“I really am just a normal girl with one difference: God drives everything in my life and my mission is to win over as many people to Him as I can.”

 This is how Kristen Wegener describes herself. 

Kristen Wegener, fifteen years old and in the ninth grade, has been taking classes at The Potter’s School for three years. This year, Kris has her hands full with four TPS classes: Intro to Literature, HTML/XHTML, Latin, and Biology. This, of course, does not the rest of her classes, which she takes at home. Intro to Lit is Kristen’s favourite class, and, when asked why, she says it’s because “the students think and express their thoughts in class. Mrs. Troxell, my teacher, also has a wonderful personality and has created a very thoughtful and enjoyable class.”

The third child out of nine, Kristen is grateful that there’s always something going on at her house. As anyone who comes from a big family will understand, Kristen finds it frustrating when she’s taken for one of her siblings. Nevertheless, she is definitely a strong, bright individual.  “The wonderful thing about living at my house is that there is no lack of noise and people to talk to. It is really great training for someone who needs/wants to study on a college campus because we all learn to concentrate on our tasks,” says Kristen.

Speaking of college, Kristen plans on studying nursing once she gets out of high school, and hopes to get her registered nursing degree with particular focus on tropical diseases. One event that really inspired Kristen to study nursing was her mother’s last pregnancy, which was difficult. While it was a trying time for her entire family, Kristen feels that it was one of the most defining experiences of her life. “It was really the thing that made me want to nurse,” states Kristen.

While Kristen enjoys living on her family’s farm in the suburbs of Kirksville, Indiana, if she could live anywhere else in the world, she would move to Thailand. Kristen feels especially led to Thailand for several reasons. Her family sponsors children through Compassion International, a ministry which helps impoverished children around the world, and Kristen feels especially attached to a child they once sponsored from Thailand. Ever since her family sponsored that child, Kris has spent time researching and studying the country, the tribes, and the way of life in Thailand. What she has learned excites her and draws her heart to the country.

When she isn’t busy with school, Kris loves to do simple things like taking a romp through the woods or watching the rain through her window. She enjoys the beauty of her family’s farm and loves weaving, dancing, scrap booking, and reading. “However, these things are rarely done,” she says. Kris has grown up reading Jane Austen; one of her favourite books is Pride and Prejudice. She says that it's “a totally wonderful story." She loves the character of Elizabeth Bennett, whom she describes as witty, frank, and beautiful.

Although she likes to listen to a lot of different types of music, right now Kris prefers praise and worship music because it encourages her and focuses her heart on God. Her current favourite song, O Faithful God, contains these lyrics, which Kristen really loves because they remind her of God’s eternal faithfulness.

“I will praise You all my life. I will

Sing to You with my whole heart.

I will trust in You, my hope and my help,

My maker and my faithful God.

O faithful god, my faithful God.

You lift me up and you uphold my cause.

You give me life, You dry my eyes

You’re always near, You’re my faithful God.”

“This song reminds me that He is always there… He is so faithful to me. He won’t ever desert me and He will always help,” says Kristen

Kristen states, “The thing that’s the most important to me is following God’s commands. It’s really, really hard a lot of the time, but it is the very most desire of my heart."