Silence on the Blog

It's been two weeks since I updated my blog - not because there hasn't been much to say, but because there hasn't been time to put into writing all that has been happening around me!  The end of the school year is always a busy season at BFA, but this year has been even more of a whirldwind...

-- We had a fancy dinner to honor our 8th grade students "graduating" to the high school.  Following the dinner, we drove back to the high school for an awards ceremony with all of the middle schoolers.  There were academic and music awards given, as well as teacher-presented tributes for each of the 8th grade students.  I had the privilege of presenting the 6th Grade Top Scholar and my subject awards (English 6 and Bible 6), as well as tributing one of our 8th grade chapel band members who truly embodies worship as a lifestyle.

The awesome staff I got to work with this year!

Giving K.J.'s tribute

J.O. received the 6th Grade Top Scholar award

-- I also took time with my sixth grade class to talk about transition.  Four out of the sixteen sixth graders are leaving BFA this summer, whether for a year away (because of Germany's "totalization" rule that requires us to leave for a year after every five years of service at BFA) or for good as their families accept a new assignment elsewhere.  These students shared a little bit about where they are going next, some even brought pictures of their new homes and schools.  Then, we affirmed these students in order to help bring some closure to their time at BFA.  I got tears in my eyes as I heard the students honor their departing classmates with words of kindness, hope, and fond memories.  We will miss these students - we entrust them into God's hands!

One of the departing sixth graders

-- The "parade of lasts" culminated with BFA's high school graduation.  Graduation is a special time at BFA, a two-hour ceremony that personally honors each graduate and challenges them to continue pursuing truth as they transition to colleges, universities, and gap year programs around the world.  I love the way a fellow colleague describes graduation here.

-- While the past month has felt like a foot race, this final week before leaving for America was more of a sprint!  Brittany and I have spent nearly every waking moment packing our belongings, selling or donating unwanted items, moving boxes, cleaning the apartment, and painting a fresh coat on two ceilings.  Moving is hard work!  Our stuff is now all in storage in my classroom, as our apartment will not be ready for us until we return in mid-August.  Despite the necessity of a double-move, we are so incredibly grateful to God for providing a place for us to live next year that is closer to the main campus of BFA, which will give us more of an opportunity to host students and friends in our home.

Everything stored in my classroom for the summer!

Saying goodbye to my home-away-from-home for the past 3 years!

-- In the midst of this, I've said goodbye to some dear friends - these fellow travelers on the journey that have walked the same path as me for a little while.  Now their path branches off as they follow God into marriage, relocation, or a new job.  The longer I stay here, the harder the "goodbyes" become.  Each year, I know more of the graduating class and a higher percentage of the departing staff.  And each year, I become even more convinced that "bittersweet" is a term coined for the end of the year at BFA!  It's sad to see them leave, but there is peace in knowing that they are following God's leading.

How grateful I am for the opportunity to invest so deeply that goodbyes hurt so much.

And praise be to the God of all comfort, who does not leave or forsake us!