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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Month at a Glance: January

The end of one year and beginning of the next always calls for a time of reflection - remembering God's faithfulness in the past year and recommitting to follow Him in the coming months.

Thank You, God, for the opportunities I had in 2013 to...

- ring in the new year with thousands of believers at Urbana missions conference.
- plan two panel events for high school girls about identity and intimacy.
- present a seminar with a friend at the International Christian Educator's Conference.
- celebrate 25 years of life!
- fly to America for a whirlwind weekend to attend my brother's college graduation.
- plan a week of hands-on learning activities for the 6th grade students.
- share a week with pre-field TeachBeyond members, making many new friends and leading the middle school program.
- see God provide financially - again and again!
- move into a new apartment in town.
- begin my fourth year of teaching at BFA!
- celebrate GCC's homecoming for the first time as an alum.
- coordinate Operation Christmas Child collection at BFA again this fall.
- host a fourth annual Thanksgiving celebration with friends.
- have Dana Schnitzel as a student teacher for two months.
- spend time with my family in Wheaton, Newtown, and Kandern!



God, I give you 2014!  With excitement, anticipation, and surrender, I offer You the year ahead!

January 1: Start the New Year with fireworks and sparklers with friends
January 7: Teacher inservice meetings
January 8: Classes resume
January 10-11: Home basketball games
January 16: High school drama recital
January 22-23: Middle school exam days
January 24: Teacher inservice day
January 24-25: Home basketball games
January 27: Second semester begins
January 31: Middle school basketball game

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Fun in Geography!

Teaching Geography 7 has been an adventure.  While I don't always feel as confident in planning this class since it's new to me, I've really enjoyed trying new things and being creative with this class.  I think this spirit also spread to Miss Schnitzel during her time here.  :)  We had a lot of fun planning these activities over the past few months!

"Euro" Coin Activity

 Mock European Union

Viking Day!

Studying the British Isles = Drinking Tea!

Panel event with people who have lived in different parts of Western Europe

Christmas Around the World: Hungary

Christmas Around the World: Korea

Christmas Around the World: Australia

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Miss Schnitzel

It was almost exactly a year ago when my principal approached me with an inquiry: “Would you like to have a student teacher next year?”  I mentally counted my years of teaching at BFA, realizing that I had indeed been there long enough to host a pre-service teacher in my class.  With my own student teaching memories of the not-so-distant past quickly flooding my brain, I exclaimed, “Yes!” 

Fast-forward ten months.  I was still getting the hang of teaching Geography 7 and was in the midst of implementing a totally different approach to teaching English.  Literacy stations and guided reading required significantly more planning, yet I was loving the first glimpses of results with my sixth grade students.  Moreover, I was enjoying the benefits of teaching Bible 6 for a second time, having mapped out the whole year back in August. 

I waited until the end of one school day to tell the students that Miss Schnitzel would be joining us that Friday.  They were full of questions, but mostly wondering if her last name was really Schnitzel.  I encouraged them to get their giggles out before she came – that indeed our student teacher was named Miss Schnitzel!  In my own mind swirled questions more along the lines of How am I going to pass off a literacy program that I’m just beginning to use? and What can I tell someone about teaching geography when I am still figuring it out myself?

But when she arrived, Dana jumped right in to the crazy, fast-paced life that is BFA!  After only one day in class and doing her very best to fight jet lag, Dana donned an alien costume for our middle school fall party.  Within a week, Dana had picked up one of the sixth grade classes, and a few weeks later, she was teaching two big units in English and Geography.   

Beyond the classroom, God blessed me with a good friend in Dana.  Boundaries between “work” and “home” are often blurred here at BFA due to the close-quarters, tight-community atmosphere, so I wasn’t surprised that I was spending a lot of my after school hours with Dana as well.  I wanted Dana to see the whole picture of BFA – dorm life, small groups, Chrysalis (middle school youth group), Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas banquet, local Christmas markets...  We even discovered “Schnitzeltag” (5-euro schnitzel day at a nearby German restaurant), which became a weekly tradition that we will continue in her honor!

I’m thankful for the ways that God used this experience of hosting a student teacher to grow me and remind me of important truths.  Just to name a few…

1.  He’s not finished with me yet.  I admired the way Dana was completely open to feedback, even asking for it many times.  This is the posture I want to have as I approach God.  Search me, God, and know my heart… (Psalm 139:23)

2.  I enjoy investing in others, both personally and professionally.  It was a joy to be able to share my own teaching mistakes and discoveries with Dana.  I also loved discussing what it’s like to raise financial support, why I’m so passionate about mentorship, what’s different about teaching at an MK school…  I pray that God will continue to grow me in this area and use it for His glory.

3.  I can trust Him with my future.  Just as Dana is wondering how she can serve God after her spring graduation, I am considering options for the 2015-16 school year and beyond.  I’ve committed to BFA for next year, but after that, I will need to leave for at least one year.  While I still feel uncertain about what my next steps will be, I am reminded that Dana and I both trust the same God who holds the future in His hands!

Right now, Dana is on a plane back to Pennsylvania.  After two formative months overseas, she is returning to home in the Philadelphia area and has another semester of classes ahead of her.  Somehow, I know that she is returning a different person than when she arrived in Germany.  BFA has a way of doing that.

Thanks, Miss Schnitzel, for your hard work, creativity, and enthusiasm!  Thanks for your teachable spirit and go-the-extra-mile attitude.  Thanks for loving the middle schoolers of BFA.  Keep shining for Jesus, wherever He leads you!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

A Night of Prayer

Over the past three years, I've enjoyed setting up prayer stations for my small group girls from time to time.  The girls have commented on the value of having time to be still during small group, as BFA life is so fast-paced and dorm life is packed full.  We decided to offer some of the girls' favorite prayer stations to the rest of the small groups.

Last Tuesday, I went to school ahead of time to set up the stations.  The room started out looking like this…

With the help of one of my small group girls, we transformed the room into this...


What joy I felt when fifty students filled the room and spent intentional time with Jesus!  Here is an overview of the stations.









In preparing for the prayer night, I was struck by Paul's prayer for the Philippians.  This is my prayer for my students, my small group girls, my friends, my supporters, my family...

"And this is my prayer: that your love my abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).  Amen!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Month at a Glance: December

This weekend has been a full one with our 4th annual friends Thanksgiving celebration on Friday and BFA Christmas Banquet on Saturday.  I'm truly thankful for many memory-making moments with friends!





And December is looking like it will be quite full as well!

December 5: Kandern Christmas Market
December 5-6: Assist with Middle School Musical auditions (Annie!)
December 6: First home basketball game of the year - Go Falcons!
December 8: Middle School/High School Christmas Concert
December 9: Small group Christmas caroling
December 9-13: Geography 7 "Christmas Around the World" activities
December 12-13: English 6 creative writing days
December 12: Kandern Christmas Market
December 13: Miss Schnitzel's last day at BFA
December 13: Middle school Christmas party and chapel with the high school
December 24: Christmas Eve service at Black Forest Christian Fellowship
December 25: Christmas with family and friends
December 31: New Year's Eve in Kandern (read: firecrackers and sparklers!)

I'm also excited to have my family visiting me here for Christmas!  There is a lot to look forward to during the month of December.  Stay tuned for stories and pictures to come!