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.