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| Well, in two weeks and two days I will be boarding a plane for home. I fly out Friday the 13th, luckily I'm not superstitious. : ) This week is filled with cleaning and writing good-bye letters to lots of people here. Next week is finals week, more cleaning and packing, and saying good-bye to the students. Then I have about a week after grad to do any last minute things, get checked out of the dorm and finally come home! The students are hanging in there, they are definitely ready to be done with the acidemic side of things but they are not looking forward to the good-byes. They are finished with their tests on Wednesday of next week and most will be gone by the following Saturday. I'm not sure if I will make it into the library in the next two weeks so this might be the last Xanga post before I come home. Wow, has it already been two years? How time flies. Prayer Requests: Fitting things into suitcases and still being under the 23kg weight limit (50lbs). The students and finishing their work well and their tests next week. Good-byes and emotions. Health in this busy time and during travel. Safe travel. Praises: I am doing pretty well, feeling pretty happy, and getting lots done. The sun is out a little more these days. I had a good weekend with Christina last weekend. I'm looking forward to coming home! | | |
| Can you believe we are already a week into MAY! I barely can. This last week has gone by fairly quickly with my weekend off in the middle. I spent a few days with Christina up in Freiburg, which was really nice. The sunny weather is holding and it has been very beautiful around here. Yesterday our staff took a trip up to Titisee, a lake near by. We wondered around and took a paddle boat out for a while. It was nice to hang out together away from the dorm and we just had our staff meeting on the train. The kids emotions are still going up and down as the end of the year approaches and as staff we are trying to help them navigate through this time. They have four weeks of school left. Our eighth grade girls seem to be having the hardest time. Their class has some strong personalities that are clashing and causing tension among friends. Prayer Requests: The eighth grade class. Emotions of the kids and staff. That everyone would finish the year well. That everything in the dorm would be finished (cleaning) it seems a little overwhelming right now. Praises: Beautiful weather. My weekend with Christina. I am still meeting with Jessica weekly for prayer and this is always a blessing. | | |
| How was my weekend? Busy, with lots of details to remember. The Arndt's were off so I had to make sure I didn't forget any of them. Friday evening the High School had an event in Basel where the staff dressed as movie stars, I was Anna Poppelwell, Susan from Narnia, and then the students had to find us and take their picture with us. This was fun, but before going I had to make sure everything was organized for the Kummer to come and spend the evening with our middle schooler. So I made some soup for their dinner and pick out some movies for them to watch and set out stuff for an after school snack and evening snack. The evening went well, both for the high schoolers and the Middle schoolers at the dorm. Saturday I woke up at 4:00am and took the track kids into school so the could travel to their meet. Then I went back to bed until 8:00am and then got up and made waffles for the other kids while Nathan drove the soccer girls up to their game. In the afternoon we all went to watch the second soccer game and that our two girls were in. Saturday dinner we ate turkey pot pie made from leftovers and then watched The Bridge to Terabithia. Sunday we went to church and just had leftovers for lunch. It was a more relaxing day and because the sun was out we spent most of the day outside. Sue Kummer made us a wonderful Italian meal (they were previously missionaries in Italy). We ate outside and after dinner had a small fire to roast mashmellows over. I made sure all the eighth graders had there bags pack for Lugano, they traveled there today for a camping trip this week with their class. And today I'm off and it is a nice break because I don't have to think about details right now. It was a fun weekend and nothing was forgotten and everyone got where they needed to go on time. Prayer Request: For good weather this week, we are taking the kids to a theme park on their day off. For a good weekend with Christina next weekend. Continue to pray we will all finish well. Praises: We had beautiful weather this weekend, although today it started raining again. It is always a blessing having the Kummers come help on the Arndt's weekends off. I was able to buy some plane tickets for 100 dollars less than I had originally seen them for!!! Thanks for your prayers. | | |
| Well, maybe spring is coming, maybe....I sure hope so! It has been a bit too rainy since spring break and we are all ready for more than just a little sunlight. Along with the gloomy weather there are also some tensions and stresses rising with the approach of the end of the year. The end of the school year is not like the end of the year in the States. In the States everyone is excited, everyone is ready to have free time, after all everyone will still be around mostly. But not here, there is the excitement of getting out of classes, and there is the excitement of seeing parents again, but there is also a dread of leaving friends and possibly never seeing them again. The seniors will all be heading to colleges, some kids will be moving with their families back to their passport country, some will be moving to a new field or just back with their parents in a remote place. Summer also brings mixed feelings in regards to the staff as some will be leaving and a new group will be coming in August. So as your excitement rises as summer approaches please remember to pray for everyone living here at BFA. Prayer: End of the year... Praise: Overall, I am doing well. Sorry this is short, I have to go help with hot lunch now. : ) | | |
| Sorry for taking so long to get to this post. I can't post from my dorm and this the first time I've been able to sit down at a computer in the library since break. Macedonia: I spent the first few days in Bitola with the Mindek family and enjoyed seeing Sarah's home and a little of the city. I decided I really like Macedonian food, (except for the snails, not that they tasted bad, I just couldn't get past the thought and texture). From there I spent a few days in Skopje with the Brinkmans and met Carolyn Gibson one day. It was a pretty relaxing week and a nice little glimpse into the "other" lives of my girls. Greece: First I took a nice train from Skopje to Thessoniki and then I took a train from Thessoniki to Athens with standing room only (12am to 5am) I didn't stand the whole time because I realized I was just small enough to squeeze in behind the last row of seats and the wall. I made my way through Athens and found Lisa Heckman at the hotel and then Christina and the other two girls from Germany arrived. We spent a few days seeing the sights in Athens and one day we made it out to an island, which was the best part. Overall I would suggest skipping Athens and just visiting the islands. It was a nice break and we had pretty good weather. And the Count down begins: Yes, I have started counting down the days until I come home. At the end of break there were about 75 and now only 57. Although, apart from the strong pull of home, I have been having a very good few weeks. I have been feeling energetic and have been enjoying the kids, about the only thing I'm not enjoying is the rain. But we are getting bits of sun here and there. Prayer Requests: That my focus would stay on the kids as the end of the year approaches and that I would finish well. That the kids would also face the transitions that the end of the year brings...graduation, friend leaving on home assignment, moving fields...That the Arndt's would also have a smooth transition back to Indiana and find time to pack up there things as well as take care of dorm things. Praises: I have been in a cheerful mood since break and have been feeling pretty energetic. I have had some great conversations with my family on the phone. God has been working in my life. Thanks for your prayers!!! I'm looking forward to seeing many of you this summer. | | |
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