Mari Ellen

Dear friends and family,

Thank you for your prayers in the past week. Our beloved friend and staff member, Mari Ellen Reeser went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, April 8, 2012. She has been a staff member of Janz Team/BFA since 1990. Her most recent role as school counsellor among many other things over the years has connected her deeply with so many staff and students.

Please pray for her friends and family, near and far, as well as our BFA community as we grieve the loss of our friend. Students and staff are on spring break until Tuesday, April 16. Please continue to pray for us as we console and encourage one another once returning back to school. 

Her memorial at Black Forest Academy will be on Tuesday, April 16 at 7pm (8 hours ahead of Calgary). 

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Blessings,
Brittany

School Events

Hey friends and family,

I hope your week is starting off well! We have 4 days (including today) left before spring break officially starts! It will be really nice to have 2 weeks off to rest and get ready for the busyness that comes after break. Listed below is the school calendar for the rest of the year. The things that I am involved in, I have changed to purple for you to see. These are activities in ADDITION to the normal week's events of small group, school, and homework/teaching. If you would like more information on an event or activity, please let me know and I would be happy to explain it more in detail. Please be praying for the staff and students as we try to finish off the year well. May we bring glory and honour to the One who has given each day. 

Blessings,

Brittany 

BFA School Calendar April - June 

March 30 - Last day of classes before break

April 1 - 6 BFA mission trip teams leave for Italy, Central Asia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Slovenia and Romania

April 1-16 - Spring Break, Dorms closed

April 16 - Staff Breakfast

April 17 - School Starts 

April 20-21 - Soccer Teams Away

April 21 -Track Team Away, Staff music recital

April 22 - Senior Music Recital

April 23 - Language Field Trips 

April 26-29 - AP Trip to London

April 27 - MS Class Parties, HS Course Field Trip

April 28 - Track/Soccer Teams Away

May 3 - Senior Day

May 4 - Jr/Sr Banquet

May 5 - Track Away, Soccer Home Games, SAT Testing

May 7-18 - AP Exams

May 8 - Staff Appreciation Dinner

May 11 - Music Recital

May 12 - Track/Soccer Teams Away

May 14-18 - MS Experiential Learning Week

May 18 - HS Spring Party

May 20 - Dorm Parties 

May 21-24 - Soccer Finals

May 25 - Elementary School Program

May 26 - 8th grade dinner, MS awards, Track Finals Away

May 27 - Spring Concert

May 29-31 - HS Exams 

May 30-31 - MS Exams

May 31 - Last day of school 

June 1 - HS Awards

June 2 - Graduation

June 3 - Dorms close, All staff BBQ

June 8 - Flight to Canada

Talent Show

Last Friday night the entire BFA community sat in the auditorium to listen to our very talented staff and students. Students shared songs they had written, cover songs were played and the staff wowed everyone with their amazing hand bells performance! 

Take a look at the video below to listen to two of my very talented 

small group girls perform a disney medley with their friends! 

High School Retreat

This past weekend was spent with over 250 high school students! On Friday all students and staff boarded 4 buses and headed 2 hours away to Lenk, Switzerland. We spent the weekend listening to a speaker, worshipping God, and spending quality time as a small group. On Saturday we also had free time to participate in many different activities. These included learning how to cut hair, playing dodgeball and watching a session on self-defense. The kids had a blast!


I absolutely loved getting to spend more time with my 7 small group girls. These girls are honest, open and yearning to know more about God. It is such a blessing and privilege to have the chance to invest into their lives. Please pray for me as a leader as I guide them in discussion each Wednesday evening. Also please pray for these girls as they are learning how to becoming truly committed followers of Jesus.

Guitar Finale!

This past Thursday my 17 eighth graders performed at the MS music recital. We had a great turnout of parents and other students. I am so proud of these kids for the hard work they put into guitar class this quarter. My last class with them today was rather bittersweet. While I am glad for less classes in the last quarter of the year, I will miss teaching those kids! I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to teach them, and that I will be blessed with teaching guitar again next year!

Getting Involved

Hello friends,

Thank you! 

Thank you for the many ways you have encouraged and supported me this year:

- reading my blog

- attending summer dessert gatherings 

- writing emails

- praying for me 

- supporting me financially

You have made it possible for me to serve at Black Forest Academy, and for that I am very grateful! I am wondering now if you would be willing to help close the gap on my monthly financial deficit by "passing it on." 

Would you consider doing one of these things:

- pointing people towards BFA materials at the Brooks E-Free missions board

- sharing with a friend about my ministry and help people "catch the vision"

- assisting others in filling out a TeachBeyond pledge form (attached on the "getting involved page" above)

- showing others how they can find my blog (http://brittanyatbfa.blogspot.com/) 

- encouraging others to give financially towards my ministry

Let me know if you can partner with me in this way! There is a great need for additional monthly supporters to join my team, so thank you in advance for helping me stay at Black Forest Academy. Of course, if you have any questions about how you can "pass it on," please contact me. 

Blessings, 

Brittany 

Guitar Class

It has been so much fun getting to teach seventeen 14 year olds how to play guitar. Some of them have taken lessons before but many have not. We have talked about what chords are, how you write them and what they sound like. Today we finished with transitioning between G-C-D. It has been great getting to see these kids learn something that I am so passionate about. They have gone from not knowing how to hold a guitar to knowing a few chords and guitar basics. 


Please pray for me as I continue teaching these students in our last few weeks together in the quarter. They will learn one more chord in order to perform a worship song with their class at the BFA music recital on March 1. I can only imagine I will be as nervous as the kids, but I know they will do great! :) 

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" Psalm 100:1