A beautiful testimonial!

A beautifully written testimonial from one of our Bethany families:

Our ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴡʜᴏ we ᴀʀᴇ; ʙᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ.

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I have tiny eyes watching me and little feet following my every move; silently learning, soaking in, and mimicking the words out of my mouth and the actions they see.

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Every day, I pray that my words and actions would lead my babies to know kindness like Jesus. That they would know how important it is to love {everyone} unconditionally, to serve and to speak with words that build up, not tear down.

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Every day, I aim to create little leaders, who take care of themselves and others; who stand up for each other and who create friends wherever they go.

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As a mama, I have SUCH a cool opportunity to create CHANGE and a culture of kindness and leadership starting from inside my home -- it doesn't take any money or resources to do that.

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Here are 5 values we are always aiming to teach in our home:

1. HONESTY. helping them find ways to tell the truth & understand why it's important.

2. JUSTICE. always saying "I’m sorry" and making amends.

3. DETERMINATION. encouraging them to take on challenges & persist even if it's hard at first.

4. CONSIDERATION. teaching them to think about other's feelings.

5. LOVE. like Jesus does.

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𝕎𝕙𝕠 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕕𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤?

So grateful for @bethanyluthschoolnaper Bethany Lutheran School Naperville, IL for enforcing these values on the daily!

Chapel Offerings

We wanted to let you know a little bit more about where our Chapel Offerings are going this first semester.

Pastor Travis Loeslie, former pastor to Bethlehem Lutheran in Morristown, MN, has resigned his call due to the impact of Huntington’s disease and is no longer able to live in the church’s parsonage. He is a young father (37) of six children, and he and his children require the constant care of his wife.

The Loeslie Family need funds for a home and medical expenses.

A major disability has left this family of eight with no job, no home and no ability to generate future financial stability. Please consider generously donating today to get them a home.

This GoFundMe has been organized for the Loeslie Family by members of the congregation of Bethlehem Lutheran Church (LCMS), Morristown MN. Pastor Travis Loeslie has faithfully served our congregation for 5 years. Travis 37 and his wife Stephanie 35 have six children; Benjamin 13, Marta 11, Miriam 9, Samuel 6, Elijah 3, and Ingrid 2. To know this family is to love them!

Following many months of concern and appointments, Travis has been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Huntington's Disease (HD). This is a progressive brain disorder. It causes changes in the central area of the brain, and manifests as uncontrolled movements, emotional problems, and loss of thinking ability (cognition). It has a slow and insidious onset and he has already been suffering symptoms for some time. Although medications may help him manage the movements, there are no treatments available to slow the mental decline. It is progressive, debilitating and incurable. In the future they will have to confront the genetic nature of this disease with each one of their children.

Part of the HD diagnosis process included a cognitive assessment which revealed his brain processing is compromised and he cannot complete multi-step tasks. After this assessment it’s clear he can no longer perform the duties of a called pastor. With a heavy heart, he has resigned from the ministry.

The Loeslies currently live in a parsonage that is owned by Bethlehem. They find themselves completely unprepared for this financial crisis. Stephanie cannot work outside the home as both Travis and the children require her constant care. He will qualify for disability and they are in that process now.

Our congregation prays this family could face their future with the stability of a home.

We praise the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His ever present mercy, and appreciate any prayers and support that is given to our family as we daily face new obstacles. Our Lord has taught us, “Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). - Stephanie Loeslie

#makingdisciplesforlife #bethanyproud

Thank you to Kyle Hoekema for building our gaga pit!

Bethany Alumnus & 2020 Valedictorian Kyle Hoekema is a school wide hero! He created a Ga Ga Ball pit for our students for his Eagle Scout Project. Today we had a ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication, as well as a Staff Ga Ga Pit game! We are just so proud of Kyle and all his fundraising efforts, hard work, and dedication to Bethany. God bless you, Kyle Hoekema! #makingdisciplesforlife #bethanyproud

Kicking off the Royal Run!

We had a beautiful morning for the kick off of our Royal Run! Our students run a full marathon during the school year, and keep track of their progress while learning math, graphing, and pie charts.

A few of our youngest students didn't think they couldn't finish the lap today, and so our older students surrounded them, cheered them on, and ran with them! They all finished strong, and a least a few staff members got teary over how sweet it was.

Thanks to PE teacher, Grant Baganz for organizing this! We all had fun! #bethanyproud #makingdisciplesforlife

BY THE POWER OF GOD’S SPIRIT, THE MISSION OF BETHANY LUTHERAN SCHOOL

IS TO TRAIN, EQUIP, AND SUPPORT WITNESSES FOR HIS KINGDOM.