A Day in the Life

Me and Callie (far right) with some of our gals

 Oh me, oh my, so much has happened! We are now in the third week of school, and finally starting to get into the swing of things. It definitely takes a while for all of us to start adjusting well, seeing as how there are new students, old students are gone, there are two new RA's, the RA's from last year are gone, some people have never lived away from home, we're in a country that we aren't particularly familiar with and don't speak the language, etc. Sixteen teenage girls and 5 staff members living together in harmony takes work! But it's rewarding!

It has definitely been a pleasure getting to know these girls better and to work alongside Steve, Stacey, and Callie. There are so many opportunities for great conversation, for hugs, sipping hot tea together, listening and wiping away tears, laughter, and learning. We're living life together, just in a way that not a ton of people experience at the high school age. I'll go ahead and give you an overview of what a typical day might look like at Storchenblick...

Messages left on my board the 2nd week :)

I get up at about 7am, unless I have to make hot breakfast, in which case I get up earlier. We eat breakfast and start cleanup at 8am. The girls leave for the bus at 8:20. Stacey, Callie, and I line up at the door and give hugs as they leave. Then we have a bit of time to get ready for the day, then either meet together to talk over what's going on in the dorm and pray, or go grocery shopping, bake, and the like. Around noonish we get to have lunch and then have free time until about 3:30pm. I usually take a nap, read a book, write some emails, or something like that. Occasionally I'll get out and do something a little more active, but honestly the time to just do not much of anything is nice. Someone has snack duty and starts getting that ready for students so that when they arrive home at 4:15 they can walk in and have a bite to eat (haha, I always think of “The Terminal” when I hear that phrase). The girls have free time until dinner, which we pick up from the central kitchen at the high school and bring home to eat at 6:15. After dinner is chore time, when the girls do their assigned chores. From 7:30-9:30 we have study hours, then at 9:30 we do lunch prep (we put out things they can take for lunch and they assemble it themselves). At 10 we send them to start getting ready for bed (except seniors), and at 10:30 we have lights out. Callie and I do “tuck in” for our respective floors, which means we get to go around to every room and see how the girls are doing and tell them goodnight. This has been a great time for me, and I really appreciate that we do it. I usually don't finish with tuck in until almost 11 since there's always something to talk about or someone to encourage to hurry up :) Just tonight I was able to read a couple Psalms aloud to one of my girls per her request, and we talked about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Sunset over Holzen; Photo by Stacey Babich

I have had many amazing moments already of girls opening up to me and pouring out their hearts, struggles, fears, joys, etc. It really took me by surprise actually, that it started with some pretty big stuff in the first week! But how great that there is already that level of trust! Praying for them and encouraging them has been so awesome for me. I also praise the Lord for the great dorm staff that we have here, and how we are able to work as a team. Please continue to pray for us that we would grow in unity and love. I've been discovering more and more how important it is to be filled by God first and then to overflow that out into my work and relationships. This is true in any life, but it certainly becomes very evident when you live with this many people! There are times when I've felt inadequate to meet the needs and answer the questions of these precious young ladies, but then I remember that I really AM inadequate, but God is MORE than adequate, and HE is the one working in and through me! Pray that He will be glorified in my life and in this ministry at Storch dorm, as well as in the other dorms and BFA as a whole.

Storchlettes cheering at a football game

Thank you for your love and support! I see that people read my blog and am encouraged just to know that you are keeping up! May God bless you all abundantly as you walk with Him!

Philippians 2:13

...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

They're here!!!

View of Holzen from my window

New students arrived yesterday to Storchenblick, and returning ones are arriving today. It's so great to start filling up the dorm with all these young ladies!! I've definitely enjoyed meeting them and some of their parents. There is a lot of diversity among them, which I think is just great, and it will be interesting to see how community life unfolds as time goes on. I look forward to a fantastic year ahead of us!!

So here are some more details about what's been going on over here in Deutschland. This past week we had All Staff Orientation for BFA, as well as additional Res. Life training. It is all well and good to have orientation for 3 weeks, but let's just say that I feel like I'm oriented for the rest of my life and will never need to go through orientation again. Meetings. So many of them. Glad they are over. On a positive note though, it was really good to be here that far in advance in order to get more settled, become familiar with the area, develop relationships with staff, and start to get over the initial shock of being in a completely different country. I don't feel entirely clueless at least!

My desk, where all this literary magic happens

I had my driver's test with our Res. Life supervisor this past week. I've stalled a vehicle twice since I came to Germany. I stalled a vehicle twice during my driver's test....seriously?!? Performance nerves, I'm telling you! I still passed though, so it's all good. I seem to have had a few embarrassing moments this past week...I'd like to attribute it to mental exhaustion, so that's what we're going to do. During All Staff Orientation us newbies all had to give our testimonies to the entire staff (3 mins), and there was a list of what order we were to go in, and I got so zoned into the whole “I have to get up there and just get it over with” (I'm not a public speaker...) that I completely skipped the person before me, even though she was sitting just a few feet from me and was already in the process of getting up there. Didn't even register. Lord have mercy. I gave her a good introduction though for when it was her turn. :) Another incident (that same day!) was at the grocery store. So here in Germany grocery stores don't bag your groceries. If you've ever been to Aldi, it's like that. Except here they expect you to put your groceries in the cart as they scan (having emptied it and put everything on the conveyor belt and taken it to the other end of the register). The belt is really long, and then on the other end there is like maybe a foot or two of space before your groceries start to overflow off the counter and the cashier gives you a dirty look. That actually wasn't my embarrassing moment. So because they don't bag your groceries you just take your cart out to your car and bag/box them in there as you load it up. What they don't tell you is that you aren't allowed to take out the shopping basket as well. I found that out when I walked out the door, the alarm went off, I stopped, looked at my friend and she said, “I think it's your basket,” so I turned and went back through, setting the alarm off again. Thankfully I had a bag in my purse so I just discreetly (ha!) put my stuff in the bag, returned the basket to it's rightful place, and scooted out the door, trying not to make eye contact with the many Germans who were staring at me. Sigh. Welcome to acculturation.

A lovely town, Todtnau, that has falls nearby

Well, our new girls are about to get back to the dorm from their day of new student orientation, so I should go help with snack prep. Tomorrow are opening ceremonies and then classes start on Wednesday! I'm looking forward to getting into the routine and having everyone feel more at home. Keep us all in your prayers, especially the students as they say goodbye to family and adjust to dorm life! Also for us, that we would provide a great loving home for them!

I John 3: 1a

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

The Beginning

Storch! My room is the very top left window

It has been 10 days since I last posted. My apologies, seeing as there is much to tell! But seriously...so much going on! I'm currently sitting on the floor in my room...and my room is in my dorm...and my dorm issssssss.....Storchenblick!! Storch for short. It actually means “view of the storks,” which makes sense because there are lots of storks in this town. There is actually a stork sanctuary right down the road from us! The church across the street has storks living on it's clock tower (which chimes every 15 minutes). I'll let you know if I see lots of babies around town. (I actually learned the story behind that whole myth...will share at a later date!) The village Storch is in is called Holzen, located about 5km from BFA's main campus in Kandern. It's just gorgeous here! I've included a couple photos, but I'll be posting most on facebook, so if you'd like to see them make sure to check out the albums I post on there!

Callie, Me, Stacey, & Steve

Us RA's were assigned to our dorms last Thursday, and then everyone moved to their respective new homes on Sunday. We were actually all staying at Storch for the first week, so I didn't have to move far! I just now finished painting my room, so I have yet to move my stuff up and arrange furniture. Ikea trip on Saturday! One other exciting piece of news about dorm placement is the people I am working with. The dorm parents here at Storch are Steve and Stacey Babich, and I'm excited to get to know them better! This is their second year here, so we've been learning a lot from them about how things work around here and the girls that will be arriving in a week for the school year. Grateful to have some experienced people to help figure all this out! They've been very welcoming, and I'm happy to get to work with them. The other RA in Storch is a wonderful young woman by the name of Callie Buchholz...who happened to graduate from JBU as well! (There is another RA from JBU, too...as well as other dorm parents...and BFA staff...represent!! Didn't know any of them before though.) Callie and I are learning all the ins and outs together, and I'm grateful that she's around to go through this experience with me! Excited to see all God will be doing in our dorm over the next 2 years, and how He will build us up as a team!

Lovely view from a local mountain, Hochblauen

The last couple weeks have been just packed full of all sorts of things. We've had German language classes, All New Staff Orientation, Res. Life meetings/training, learning how to drive here and where things are (including school campuses, dorms, hospital, orthodontist, doctors' offices, grocery stores, gas station, etc.), mission dinners, dorm chores and cooking, room painting, etc etc. And all of this is taking place in a country where I don't speak the language (you should have seen me try to buy paint for my room using the few words I know and lots of hand motions with English all in the mix...haha), where customs and rules are different, the food is different, even the toilets are different. This is all good, and I'm so glad that I get to experience this! But I AM on information overload and quite tired. Fortunately I really didn't have much trouble getting over jet-lag, so that's a big praise! I just ask that you pray that I would be as prepared as possible, including energy-wise, for when the girls arrive. By the way, I've had several of them friend me on facebook and saying that they're excited to come and meet us newbies. I'm so excited for them to come, too!!! Really looking forward to starting to develop relationships with these girls. I will definitely be keeping you all up to date on how it goes! Prayers appreciated!

On the Rhein in Basel, Switzerland

So next week is All Staff Orientation, and more Res. Life training, so we'll continue to stay busy! Students start arriving on Sept. 2, and then we're off! As in starting a race, not going on vacation haha. There are tons of details that I could get into, but it's after 11:00pm here and I've been going at it all day today, so I think I'll hold off for now, and hopefully I'll get another post in soon with more details! I would love to hear from you, so feel free to email me or message me on facebook!

I Chronicles 16:28

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ja Deustchland!

I'm in Deutschland folks!!!

Me and my precious brother Caleb at the airport

After last week's scrambling to get everything done, throwing out, cleaning, storing, packing, and saying hard goodbyes, I'm actually here. I left Thursday morning at 6:00am, so I had to be at the airport at 4:00am (ick!). Only got 2 hours of sleep, and when I got to the airport found out that all three of my checked bags were at least 10 pounds under weight, so that was a bit of a bummer, seeing as I'd been getting rid of lots of stuff that I thought I couldn't take with me. Oh well. Just a lesson in letting go of that which is really not important! I said a teary farewell to my parents, Hannah, and Caleb, and boarded the plane to Chicago. I had a 9 hour layover there, so I tried to sleep some in the terminal, but just managed a couple hours or so of light and interrupted dozing. From Chicago I flew to London, which takes a little under 8 hours. I sat in the same row as a young man from Germany, so it was nice to converse with him about where I was going and what his impression was of the USA. Didn't sleep a wink the whole time though. As we were getting nearer to London the sun was coming up, and I got to see a glimpse of Ireland!!! If you know me well, you know that that is a big deal. One of these days I'll get there! I had a short wait in London and then it was off to Basel-Mulhouse. In the airport there I figured out how to get through on the French side, got my passport stamped, picked up my luggage (didn't even have to wait for it as it was coming out on the belt as I walked in), and met Calvin, our Res. Life supervisor, who was there to pick me up. It was a seamless and uneventful trip, thank God!

Scenery around Holzen

On the drive from Basel to Holzen Calvin pointed out where the borders to France, Switzerland, and Germany all were (I was in England, France, and Germany all in one day!), what some of the road signs meant, and gave me some general info about the area. The scenery is beautiful, lots of green fields and small villages crowded with peaked-roof houses. We got to Hölzen, a village not too far from Kandern, where one of the school dorms is. This dorm is called Storchenblick, meaning something like “stork view” or “view of the storks” due to the large population of storks living in the area. There are a few perched atop the church across the street! All of the RA's are staying at Storch for this first week of orientation. It's been great to get to know them and share the start of this new era together! God truly has been amazing in His provision for all of us. Several of us were unsure even just a few short days ago whether we would be able to come at this time or not. But there is only one RA who is not yet here, and she gets here on Tuesday! Praise the Lord! He is good!

Shopping in Lörrach

Orientation officially starts tomorrow (Monday) morning. We will be having German classes in the mornings this whole week, as well as learning to drive in Germany, and other Res. Life training. We have orientation for the next 3 weeks, and then students arrive, so we will be busy bees! On Thursday we will be finding out which dorms we are assigned to, and I think we're all anxious to know, but enjoying our time together all the same. Today we had church at Black Forest Community Fellowship, an English-speaking church that holds its services at BFA and which we will be attending with the students during our time here. The people were very welcoming, and I'm excited to better know who they are. All of the Res. Life staff had lunch and supper together today here at Storch, which was delicious and great to get to know not only RA's better but also dorm parents and our Res. Life supervisor and other staff.

Some of the RA's on a walk in the country-side

Well, it's 7 hours later here than in Arkansas, so I'll be heading to bed soon. I was able to push through Friday without taking any naps or falling asleep early so that I could start my new sleep schedule as soon as possible. It was hard but it's working! I slept 13 hours that first night, and I've had almost no jet-lag since! Yay! Hopefully it'll stay that way!

I'll try to keep you guys updated on how orientation is going. I've already butchered my way through ordering pizza and ice cream in German, so I'm excited to get into some classes! Please pray that I would have the energy and emotional strength to keep up with everything that's going on. I have a feeling that it's going to get harder than it has been pretty quickly with all the new information that we'll be taking in. I appreciate it!!

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Great Things He Has Done

How do I even start this blog post? So much has happened in such a short period of time. God has proven to me that time limits are no match for him!! This past weekend I reached 97% of funding!!! What?!?! It's incredible!! I started planning like I would be leaving this week, but I also was quite prepared to have to wait a little longer...an option I thought was more likely. Just being honest here. I knew God could pull it off if He wanted to...I just didn't know if He wanted to!! Sometimes God's timing isn't quite what we think it should be, and that's ok, cause let's face it, God knows better. But He just blew my doubts out of the water this time! What an amazing confirmation and provision! I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for this great gift, and I'm thankful to all you His children for joining this work and partnering with me!! THANK YOU!! My plane tickets have been purchased, and I will be heading out early in the morning on Thursday, August 9^th. Wow.

Last Hurrah at Greenhouse Grill with great friends!

I now sit amidst a bunch of boxes, suitcases, piles of stuff, trash bags, etc. I completely took over the living room (sheepish grin aimed at my very gracious parents :), and have been in a process of sorting, throwing out, packing, unpacking, repacking, and generally running around in a bewildered and flustered manner. So much to do! I feel sort of like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland...I'm not late, but I feel rushed! It's especially difficult because I want to spend as much quality time with loved ones as possible before I leave, as well. I've been saying goodbyes to friends, having “last hurrah” get togethers, eating at some of my favorite places before I leave, and the like. My last day at church was this past Sunday, and I had the honor of being prayed for in both services by our interim pastor. I was able to spend some time with my little brother Caleb yesterday, catching crawdads in the creek, eating milkshakes, and watching a movie. I don't even like to think about saying goodbye to my parents and siblings. I already said goodbye to my brother John when I was in California. It's no fun. After all these years of saying goodbye it doesn't get much easier. Please pray for me in this difficult time of busy-ness, chaos, and sorrow, as well as excitement for all that is coming. Pray for peace, comfort, and strength for myself and my family as I have my last day here in Arkansas. Pray for travel mercies (and luggage mercies haha) as I embark on this journey. I appreciate it! It is wonderful to know that I am not alone in this...I am accompanied by my Father God and by many of you in prayers and thoughts.

I would try to write more, but it's nearly 1:00am and my brain is fried. Please forgive me for the shortish post on such a crazy-awesome few days that deserve more, or at least better, words. The next time I post it will hopefully be from Germany!!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

A Poem

So I've been sorting through a bunch of papers and junk that's lying in my room, and besides the precious letters that I found from a bunch of 2nd graders (I will miss them so much!!), I found this poem that I wrote a couple years ago. It's not some fabulous specimen of poetic artistry or anything, but maybe someone will be encouraged by it...

Up, my heart!

Desert this bog of despair 

that would you devour,

ever seeking to clamp its jaws,

a vile dog desperate for the kill.

Light, that double-edged sword,

swings swift and true,

piercing the jackal's maw,

extracting poison-tipped lies.

Grow angel's wings

and soar to heaven!

Tread the streets of gold.

Be not troubled for

tomorrow's mourning,

but clothe yourself,

daughter of Sharon,

in rosy hues of delight.

Run free in wild ecstasy,

hope pounding in your ears,

and rest assured

in fearless sleep

that dawn will glisten

off the morning dew

your feathers will not weep.

Rocky Mountain High

Emily and Me :)

I'm home again! After a good 4 weeks of traveling over the last month-ish I have to admit that I'm glad to be home. However, I had a great time visiting family and friends!! This post I dedicate to my friend Emily, who I visited in Colorado. She and I were roommates in college for a year, and it was great to spend time with her and her husband, Ryan! So here's a little about what we were up to during my visit...

Being so close to the Rocky Mountains we had to take advantage and go exploring! So one day we took the 4-wheel drive truck up to a place called Rollins Pass. The roads were super duper bumpy and there were huge mud puddles, so of course we drove through them!! :) We found some gorgeous lakes and the scenery was just stunning. The temperature was a lot cooler, too! We went from the 90's at the house to in the 50's on the mountains. It was a lovely little relief! On the way up we saw a German restaurant called Westfalen Hof and decided to go back and eat there for supper on the way home. We did have a little hiccup though...the bumpy roads jiggled the truck's air filter right off! So we had to get that taken care of before we kept on, but it all worked out. I was excited to eat German food, and was even more excited when I found out that the staff was actually from Germany! Our server was actually from Switzerland, but he spoke German. I got a delicious pork meal, the name of which I can't remember, but I did go ahead and try to say it when I ordered! It was a fun time :)

We also took a drive up to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park another day. It's just gorgeous in the Rockies!! I loved being in the mountains again...felt like home in a way. The Rockies are different from the Andes, but they're still big beautiful mountains! We saw some elk that were grazing, so that was cool.

Other activities included swimming, shooting an air soft pellet hand gun, eating deer steak (yum!), watching “Brave,” and going to IKEA (I had major sensory overload in there! Craziness!). All in all it was a great time!! I'm working on convincing them to visit me in Germany... Any others are welcome to join!

The 10^th of August, the day I'm supposed to be arriving in Germany, is in two weeks from yesterday. What?!?! How did this happen?! I'm telling you, time is a slippery sneaky thing! It hasn't quite hit me yet...I think it might feel like a brick wall when it does... Good news, though! As of today I'm at 59% of funding! Yahoo! Praising the Lord for this progress and thanking all of you who have partnered with me in this way! Last night I had the pleasure of sharing with a group of friends, and that went well, I think. I'm thankful for the encouragers, prayers, and givers! So many amazing people that I know! As I mentioned, there are just 2 weeks left until I'm supposed to be boarding a plane, but I'm still 31% away from being able to do that. That equates to about $540/month that I still need to raise to get to 90%, and $720/month to get to 100%. Would you be willing to partner with me financially? If so, you can donate online following the link that is on the sidebar (there is a PayPal fee deducted for every transaction, FYI), or you can print the pledge form by following the link to the right, filling it out, and sending it to TeachBeyond. You can also contact me if you have any questions!

Thanks friends!

Psalm 95:3-4

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.