This Fall

Fall is finally here in Kandern.  It has been unusually warm here the last few weeks but the temperatures outside finally feel like fall.  The last month has been busy.  I have not updated like I had hoped but here are some snippets into all that has been happening in the last few weeks.

I started meeting with my small group the first week of September.  I have five girls this year, three of them were with me last year.  They are precious girls and I am excited to see all that the Lord has in store for us in the coming year.  Among the five girls there are at least five nationalities represented and that does not include the countries that they have lived in.  (American, Canadian, Korean, Dutch, French).  Their parents live in France, Germany, China, Kyrgyzstan and Korea.  We are a diverse but fun group. 

I am now enrolled in a German class that meets every Tuesday with some fellow BFAers.  It is not much but it is at least a start and I am grateful for the opportunity.

September 12-16 was Spiritual Emphasis Week here at BFA.  The speaker was Dr. George Murray from Columbia International University.  The Lord really used Him and spoke through him to not only the speak to the students but also to me and to the rest of the staff.  Praying that the words that were heard and the decisions that were made will continue to be lived out among us all. 

View from my window in Adelboden

September 16-18 the staff went away for the weekend to Adelboden, Switzerland.  It was a good time to connect with new and returning staff and spend some time with each other and with Jesus amidst His amazing creation!

 

The next weekend was the Middle School overnight.  A highly anticipated event if you are between 6-8^th grade!  It is in a neighboring town’s youth hostel.  While I did not stay the night – I did go over and spend Friday afternoon and evening with them, playing group games, singing around a campfire and making smores…fun times!  

Last weekend I was finally able to get up and visit some dear family friends in the northern part of Germany near Kiel.  I was able to see the North Sea and the Baltic Sea for the first time and discover Hamburg and the northern part of Germany.  It was wonderful to be with friends from home and experience a new part of Germany.  The weather was amazingly warm which was an added bonus. 

The Baltic Sea in Laboe, Germany

St. Michaelis in Hamburg, Germany

Germany's T-giving Sunday - inside St. Michaelis

I have had the opportunity to celebrate a couple of Germany holidays this fall. October 2 was Germany’s thanksgiving celebration.  I was in Hamburg and the church we visited, St Michaelis, was decorated for the harvest celebration.  And last Monday (Oct. 3) was a day off in honor of the 21^st year of the Reunification of Germany.     

My fellow French teacher flew back to the States last week due to her father having open heart surgery and will be out most of the month.  We praise the Lord that her father has done very well and was sent home from the hospital yesterday.  This past week I got to teach several of my former students from French 2 while I subbed for her French 3 class.  I had the pleasure :)  of trying to remember/re-learn and teach the subjunctive. The Lord has proven His faithfulness again in helping me this past week with that task.

 

I have been reminded again of how much the Lord loves it when we turn to Him with the big things and the little things in our days (from major crises to teaching the subjontive).  Sometimes the needs seem so heavy that it is easy to lean on His everlasting arms.  Last year that was an easy posture for me to take with everything being so new.  This year I have been asking Him to help me keep that posture of dependence even when things feel more comfortable and familiar.  And He continues to be faithful.  On this Sunday, may you sense His everlasting arms under you in whatever it is you are facing today.

"The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deut. 33:27