The Greatest Gift

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
  --Ephesians 2:8, NLT

BFA Christmas Banquest 2011

Every Year Black Forest Academy holds its annual Christmas Banquet.  It is a wonderful night where the students share their musical gifts, the school awards some Christmas wishes and this year the students were given some dance lessons.

No, the dance lessons were not the Chicken Dance.  This is the granting of Carl's Christmas wish.

Andrew and Priscilla were the freshmen class king and queen at the Banquet

Andrew and his "brothers" from HBR.

One of Heather on this side of the camera.  She spent the remainder of the night photographing the evening for the kids

Rob here grants the girls' wishes of making the daily announcements.

Rob grants a couple of wishes.  Here he is in pajamas, as he grants a wish of pajama day at BFA.  This one being the playing of the "Friday" song between classes on Friday.

Emmalee gets her Christmas wish as Mr. Greenhoe sings, "It's Not Easy Being Greenhoe!

Elle & Sunshine share a Christmas song with us.

Kandern Decorated for Christmas

This is a view of Main Street in Kandern.

Elementary School Christmas Concert 2011

Here are a few images from the Christmas Concert at the Elementary School.   The students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades are a mix of local German children and Missionary Kids in the bi-lingual program.  They sang songs both in English and in German.  We also had a visit from Frosty the Snowman who through snow balls into the audience ( fake but filled with candy ! )

Dorm Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving comes one week early for dorm students at BFA.  We had an opportunity to celebrate with the young men from HBR, Haus Bad Riedlingen, where we spend each Thursday evening.  There were about 50 of us who gathered that evening to enjoy sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, rolls and of course turkey and gravy.  The gentlemen were just that as we mingled over hors d'oeuvres and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Greg Storrs, the dorm dad, led us in a Thanksgiving Turkey Quiz to decide which table could be first for dessert.  With my assistance, the 7 students at my table and I came in last place.  Thankfully there was plenty of delicious food and dessert to go around.

Sharing Thanksgiving

The students at CSK (Christian School Kandern), which is the elementary school that Matthew and Jacob attend, celebrated Thanksgiving the same way they do everything, by blending both German and North American customs.  They had traditional Thanksgiving dinner, with turkey and all the fixin's.  Then they had games and activities to continue the celebration.  Heather had a chance to work with the students on their dessert, a turkey made of rice cakes, marshmallows, candy corn and icing to keep it all together.  The students enjoyed both the food and fun.

Dr. Seuss Comes to Kandern

Approximately 1/3 of the middle school and a good number of high school students, as well as staff, shared their many gifts with the Kandern community through their version of Seussical the Musical.  The countless hours of preparation paid off as they blessed us with great acting, singing, dancing and musical accompaniment in 3 nights of sold out shows!

Matthew Gets Baptized!!!!

On Sunday, 13 November 2011, Rob had the privilege to baptize Matthew.  Prior to his baptism, Matthew shared the following:
Hello my name is Matthew Shuman. I am a 5^th grader at Wollback. When Pastor Harrop announced that there was going to be a fall baptism, I remembered being here two years ago. I had a chance to see about 11 students get baptized, that memory got me excited about the idea of being baptized here this year. I want to be baptized to share that I am following Jesus. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me, and because of that, my sins are forgiven and I want to follow God's will for my life.

I would like to share my favorite verse with you.

Joshua 1:9b, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

Thank you to all those who poured into Matthew's life.  Praise and honor goes to the Lord! 

What an Impact

While subbing at Haus Bad Riedlingen, we had a chance to meet three BFA alumni who had graduated a little less than 10 years ago.  They were returning to the dorm in which they had lived.  It was heart touching to hear them talk about their time at BFA and HBR.  One of the former students shared that he remembered the day that his parents dropped him off.  He described how much he did not want them to leave him there, how much he was not ready to attend BFA, how upset he was at his situation.  He shared that difficult time with us, with a smile on his face, as he continued to walk through the dorm.  The smile was there because as we entered each room, a different memory was sparked in his mind.  By the time we returned to the main entrance, he was describing how he felt on graduation day.  He described how he did not want to leave BFA or HBR, how he was not ready to move on to the next stage of his life without his dorm brothers or those who had touched his life from BFA, and how upset he was that his situation was calling for exactly that, moving on.  Once he left, we had some time to interact with the boys who live in HBR this year, and it made me wonder if they would one day return with such fond memories of both their school and dorm.  I pray that they do.

D-Day - A Personal History

We met a British veteran at Point Du Hoc who captained one of the boats that brought American soldiers to both Utah and Omaha beaches on Day 1 of the Normandy invasion.  As he shared a little of his story with us, the students were intrigued by this 88 year old and the description of events from 67 years ago.  You could still hear the pain in his voice as he shared that they were expected to lose 50% of the men that he and his fellow captains brought into battle.  As I said good bye and thanked him for his time and service, his grip on my hand was strong enough to make a lasting impression.  

Normandy

66 students and 9 chaperons boarded a double decker bus at 10pm on Thursday to travel from Kandern, Germany to Normandy, France as part of the junior class trip. Rob was fortunate to be one of the sponsors. It was a blessing to spend 84 fast paced, sleep deprived hours getting to know these students better. We slept on the bus for 2 of the 4 nights, which contributed to much of the class bonding that takes place on this annual trip. We had an opportunity to visit many historic sites and reflect together on the tragic events that impacted history.  From hearing about great acts of heroism to the variety of emotions that come with visiting the German, Canadian and US cemeteries, there is no doubt that this trip will have a lasting affect on our students.

This song captured my heart a few years ago and that began my prayer....   Lord here I am.


~Heather

Here I Am

Downhere

from the album Ending Is Beginning

Buy on Amazon

Play sample

Sometimes Your calling, comes in dream 
Sometimes in comes in the Spirit's breeze 
You reach for the deepest hope in me 
And call out for the things of eternity 

But I'm a man, of dust and stains, 
You move in me, so I can say 

Chorus
Here I am, Lord send me 
All of my life, I make an offering, 
Here I am, Lord send me 
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan, 
Here I am 

When setbacks and failures, and upset plans 
Test my faith and leave me with empty hands 
Are You not the closest when it's hardest to stand 
I know that You will finish what You began 

And these broken parts You will redeem 
Become the song that I can sing 

Chorus

Overwhelmed by the thought of my weakness 
And the fear that I'll fail You in the end 
In this mess, I'm just one of the pieces, 
I can't put this together but You can 

Chorus

Here I Am, all my life an offering to You, to You 
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan 
Here I am

BFA Opening Ceremonies

BFA Opening Ceremonies kicked off the 2011-2012 school year on Tuesday.  The seniors marched into a packed auditorium carrying flags representing the countries from where our students call home.  The Director, Mr. Phil Peters, delivered an opening address.  Using his canoe for the prop, he shared God's word and encouraged us all to be prepared for the this year's journey, through the quiet waters and the rolling rapids.  He also interviewed the 1st graders (the class of 2023) and as you can tell, we received some funny responses from these 6 year olds.  It is amazing how when the first wanted to boy wanted to be a pilot, and the first girl wanted to be a horse back rider, that the remaining students all followed suit.  Challenging times followed as parents said farewell to their children for the start of this year. 

Welcome (back) from Black Forest Academy Videos on Vimeo.

We have landed and work has begun!

We arrived safely with all our bags at 11:10am on Wednesday.  By noon we had dropped our bags off at our new home, Hauptstrasse 55, 79400 Kandern, Germany, and were at a luncheon for TeachBeyond being held at BFA.  Rob started work at 12:30 and arrived home at 4:30.  The Kraines blessed us with a delicious dinner, that most of us stayed awake for.  Since then, Rob has been at the office 8-6 as the staff has been working diligently to ensure that the school is ready for the start of school next week.  New student orientation is Monday and opening ceremonies and the start of school are Tuesday.  This means that some students will be arriving Sunday and the remainder will be traveling in on Monday.  Please pray for the students to have safe travel and the time and opportunity to say good bye to family and friends.

BFA Bound

We have purchased tickets!  We will be leaving for Black Forest Academy on Tuesday, August 16th.  We are excited and anxious over all that needs to get done.  We are thankful for all the support and encouragement we have received of the past few months/year with regards to answering this call.  

Commissioned

Today we were commissioned by First Baptist Church of Narragansett.  We watched a video titled, March of the Unqualified . 
The video presents that the Lord consistently uses individuals that society would identify as unqualified, to do great things for the growth of His kingdom.  It was encouraging as the Lord has called our imperfect family to service in Germany.  In Pastor John's sermon, from Acts 13, versus 1-4, he explained how the Antioch church set apart, sent away and sent out Barnabus and Saul, as they had been instructed by the Holy Spirit.  The elders then laid their hands on our family and prayed for us.  Thank you God for providing us with such a loving and supportive family at First Baptist.

Car Wash #2

The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day for a car wash.  We had many friends and family come to show their support for our mission.  We washed approximately 50 cars as we shared our vision for serving the Lord in Germany.  Thanks to all who came out.

A Great Opportunity

Rob had a blessed trip to Korea.  He had an opportunity to work with 30 students (some of whom are pictured above) who have the desire to attend college in the United States.  While there, Rob assisted the students in the college application process, financial aid and essay writing.  Rob was reunited with Joseph Kim, who leads Central Christian Academy, and his family whom we worked with at Black Forest Academy.  The time in Korea was a blessing as Rob grew in his understanding of Korean students and their culture.  He also had an opportunity to establish partnerships with a few churches and families in Suwon, Korea.  The Lord's hand was clearly involved this entire experience as if it had not been for His calling on our lives to serve at BFA during the 2009-2010 school year, the connection with Joseph would not been made.

Korea

The plans have been made and tickets booked for Rob to go to Seoul, South Korea in early July.  While there, he will reconnect with Joseph Kim and his family who served with us at Black Forest Academy last year.  Rob will be running a week long conference about US college admissions with the parents and students of Joseph's school.  Please pray for safe travel and the building of strong relationships.

CAR WASH DAY !!!

Our small group has organized a car wash to benefit our mission trip to Germany this summer!!
TODAY IS THE DAY :)  Please come join us for a clean car and a snack while you wait!
First Baptist Church  305  Kingston Road, Narragansett    9-12

Partners

While our time here dwindles quickly, we are in need of individuals to partner with us in our ministry at Black Forest Academy.  If you would like to learn more about this opportunity, we would love to meet with you to discuss more about it.  Please contact Rob at 401.792.9315 or rshuman@teachbeyond.org .

Good Friday

We were blessed and encouraged by the Evangelical Ministers Fellowship, to be able to present our ministry at the Good Friday Service.  It was a wonderful night of worship and praise to the Lord.  We really appreciated the opportunity to meet with individuals from many different churches.  We would like to thank EMF for their support by  having the offerings to the Lord be put towards our ministry.

Sharing Our Ministry

On Sunday we had the opportunity to present our vision for our ministry at BFA to Calvary Bible Church of Narragansett.  It was great to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones.  We want to thank the congregation for their encouragement and support.

Stepping

We are Stepping out in faith to return to Germany to serve Mk's at  The Black Forest Academy.!
Please join us by praying for all the details to come together.
Thank you~ Rob, Heather, Andrew, Matthew and Jacob