Simply Trusting

When I got up yesterday morning one of the first things I thought was, “I can’t believe it’s Saturday again!” Time is flying already, and this weekend finds us at the end of the second week of classes. These first two weeks have been incredible already. We have 18 guys in the dorm, which is a little smaller than last year. We are praying for even more closeness and unity because of our smaller size. I am again on 3 rd floor and in charge of the seniors. This is my joy and privilege. These guys are the reason that I am here. This year we have seven seniors, and each one is a joy to work with. While last year held the excitement of venturing into the unknown of dorm life at BFA, this year holds the comforting familiarity of strengthening relationships and building new ones. I am greatly enjoying getting to know each one and learning what makes him unique and distinct. Each one has his strengths, and each one has areas where he is growing and maturing. This year holds many opportunitie...

Rest. It's something of which we never seem to have enough. Yet it is always available for us in the presence of our Savior. Today the thoughts I will share are not original with me; I'm not that eloquent. I simply want to share the text to a song which I have been meditating on for a while now. As you read, let the words soak into your soul, and thank God with me for the rest that knowing Him brings .  Jesus, I am resting, resting In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness Of Thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, As Thy beauty fills my soul, For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole. O how great Thy loving kindness, Vaster, broader than the sea! O, how marvelous Thy goodness Lavished all on me! Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, Know what wealth of grace is Thine, Know Thy certainty of promise And have made it mine. (Refrain) Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art, And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,...

Me and Carolyn in Philly I am constantly reminded of the fact that I have some incredible people in my life. After settling in here at BFA, naturally I wanted to share it with my family. This past spring, after college graduation and much deliberation, my sister Carolyn dived into the hiring process. The journey has been exciting, and God’s calling in her life is obvious. God has given Carolyn energy, humor, wisdom, and most of all, a love for Him with a desire to know His will that increases every day. She has a love for high school students, and a heart of compassion. In my journey to get here, Carolyn was one of my biggest encouragers and cheerleaders, checking up on me constantly. She is my best friend, and I am so excited that God is leading her here. She is coming to BFA to be an RA at Liel dorm, a girl’s dorm. As you likely know, it takes time, effort, and a lot of faith to raise money for anything. Right now, Carolyn is experiencing that first hand. She is taking advantag...

After several weeks of orientation, we are now back up the hill and nearly finished preparing the dorm for the arrival of our students. This year I have the privilege of serving with Chris Jones, and Marty and Debbie Shilling, all experienced staff who were here last year. We are happy to welcome Timmy Gaster as our third RA. He is new to Sonne, but not to BFA. Timmy was an RA at Maugenhard for two years before taking a year away and then returning this year. We are excited to have Timmy as part of our team. The students begin to arrive tomorrow, and there has been a lot to do to prep the dorm so it is sparkling for their arrival. We had lots of cleaning, repairs, and renovations to keep us busy in the mean time. We also were blessed to have the help of a work team from the US. They painted our first floor hallway and kitchen, and helped with many other tasks around the dorm. We were so thankful for their help! My room received a fresh coat of paint in a new color. I’m just about done ...

Although Csehy is over, I want you to meet one of the remarkable young people that we work with.   Katie is a young woman whose life has literally been transformed by God’s grace. With her permission, I'd like to share her story with you. Katie has been a camper for the past seven summers, and was always happy and fun to be around. Two winters ago, Katie was involved in a life-threatening ski accident. I’ll never forget receiving the message that Katie had been air-lifted to the hospital and had doctors working around the clock helping her fight for her life. She had broken many bones, punctured a rib, and could possibly be paralyzed for life. As the days and weeks passed, friends and family prayed diligently for Katie, but things did not look good. Friends from camp and home visited Katie, and helped as much as they could. Her best friend Nancy never stopped praying for, visiting, and encouraging her. Despite many treatments and surgeries, doctors did not give her much hope of ev...

Time flies when you're having fun, and I have most definitely had a blast this summer. Csehy ended yesterday, and some very tearful goodbyes were said. It was my heart-felt joy to have been able to be a part of the lives of these kids even tho it was a very short time. They were amazing, and wonderful, and talented and I miss them already. Yes, they are human too, but I was so encouraged to see so many teens who were seriously seeking to please God with their lives. You're probably thinking, "well, isn't this a music camp, full of lots of little (and not so little) music nerds/enthusiasts, etc.?" While the answer to that, is a resounding yes, you should also know that in addition to music, we are intently focused on the spiritual journeys of our students as well. The greatest desire of my heart is that 1) each camper will have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and 2) that each one will leave camp looking more like his Savior than he did when he arrived. O...

Simply Trusting: Csehy Week 5 - Struggles and joys : "It’s not really the end of July, is it? I can hardly believe that this summer has flown by so quickly. The 5 weeks spent at Csehy are nearly..."