September 14, 2012
Thanks to our support team we are back again at BFA for school year, "2012-2013". It is so exciting to be back! We appreciate all the prayer and sacrificial giving that have gotten us here. Of course this is the work of God and we thank Him for it, but it is the result of Him putting our ministry on the hearts of a lot of individuals to do the impossible. He has given us our hearts' desire, to return and serve the students at Black Forest Academy. We are actually here!
Our transition back to Germany and to our ministry roles at BFA has been exhausting. The day we arrived from the USA Sue had meetings to attend to, to help prepare her for her new role as Student Counsel Adviser. She also had a lot of work to do for planning the senior class's "Rome Trip". She has been looking to God for strength, one day at a time
Bob's maintenance supervisor gave him a few days off to get us settled and we were grateful for that. We have had a lot of moving in to do. All of our personal belongings were either in the suitcases we brought from America or stored in boxes in our attic and garage. For the past two years we had other families living in our apartment, so all of our personal things were put away. The first year we lived in the Liel Dorm as dorm parents, and this past year we lived "on the move" for a time of service in Italy - and since Christmas - on Home Assignment in the USA. It is good to be in our own place again!
Besides unpacking and settling in, we had to re-establish German residency and re-register our car. We also had a German worker come the day after we arrived to replace the carpeting in our dining and living rooms. That required our moving all the furniture out the day we arrived and moving it back in two days later. Marshall and a few of his buddies supplied the needed muscle!
BFA welcomed a lot of new staff and about 55 new students to this new school year. For the new students entering the boarding program that meant a lot of difficult good byes on the first day of school with their parents.
We have just finished our second week of school. Many of us are adjusting to new roles on staff and the fast paced school life. There is a lot of joy and excitement in the air, as well as the sense that we are way over our heads and must entrust ourselves to God each day. We ask that you think of us in your prayers, and in a particular way for those new students who are missing family and transitioning into living in the dorms, making new friends, and adjusting to their new teachers and classes.
All of us on staff at BFA have set our faces to the vision that we are committed to, and for this we will pour our hearts for the next 9 months: "To provide a quality, international, Christian education that equips its students to influence their world through biblical thought, character, and action".
We will be sharing more pictures in the future. Our camera died the first day we tried to use it!
Opening ceremony begins with our seniors entering the auditorium carrying flags from the nations. Our students hold passports from over 52 countries this year.
