January 2015
Dear Reader,
First I want to say thank you for stopping by my blog. I've been thinking that I really have no idea who sees this. So, especially if you've been checking in for a while now, thanks for staying with me. In case you weren't aware, this Christmas I once again experienced the joy of the season in Germany. Christmas is such a beautiful time of year here, and as I walked around Kandern, I felt compelled to pray that this beautiful little town will know the One Whose birth they are celebrating with so much enthusiasm. Pray with me that Light of Christ will shine brightly here!
The last 4 years have been full of so many thoughts and adventures. Last Wednesday began the start of a new season of adventures here at BFA. Along with several other people, I shared a three-minute testimony of my journey here, and home and here again, officially beginning this season at BFA. The thought of new memories and events happening is at once exciting and saddening. I treasured my time at Sonne, and think about my guys and fellow staff often. I'm reluctant to begin something new because it feels as though those people become of less value, even though that is not true. On the other hand, many of those same people have been part of the impetus for my coming back in this new role in the music department. I'm hopeful and optimistic as I settle into my office and begin the joyful task of getting to know my friends and new colleagues in the music department on a new level. They are a fantastic, talented group of people, and I am excited to see what we accomplish together! (If any of them are reading this, thank you for your encouragement so far, and for fielding all of my questions! I'll catch on soon, I promise!) I also encounter on a daily basis, many of the guys who I shared life with at Sonne.
These last few days have been full of personal preparation to teach Music Appreciation and Group Piano 2. As I work through the curriculum, my excitement to share the material grows. Each of these classes will be a new challenge, but I also look forward to growing through the experience. Hopefully my students will as well!!
As I process through this transition back to Germany and life at BFA, the complexity of the beginning of this new season has been a little overwhelming. Thankfully, I have had time to work through these things, and remember what exactly certain words mean, maintaining contact with friends and family in the US, and building new relationships here, and discovering how this living outside the dorm thing actually works! I am so thankful for my time of arrival, unconventional as it was. Instead of hitting the ground running, I've had the time to gradually find my place in this community again. And with every new personal breakthrough, I sense that God is at work. He has always been in control, and He always will be.
Things to Praise the Lord for:
1. I'm still in awe of the fact that my support has come in! I praise the Lord for each of you who enabled that to happen!
2. Friendship and community that have already been established.
3. That my residency here has been established, and the process to obtain my visa has begun smoothly.
Prayer Requests:
1. Continued preparation for the start of 2nd semester. Students have exams next week, and the new semester begins the week after.
2. Closeness to God during this time of transition.
3. That as I teach, I will be teachable.
Thank you for reading, praying, and praising along with me!
First I want to say thank you for stopping by my blog. I've been thinking that I really have no idea who sees this. So, especially if you've been checking in for a while now, thanks for staying with me. In case you weren't aware, this Christmas I once again experienced the joy of the season in Germany. Christmas is such a beautiful time of year here, and as I walked around Kandern, I felt compelled to pray that this beautiful little town will know the One Whose birth they are celebrating with so much enthusiasm. Pray with me that Light of Christ will shine brightly here!
The last 4 years have been full of so many thoughts and adventures. Last Wednesday began the start of a new season of adventures here at BFA. Along with several other people, I shared a three-minute testimony of my journey here, and home and here again, officially beginning this season at BFA. The thought of new memories and events happening is at once exciting and saddening. I treasured my time at Sonne, and think about my guys and fellow staff often. I'm reluctant to begin something new because it feels as though those people become of less value, even though that is not true. On the other hand, many of those same people have been part of the impetus for my coming back in this new role in the music department. I'm hopeful and optimistic as I settle into my office and begin the joyful task of getting to know my friends and new colleagues in the music department on a new level. They are a fantastic, talented group of people, and I am excited to see what we accomplish together! (If any of them are reading this, thank you for your encouragement so far, and for fielding all of my questions! I'll catch on soon, I promise!) I also encounter on a daily basis, many of the guys who I shared life with at Sonne.
These last few days have been full of personal preparation to teach Music Appreciation and Group Piano 2. As I work through the curriculum, my excitement to share the material grows. Each of these classes will be a new challenge, but I also look forward to growing through the experience. Hopefully my students will as well!!
As I process through this transition back to Germany and life at BFA, the complexity of the beginning of this new season has been a little overwhelming. Thankfully, I have had time to work through these things, and remember what exactly certain words mean, maintaining contact with friends and family in the US, and building new relationships here, and discovering how this living outside the dorm thing actually works! I am so thankful for my time of arrival, unconventional as it was. Instead of hitting the ground running, I've had the time to gradually find my place in this community again. And with every new personal breakthrough, I sense that God is at work. He has always been in control, and He always will be.
Things to Praise the Lord for:
1. I'm still in awe of the fact that my support has come in! I praise the Lord for each of you who enabled that to happen!
2. Friendship and community that have already been established.
3. That my residency here has been established, and the process to obtain my visa has begun smoothly.
Prayer Requests:
1. Continued preparation for the start of 2nd semester. Students have exams next week, and the new semester begins the week after.
2. Closeness to God during this time of transition.
3. That as I teach, I will be teachable.
Thank you for reading, praying, and praising along with me!
I just wrote the most wonderful comment only to have it DISAPPEAR into the netherworld of cyberspace! Suffice it to say that "you is smart, you is kind, you is important" :-) Most of all: You is loved!
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