Here we are... we have made it through our first week at Black Forest Academy - and what an amazing week it was!
(Unfortunately it was a busy one so I have not been able to take many pictures at school yet. You can expect to see some of those in the next few weeks!)
Tuesday (24) we had opening ceremonies where the teaching faculty walked in to an uproar of applause; followed by the graduating class of 2011 walking in with the country flags represented at our school. There are a total of 52 nations represented at Black Forest Academy! It was amazing to watch as they did the role call of the nations and see how our student body comes from so many different places.
I can't even begin to explain the utter joy I felt as I watched the BFA campus fill with students this week. This place totally changed. There are kids in what were empty classrooms, and chatter filled the hallways! To watch returning students show new students around and to see friends embrace each other after being apart was not something that can easily be described with words. Those moments truly brought tears to my eyes. God is in this place and is moving in this place, and that is evident in every day.
I knew I was going to love the office, but each day I am renewed with a deep passion and love for the work God has called me to. Last week I was informed that not only will I be working in the Front Office... I will be overseeing it all! The Front Office Manager, Tim, and his family are returning to Australia in November for 6 months and I will be the one to step into that role. It was scary to hear at first but God has been preparing me and I am very excited for this. It has been a week of learning and adjusting to a different office setting and just learning what my role entails. It is a blessing to have Tim around for the next few weeks to help in the "newness" of it all.
Tomorrow (30) is the start of a new week, a week that a lot of our school programs begin in. I have been accepted to work in the dorm "Storchenblick," (also known as "Storch") which is a high school girls dorm. The dorm parents there are really great and I look forward to getting to know them better and serving alongside them. (They are also fellow Canadians! :)) We have a meeting tomorrow evening in regards to what is expected from us and the following Monday evening I will be in the dorm! I am SOO looking forward to meeting the girls and being able to spend time with them each week.
There are also music and sports teams starting up this week in addition to Resident Life subbing. I will be on a worship team at the church (Black Forest Christian Fellowship) that meets in the BFA auditorium each Sunday. It's a great community and I have loved attending there for the few Sundays I have been here.
It is amazing to see the school in action and really see first hand what an amazing ministry opportunity we have here in the Black Forest.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers!
There is no other place I would rather be than in Germany loving on these missionary kids right now. God is good!
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9
Praise:
-The other 2 ladies who work in the office speak German!!
-Providing a Christian educational facility in a safe place where so many students of so many nations can meet
Prayer:
-Please pray for the staff/students who have not arrived yet due to visa complications/support raising
-Please pray that we would have continual opportunities to invest into these kids, to love on them, and to make Jesus known in real ways