Simply Trusting

To say that the world has changed since my last post feels like an understatement. If since that time, you and your friends and loved ones have been impacted by the effects of preventing the virus, or if you are figthting it personally, I am sorry. You are fighting battles every day that are daunting and difficult. Please know that I pray for you daily! Like so many other people, my life and work look very different at the present moment. Due to regulations intended to prevent the spread of the virus and flatten the curve, any routine that existed has been replaced. These days, rather than sit at a desk, I sit on my couch and keep up with emails from there. Rather than publish a weekly agenda and calendar update, I help to make sure our dorms have meals provided, that our staff are pacing themselves well and getting time off, and that each dorm has the support it needs. I check in with 3-4 RAs each day as well. Before all of this, I met with 7 female RAs each month, in my home or in ...

Dear Friends, I have been anxious to write to you for a long time now. Much has changed since the last time I wrote, and I pray that you and your families are healthy and proceeding safely and wisely. It is no secret that much of the world is in chaos right now. Growing up, I never imagined that border closings in far off places would have an impact on those in my community. If it were helpful, I could write page after page about the way everything changes. Our best decision made today could easily look like the wrong decision tomorrow. But we can only do the best we can with what we have. As I sit here writing to you, a few steps away, a group of teachers is busily working to adjust their curriculum to an online learning format. As of Wednesday, all classes at Black Forest Academy will be online, and many of our boarding students will have returned home to their families across the world. So dear friends, as you seek to make decisions that are best for your families and communities...

Dear friends,  The last few months have been full of changes, emotions, and exciting events. The biggest answer to prayer to share is that God has provided for me, through you, in ways that are completely beyond my understanding. I'm back at BFA, and loving my new role. Let me share some highlights from the last few months with you! August The first weeks of August held Orientation and training for all of our dorm staff. Each day we met together to discuss and work together on everything that goes into running a dorm. New staff learned to drive, registered at the Rathaus (town hall), and learned to shop for 30 or more people at the grocery store - in German! Staff teams for each dorm worked on developing schedules, task lists, and communication with each other and parents. This year held unique challenges as our office staff, almost all brand new to our jobs, lead training for six teams of dorm staff. We are building our own office dynamic as well, and it is truly a ...

Dear Friends, What a full semester it has been so far! The final week of school before spring break was very eventful! My brother Tim was in Germany for a week of classes, so over the weekend I was able to travel to Frankfurt, Germany to see him for a few hours. There is something revitalizing  about seeing and being heard and understood by family! On Monday evening, Faith Cox, one of my senior piano students presented her senior recital. She is a gifted musician who sings and plays piano beautifully. She is also a gifted artist, and displayed a number of her own pieces.  The evening was beautiful and I couldn't be more proud! The week also held an accreditation visit with three organizations. Work has been going on for months in preparation, and the school received encouraging feedback. On Friday, the final day of school before break, I had the opportunity to speak as part of BFA's chapel hour. Various adults spoke in different locations around campus, and the studen...

Dear Friends, First of all, Happy 2019! I hope that the new year has been full of hope and peace for you so far. It's been a while since I've written, and I do apologize for that. A lot has happened, and I hope to get you caught up in this post. I really wish that I could sit down with you over some delicious coffee, but this will have to do. Let me start with an overview of the last few months. November: This month I had a wonderful, encouraging visit with my brother, Tim. He was able to see my life in Kandern, meet friends, and see the part of Germany where I live. This month also included a lot of planning for the end of the semester. My students made wonderful progress in their abilities to read music and work independently. I was also privileged to celebrate Thanksgiving with a number of my colleagues on several different occasions. One of the fun aspects of living outside the US is that we aren't limited to one day! :) At the end of this month, I was also privil...

I began working on this post recently as I was sitting in my classroom with one student clicking away on his keyboard; the others are gone on class trips to other parts of Europe, so we took a break from our curriculum so he can explore his own creativity. Sometimes this life we live blows my mind. The student has decided that the day's class schedule makes a really great chord progression. So he's writing a song using those chords. As one does. The school year is off to a great start, and I find my role to be a multi-faceted one. I have two sections of group Piano 1 this semester, and from day one, I knew it would be exciting. One of my favorite things about teaching group piano is helping each student fill in the gaps of their basic musical knowledge. Already there are students who are playing pieces that would have felt impossible just one month ago. I'm continually reminded that good learning is a slow, deliberate process that can often feel tedious and even useless. ...

Dear friends, Happy May! Germany is so very excited to have beautiful spring weather - so excited, that there was a marching band that began making its way around town at 6:30am today! They were still going strong around 1pm, and I don't know that they've truly stopped yet. Seriously though, springtime in this part of the world has been stunning this year, and we are grateful! At the end of this post you will find some pictures of the area around Kandern, as well as of many of the events which have made this time of year so exciting. Since my last update, much has happened. We held another very successful Music Festival. All of our private lesson students performed on various instruments and received helpful, valuable insights from each of the visiting adjudicators. While many students tackle stage fright during this week, they also gain a lot from the interactions they have with the judge. It is also an exciting week for me as a teacher, because my students are pushed to a ...