Sarah Taylor Lesniewski
 RTW connection: Josiah Project Graduate (Team 8)
Current ministry: Resident Head, The University of Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL
Q: What are you currently doing in ministry?
A: My husband and I are resident heads at the University of Chicago. We live in an apartment in one of the residence halls, and act as "dorm parents," though we think of ourselves more as "dorm aunt and uncle." Our house consists of about 60 18-21 year olds. We provide alternative social activities on a regular basis as well as being an available resource for help navigating the transitions of college and city life.
Q: What is the most exciting thing God is doing in your life & ministry right now?
A: The most exciting thing God is doing in our life right now is growing our third baby! It is also exciting to be on summer break, so we can rest and relax and be excited for our students who come back at the end of September. We have an incredible group of returning students - many of them are excited to be part of the house and take care of one another. I love that our family can spend so much time together while being an important presence in the lives of others.
Q: What challenges do you face in your ministry right now?
A: While we love that we can live and work in one place, living with so many young, mostly nonbelieving students can challenge a growing family. Almost daily we are confronted with lifestyle issues that our daughters are delighted to learn about. Another challenge is knowing how to be authentic and sincere about our faith, the reason for our being, without seeming like we are forcing our opinions on others who often expect us to force our opinions.
Q: What specific training from your time at Rock the World are you applying to your current ministry?
A: The Josiah Project exposed me to prayer walking for the first time. Our family has spent much time walking through the halls of our house, and through each room of the dorm, anointing and inviting the presence of the Holy Spirit to do His work here in the lives of the students.
So much of the Holy Spirit's work is hard to detect, but the transformation of our house, from one of the most difficult houses on campus (in terms of anti-authoritarian attitudes and hard partying) to one of the best (in terms of community participation and care and responsibility) has to be due to the protection and guiding of the Holy Spirit. Each student in our house is prayed for regularly. Every conflict or potential conflict situation is surrounded with prayer.
The Josiah Project also taught me the importance of living in community and living out my faith for others to see, without using words. This is essential here. The students see us daily living out our faith as a family - in the dining hall, in the classroom (my husband is a student and teacher), on the playing field, and in our home.
I believe these things are planting seeds for transformation. God is so amazing - He can do more than we ever hoped or imagined!
This is a picture of last year's orientation (Sept 07). The houses in our building have a chalking competition to decorate the building for the new students. So my husband and I (the ones holding little girls) are here with the orientation leaders from our house (Tufts House), as well as the three others houses in our building.
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