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.