Chapel Band Fun!

Because there is a special chapel at the high school tomorrow, the middle school chapel band didn't need to prepare songs to lead worship this week, which left us with two extra chapel band elective periods!  Here's what we decided to do...

Learn new songs!
I played some of Chris Tomlin's new CD ("Burning Lights") for the students, and we attempted "Lay Me Down" together.  (Check out the video below for a clip of this song!)  We also played 3 other relatively new songs together - "One Thing Remains" (Jesus Culture), "Find You on My Knees" (Kari Jobe), and "Cornerstone" (Hillsong Live).

Try new instruments!
We challenged the students to play their secondary instruments or even a totally new instrument to them!  Amazingly, they had no problem playing the new songs on new instruments.  These middle schoolers are incredibly talented!  In the picture below, I teamed up with one of our usual singers on keys.  She wanted to play the keyboard, but only knew the C chord... so she played C, and I played everything else!

"Play" the iPad!
Brittany (the other chapel band teacher) showed students how to use Garage Band to play along with the other instruments.  Each student had a turn with the iPad guitar, keyboard, drums, or stringed orchestra.

Jam together!
We have had a BLAST just playing together this week!  Take a look at the video on my Facebook for a peek at our jam session.

Sharing My Story

Many of you are familiar with my "story" of learning about opportunities to teach at BFA, applying to serve with TeachBeyond, and beginning my life overseas.  This Christmas break I have enjoyed catching up with friends and family who know my story well, who have committed to pray for me and have given sacrificially to enable me to serve overseas.

I have also had the unique privilege of sharing my story many times this Christmas break.  I spent 5 days right after Christmas at InterVarsity's Urbana missions conference, which happens every three years.  I attended as a student in 2006 and 2009, and I believe that the speakers and experiences at those conferences greatly impacted my understanding of missions and desire to be a part of God's work in the world.  It was so exciting to be in the St. Louis dome filled with 16,000 missions-minded students!  In the afternoons, I had conversations with many who are interested in teaching abroad or serving at a school in some way (residence life, nurse, chaplain, etc.).  How encouraging to not only share a bit of my story, but also hear their stories and personal passion for serving God overseas!  Please pray with me for these young adults as they prayerfully pursue God's leading in the years to come.  May they (and we!) be faithful to listen to His voice and follow His direction.  (And as a side note, if YOU are interested in serving with TeachBeyond, I'd love to talk with you about it!  I know a lot more about our schools now!)

The TeachBeyond booth - ready for students!

Our silly shot :)  Can you tell we had fun together?

I also had the opportunity to visit a German class at the high school I attended.  It's hard to believe that nearly 7 years have passed since I sat in those same seats!  I opted not to do the presentation in German (phew!), but instead shared stories about the Kandern area.  I talked about Kandern's geographical location, nearby cities, local festivals, and cultural tidbits, as well as the unique multiculturalism of BFA itself.  Very quickly, the hour-long class was finished!  How fun it was to see my former German teacher again and share about BFA in that context.

In 24 hours I'll be boarding a plane to return to Germany.  I'm so thankful for the time I've had on this side of the ocean, making new memories and reconnecting with people.  Thanks, God, for your faithfulness and provision, wherever we go!