We Give Thanks

Thanksgiving may be "just another day" of teaching here in Germany, but we won't forget to give thanks.

Staff devotions about giving thanks

Thankfulness collages with my small group girls

Thanksgiving at our house - singing worship songs after dinner

Many, many blessings to be thankful for!

"Praise be to You, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.  Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.  Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.  Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things.  In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name."  1 Chronicles 29:10-13

43 Boxes!

Operation Christmas Child has definitely been a highlight for my fourth graders this fall!  They were thrilled to have a bigger role in organizing the annual box collection, as each student in my class took on a specific job for the duration of the project.

During one class period, each student got an empty shoebox to pack full of donations that had been given to us.  (Most of our collection was individual donations, rather than completed shoeboxes.)  I had set up labeled "stations" around the classroom with school supplies, stuffed animals, hygiene items, gender-specific toys, and other objects.  The students visited each of these stations to be sure that they included all of the necessary items in their boxes.

Two of the students were designated "box checkers" for the project.  As we received completed boxes or as we packed boxes together in class, these students completed a checklist of required items and signed their names at the bottom of the sheet.  This was one of my favorite parts of the process... and I think they enjoyed it, too!

As an elementary school, we filled a total of 43 boxes!

Today, the final day of the Operation Christmas Child project, my students gathered around the boxes to pray for their recipients.  We brainstormed specific ways to pray -- most importantly, for the children to know God's love -- and then took time to pray quietly for individual boxes.  It was so neat to see the fourth graders take even more ownership of this project by dedicating it to God.

I took one student whose job was "box collector" with me to the grocery store (our nearby collection site) this afternoon to drop off all of our boxes.  They gave us a cart since we had so many boxes!

I am blessed by the generosity of all of the families who participated.  I'm inspired by the passionate involvement of the students.  I praise God for His work around the world through this ministry!

Thanksgiving at the Elementary School

Yesterday was the (somewhat random) day for the elementary school to celebrate Thanksgiving!  I was in charge of chapel, and then a number of parent volunteers led activities at 6 different stations for the whole morning.  It was great to see the German and English parents working together and all of the children enjoying themselves!

Fall Festival Murder Mystery

There's nothing like walking through a crime scene in your apartment.

Don't be too concerned!  It isn't a real crime scene -- just a fake body outline, fabricated evidence, and planted suspects.  My roommate and I decided to combine our small groups this week for a murder mystery!  We asked some of our friends who don't lead small groups to be our "suspects" (using scripts and information that we had provided), and the girls in our small groups had to interview them to figure out who was responsible for the "murder."  It was a fun night of listening, acting, and laughing together.

Perhaps these pictures can better tell the story of the murder mystery...

Brittany was the security guard at the door

The first stop for each group was Guy Lines, the "boy scout master"

A shot of the front hall... transformed into a crime scene!

Brittany as Detective Inspector Dick Lacey revealing the solution

Guy Lines, you're under arrest!

My small group girls, each dressed in their own costumes, too!

All of the suspects with Brittany (detective) and me (press)

All Saints Day

Today is All Saints Day, an official holiday in Germany, which means that offices, grocery stores, and yes, schools, are closed for the day.  I couldn't be more thankful for the day off!

With our bilingual school (grades 1-3) off from school for "Herbstferien" (fall break) yesterday, the 5th grade teacher and I decided to plan something special for our classes.  The German "celebration" of Halloween is very dark.  There isn't any innocent trick-or-treating or candy sharing. Unfortunately, it's all about the scary, evil, immoral side of things.  The children who move here from North America often miss the fun traditions of dressing up in costumes and collecting candy, but those who have grown up here in Europe know the dark side of the holiday.  So, we decided that a Fall Party would be a fun middle ground.  Students could come in costume along the theme of "movies."  Some of the girls asked me to be a part of their Alice in Wonderland costume group... of course, I was happy to participate!

Susan and Lucy (Chronicles of Narnia)

Batman

Alfred and Larry-Boy

The Alice in Wonderland crew

I coordinated parents to bring fall treats and organized some games for the kids to play (autumn pictionary and skits in a bag), and Rob showed the "Little House on the Prairie" Halloween episode.  All of the students brought in a bag of candy to share with the other students, so each student left with a mixture of different candies.  The Fall Party was a huge success!  Both classes were able to get "normal schoolwork" done in the morning, and we had a blast together in the afternoon.

 Acting out a scene from "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Creating a skit out of the items in the bag

One team's skit

Last night was the BFA annual trip to Herbstmesse, a big fall festival in Basel.  I made a quick change from my Alice costume to normal clothes and drove over to the main campus of the school to catch the bus to Herbstmesse.  My roommates and I enjoyed a yummy dinner on the Claraplatz, walked across the bridge over the Rhine, rode the ferris wheel at dusk, crashed into elementary and middle schoolers on the bumper cars, and relaxed with Starbucks before heading back to the buses.

As I said to someone last night, this is a great picture of life at BFA.  While the mixture of professional and personal lives can sometimes cause confusion, it definitely makes relationships richer.  What a blessing it is to give high fives to our students while we ride around on bumper cars, to laugh together in a fun environment, to share life together.

It was a long day... My voice was strained from running the games at school and screaming on the bumper cars.  The bruises on my knees were bumper car wounds.  My legs hurt from walking.  But it was most definitely worth it.