Christian in his World. This year, I’ll be traveling to the other side of the world with Mr. Vandyk and the rest of the Philippines team, and to be honest, the thought hasn’t yet felt real to me. It hasn’t become a reality. God wants to send me to the other side of the world, to be with and help people I haven’t even met. How incredible is that? I believe that it’s not my calling to be a missionary or a preacher, but I do believe that God will change people’s lives through some of my actions, and I can’t wait to watch his kingdom grow as the years go on. I hope that someday, I will make an impact on children and people, just as some very important people in my life have made on me. This is my Father’s world, and glorifying him in it and through it is one of my greatest desires.

Cooper 2

Our theme, ‘Built On The Rock’, has always meant a great deal to me both as a student at ZCS, and as a christian of God’s world. As I look forward at the year to come, I have no idea what God has planned for the teachers, for my fellow students, and for me, but I am completely overjoyed and satisfiend knowing that he is in control of everything that will be going on at Zeeland Christian School. And, as I look forward from a more broad perspective, I can’t wait to see what God has in store for our city, country, and universe. I would like to give this whole year, and the years to come, to God.

I think that the new addition is very cool and very welcoming. This year, I hope that as an 8th grade we will lead well by respecting the furniture and the new school building. I love how there are glass walls and that we can open up the classrooms between each other. The furniture in the common area is super nice to have when we have to do group work and individual activities. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new building will work out this coming year. I think the teachers, students, and staff will enjoy the new space. I know how much work has gone into the building, and I am super grateful for all the people who have put so much time and dedication into the building.