Simply Trusting

A few days ago, I learned a lesson that I’d love to share with you. Our dorm dad, Marty, was working on a student’s ipod. The ipod was sitting in about a thousand pieces on the table in the living room, and Marty was hovering over it working away. Charlie, the owner of the ipod, was also hovering nearby. In fact, he sat next to Marty for nearly an hour, watching with great intent and concern on his face. At one point, I happened to catch Charlie’s eye. He gave me this incredibly serious look that said “I really, really hope that he knows what he’s doing!” From Charlie’s vantage point, Marty was picking apart his beloved ipod, and at times it definitely looked like it was beyond repair.  I walked away a minute later, and I realized that I’m really glad that I can’t always see just how God is working in my life. If I could sit and watch, like Charlie was doing, I know that I would experience a lot more anxiety. I would probably have the “I really, really hope that He knows what He’s ...

When interacting with supporters back home, I often find myself saying, "I wish you could meet my guys!" So, I would like you to meet a good friend of mine. Caleb is a junior, and this is his first year at BFA and at Sonne. His brother was previously a student here as well. Caleb is a fun, intelligent guy, and so I asked him to introduce himself to you in his own words.  “As a First year student here at BFA I had a lot of expectations. I came here, knowing that my brother had a great experience here and I wanted to have that same experience. What I found when I got here was nothing like what I expected. Yeah, there were a few disappointments like missing home, but many things far surpassed my hopes of what BFA would be like. Living in a dorm is definitely hard at times, but it is also one of the best parts about being here. There is a great brotherhood and family feeling in the dorm and we are definitely closer than what I had expected we would be. The guys are all friends...

Happy Thursday to you! I hope that it has been a good one for you, or will be, depending on where you are in the world. Today I want to try and answer a question which I was asked a lot during my time home. “So what is it that you do, exactly?” I usually come up with a long list of duties ranging from tutoring, to cleaning, to cooking, among other things. Let me try and give you a better picture. This morning I went grocery shopping with Chris and Timmy. This is a normal Thursday ritual, so after the guys left for school, we took a little time to make ourselves presentable and again went to Kandern (about 9 kilometers down some windy switch-back roads) which not only holds the main BFA campus but also is home to the three grocery stores which we frequent. At our first stop, Pennymarkt, which is about as big as a large convenience store, I grabbed a cart and began to fill it. 20 bananas, 2 bags of about 10 apples each, 20 eggs (we didn’t need much today), 24 cups of yogurt, 6 packages o...

While writing this post, I am sitting at the living room table in the dorm, finding it hard to believe that another semester is already begun. This is my fourth semester here, and I can hardly believe it. I only wish my college career had felt to fly by so fast! The trip home was fantastic, with eventful travel on both ends. Spending the night in the airport, arriving home in time for my siblings’ church Christmas program, ordering dorm hoodies, and lugging 3 heavy pieces of luggage through the Frankfurt airport were only a few of the elements. Possibly one of the most stressful, but also exciting pieces to the break, was the arrival of our dorm hoodies. We had a design chosen and ordered, and they were slated to arrive by the time I left for the airport in January. However, by the time my luggage was loaded into our van and we were ready to leave, the UPS truck still had not arrived! Saying I was frustrated is a gross understatement. As we drove down the main road in my hometown I was...

Although it is just after Thanksgiving, I wanted to mention several things for which I am thankful. First, I am thankful for the God who loves me, died for me, and has given me eternal life. He is everything. He gives me the grace, strength, and health to live, and most of all, forgiveness from sin. I am thankful for my family, my parents, my sister, my 4 handsome brothers, and of course my amazing extended family. I am thankful for my home church, without whom it would be physically impossible to be here. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve at BFA. God is doing some incredible things here, and I feel honored just to be aware and observant. I am thankful for the staff I am privileged to work with every day here at Sonne. They continually bless my life and I am thankful for the chance to learn from and with them. Lastly, but definitely not least, I am thankful for my guys here at Sonne. To my Sonneknights past and present, if any of you happen to read this: God has given all of y...

Over the past week we have had some exciting times, so I would like to share some highlights with you now. First of all, last Sunday, one of my seniors was baptized, as a public profession of his walk with Christ. Over the past few years, God has taken him through some difficult times, and especially this year, we have been blessed to see increasing evidence of God’s work in his life. He truly desires to make God the center of his life. Baptisms are a very important public event in this community, taking place during the Sunday morning service at Black Forest Christian Fellowship. The person getting baptized shares their testimony of faith, and then are baptized and prayed over by people whom they have asked to stand up with them. It is an incredibly special, joyful time.  David sharing his testimony before being baptized I enjoyed my last few days off this week as well, and was able to go to Lisbon, Portugal for a couple of days. Enjoy pictures below. Triumphal gate in Lisb...

The past few days have been busy ones, but some of our guys are beginning to see fruit for their labors. One told me that he got accepted to his first choice college. After many weeks of fine-tuning and practice, another one performed at a recital the other night and was a huge success. This morning was the only home Cross Country meet for BFA, and two of our guys ran, both doing well. A senior from Korea took a test to evaluate his English language skills today which will be instrumental in helping him get accepted into college. He is confident that he did well, and we are optimistic. Another student who has been having some serious academic difficulty is finally beginning to bring his grades up. He faces several disabilities, so his path has been uphill. He is determined to succeed. Several of our seniors are emerging as leaders among their peers. I have to say that I am extremely proud of our guys. Each one faces some unique difficulties. They all get homesick from time to time, and...