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.