the end = the beginning

Well, the school year is officially over! Finals were last week and it was a very busy week for me as I was subbing for a few teachers in the middle school in addition to my own end of year responsibilities. Students think they have it bad at the end of the school year but I think if they saw all the work their teachers do at the end of the year they wouldn't complain as much. It seriously felt like I was grading a never-ending pile of papers, but I made it through and managed to get all my grades and comments posted before the weekend. Grad was Friday, and then I flew out Saturday morning.

From now on, I will not buy a plane ticket until no less than five people have looked over my reservation to make sure I haven't done something stupid. Something stupid may or may not include booking a 7-hour layover at Heathrow airport AND a 20+ hour layover in New York City. Now don't get me wrong, those are two great cities that I would love to spend time in, but not when I'm trying to get home and am dragging along my luggage. Thankfully my friend and fellow BFA teacher Viki was on the same flight out of Basel, so at Heathrow we spent about three hours in Terminal 4 sipping Starbucks and swapping Salvation Army stories before her flight left. Then I entertained myself for another four hours until it was finally time for my flight. The flight itself was rather uneventful. I watched three movies and enjoyed maybe a 1/2-hour cat nap but didn't feel the need to sleep any more than that.

Upon my arrival in New York, I found that my past will continue to haunt me, and who knows for how long. On my trip in April, I tried bringing home some Kinder eggs for my cousins, but US Customs confiscated them, saying that they had been banned because they are a choking hazard. I had to stand at the counter for almost an hour while they putzed around on their computer screen, asked me the same questions over and over again, and eventually placed my eggs into an "evidence bag." So I guess I'm on the black list now, because as soon as they swiped my passport you would have thought it was code red or something. I suddenly found myself in the inquisition and the next thing I knew the guy was pulling everything out of my suitcase, putting my underwear on display for all the other people breezing by with their un-violated luggage to see. Thanks dude. Thanks a lot. The biggest headache was that when he finished snooping around every fold of my clothes, he looked at me and said, "OK, you can pack that back up now."

I had no desire to spend the night in an airport. So, I caught a free shuttle to my hotel and settled in for the night after calling my parents. I slept surprisingly well and only woke up twice (less than I usually do after a long flight like that). At 8:30 the next morning I was the only white girl enjoying a complimentary breakfast - everyone else was black, Korean, or Hispanic. It felt like I was still at BFA! After that, I had three and a half hours to kill before checkout so I ended up watching a movie and two hours of CNN before taking the shuttle back to JFK. The final leg of the trip was uneventful, and after more waiting I finally met up with my parents in Cleveland and arrived safely home.

So the end of the school year marks the beginning of the summer. I'm here for six weeks on Home Ministry Assignment (HMA). Contrary to popular belief, I am not here for six weeks of vacation. I will be spending one week on vacation with my family, but the other five will be jam-packed with preparations for my return to BFA in July. While on HMA my goals are to connect with and spend time with supporters, family, and long-lost friends. I look forward to seeing you again and sharing all the exciting things God has done this year at BFA in the lives of students thanks to your faithful support and prayers. Furthermore, I pray that my passion for these unique "Third Culture Kids" (google it!) would be contagious and that you would want to get involved yourself, either by coming to BFA or committing to a monthly financial partnership. I am praying that God provides several new supporters to bring my monthly support up to 100%.

Here is my summer schedule (so far). If I will be near you, please give me a call, email me, or send a note on Facebook so that we can connect over coffee, ice cream, dinner (why is food always involved??). I hope to see as many of you as possible!

JUNE

• 16: Speaking at Fishcreek Church of the Nazarene (Stow, OHIO)
• 23-29: Speaking at Lifebuilder Community Church on the 23rd, visiting LCC on the 27th (Greencastle, INDIANA)
• 30: Speaking at The Chapel of Prayer (Akron, OHIO)

JULY

• 1-9: Family vacation in Utah
• 9-13: Visiting Northside Church of the Nazarene on the 11th (Chicago, ILLINOIS)
• 13-17: Visiting supporters and dear friends in Dallas, TEXAS
• 18: Speaking at Tallmadge Church of the Nazarene (Tallmadge, OHIO)
• 24: Knickerbocker Family Reunion AND return to Germany (leave Cleveland at 7:30 pm)