Running in the Rain

One of my favorite parts of running a race is seeing the photos taken by the race photographers. Usually I look absolutely terrible in these pictures but every once in a while there's a winner. Sometimes I'll even buy a few of the shots when they offer a sale months later. So it makes sense that I just now got around to buying my race photos from the RnR Madrid Half Marathon back in April.

While training for a race in the arid desert climate of Madrid, rain was the last thing I anticipated. (Go ahead with your rain in Spain on the plains jokes, I'll wait.) In my months of training, I hadn't encountered rain once while on a run. So you can imagine my despair when, come race day, the sky was overcast and the rain fell steadily. It let up for the start and I prayed desperately for it to hold off a few more hours. When the heavy rains began pelting me at mile 3, there was no turning back. I was in it for the long haul and I had no choice but to keep moving forward and finish the race. It ended up raining hard for the next ten miles and by the time I crossed the finish line I was completely drenched and rocking the drowned rat look.

I looked something like this.

I've been reflecting on this experience recently as I participate in another race - the race of life. Yes, I know it sounds cheesy but bear with me here. My life as a teacher is divided into four major "races" with visible finish lines. The first race is completing the fall semester and being rewarded with Christmas vacation. The second race is completing the stretch between Christmas and Spring Break, and the third race is like one of those super intense Spartan Sprint 5Ks as we return from Spring Break and barrel towards the biggest finish line of them all: summer vacation. The fourth race is spending the summer raising support to do it all over again the next year. I cross that finish line when I reach 100% of my support for that year.

Sometimes those races go exactly as planned but more often than not, things come up. I trip over surprises like untied shoelaces, and obstacles block my path like potholes in the road. Spiritual attacks strike me from every side like a torrential downpour of rain. Sometimes I have to stop and catch my breath. Sometimes I think about quitting. But every time God gives me the strength to keep moving forward and finish the race.

I've been studying scripture passages about patience and perseverance as I grapple with the latest surprise, Germany's minimum wage law. It is still beyond my understanding how I will raise the rest of my support in the next two weeks. This unexpected spike in support needs has taken me by complete surprise, much in the same way that the rain did on race day.

While reading Romans 5, I was blown away by the Message version.

We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary - we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5:3-5, The Message)

There are so many great images in this passage! Passionate patience. The tempered steel of virtue. Alert expectancy. These are the kinds characteristics that I strive for as I actively wait for God to do a great work in and through and for me. In the meantime I shout my praise to the Lord who is indeed my Everything.



Please join me in praying for this final $565 in monthly support to come in. Pray that it will pour in so fast that I won't be able to "round up enough containers to hold everything" as God generously provides.

If you'd like to participate in God's provision, please visit my personal giving page and sign up to make a monthly gift of any size.

he heard me praying

Blessed be God - he heard me praying. He proved he's on my side; I've thrown my lot in with him. Now I'm jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him. (Psalm 28:6-7, The Message)

I've reached the halfway point of my personal work week here in Germany. It has been a whirlwind couple of days for me, and I am thankful for God's grace to allow me to get everything done so far. I am feeling overwhelmed with thanksgiving right now, so I just thought I should share a few of my praises with you.

Thankful moment #1: Knowing that I would need to hit the ground running in Germany, I prayed for good sleep during my long flight. I even bought some ZzzQuil sleep aid pills and took a do on the plane. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of DEEP sleep I was able to get during the flight and how awake I felt when I deplaned in Zurich on Wednesday morning!

Thankful moment #2: I made it to my new apartment a few hours later and began the task of setting up my phone and wireless router. I had arranged for my service to be moved to the new place while I was away so that it would be functional by the time I arrived. As plugged in all the wires I realized that all my paperwork for the account was at my old apartment and figured I would probably have to go get them in order to set up my new wifi network. On a whim, I opened my computer to see what would happen. Without skipping a beat it connected to my network, Bazinga, and I was surfing the web. WHAT?! If you know anything about phone/internet service in Germany, you will know that it is NEVER this easy.

Thankful moment #3: It had rained for most of Wednesday morning, but I was scheduled to move that afternoon. The rain held off until the very end, and I had a full moving crew of strong friends and former students who worked seemingly effortlessly to transport all my furniture to the new place and even set up my washer and dryer for me! We finished in less than two hours! Because of that I was free to spend the rest of the day unpacking and settling into the new apartment.

Thankful moment #4: On Thursday morning I met a former student and her mom at my old apartment to clean. Thanks to their cheerful and efficient cleaning job, I was able to focus on scrubbing the bathroom while they made the rest of the apartment shine, and all in two hours! All that remained was to defrost the freezer, and I was done with cleaning by noon! That freed me up to spend the rest of the day doing more unpacking/settling in at the new apartment. I also was able to pack two of my three suitcases for Spain and get the rest of my personal effects into the basement for storage.

Thankful moment #5: On Friday morning I met with the BFA housing coordinator and my German landlord to officially check out of the old apartment. The place wasn't in super great shape when we took it over, and because of that there was some damage to the walls and floors that we simply weren't able to fix. Thankfully our landlord is a very understanding and kind man who did not hold us responsible for the damage. There were a lot of things that he probably could have been pretty upset about, but he was gracious and wished me well in Spain.

Thankful moment #6: NO. JETLAG. Yep, you read that right. Did I really cross six time zones?? God knew I needed energy and strength to get all those things done by Friday and I truly believe that He (and my ZzzQuil!) allowed me to sleep soundly. Because I awoke each morning refreshed and well-rested, I was able to get in three full work days and accomplish everything on time.

Thankful moment #7: I HIT 90%!!! Those of you who follow me on Facebook know I had to kick my support campaign into overdrive as I was not adequately funded when I left America on Tuesday. I only had about 73% of my goal and needed to reach 90% to be cleared by TeachBeyond to continue on to Spain. Between new supporters joining my team for the first time and old supporters increasing their giving, my support level jumped to 90% in just two days! PRAISE THE LORD!

Yesterday afternoon the girl subleasing from me this year arrived and I was able to show her around the new apartment, then we both got to meet and talk with our landlords for a bit before we parted ways. It was a strange feeling to have "given away" two apartments in one day and to officially be "homeless" here in Kandern. I actually got a little flutter in my stomach as I pulled out of the driveway, like I was about to embark on a big adventure.

For the remainder of my stay in Kandern I'm staying with my good friends Mike and Kari, who have already been fabulous hosts. This morning I slept in until about 11:00 and entered the kitchen feeling bad about sleeping so late, only to find that I was just in time for crepes and coffee! We took our time, savoring each bite while catching each other up on our summers.

My final task before I can be cleared to depart BFA is to finish updating my curriculum course binders so that they can be passed on to the new science teacher. Today I spent about seven hours at the middle school cleaning up my classroom and office space, and getting my supplies and materials organized.

The supply cabinet is reorganized and ready to go!

Saying farewell to my classroom for awhile ...

Now that everything is in its place, I can focus on finishing my curriculum work. Please pray that I can stay focused and finish this final task quickly! I depart for Spain on Thursday but my goal is to finish this work by Tuesday evening so that I can relax before flying Thursday morning.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement this week! Before we know it I will be reporting to you from SPAIN!!

Seeds of Support

Back in April I had the huge privilege of attending an educator's conference in Turkey. It was a wonderful time of connecting and networking with other Christian educators from around the world and hearing stories of God's faithfulness. Unfortunately due to safety concerns I can't share any more details about the conference with you, but there is one thought I have been turning over and over in my head ever since the speaker shared it in one of the general sessions. 

While talking about the potential of our students, the speaker quoted Robert H. Schuller as saying, "Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed."

This struck me as I thought about my own students. I am a "numbers person" so I am always counting up my students - doing head counts for attendance, making lab partners, or arranging teams for a game or group project. While I have an exact number to define the number of students in my class, I have no way of knowing how many people's lives they will touch when they leave my classroom. According to Schuller my classroom is an apple full of seeds, each one bearing infinite potential.

Over the years I have watched my students move up to the high school and take on leadership roles, find their niches, and develop the gifts and talents with which God has blessed them. Many of my proudest moments are when I see my former students serve on the annual BFA spring break service trips. So a few weeks after my conference in Turkey, there I sat at Black Forest Christian Fellowship's Sunday service listening to the high schoolers give reports on their weeks spent in places such as Romania, Bulgaria, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso. As I scanned the faces of the students on each team while they stood before the church, I couldn't help but count. I counted every student who had ever been in one of my classes in the middle school. Out of the 100+ students who had given up half of their spring break to serve, 43 of them had darkened the doorway of my classroom in the last five years. As I listened to their stories and testimonies, I went back to the quote about apples and seeds.

Imagine, if you will, one possible chain of events that starts with you being one of my monthly supporters. Thanks to you and the rest of my team, I am able to teach science in the middle school at BFA. A student takes my class and begins to enjoy science for the first time in his life. Student moves up to high school and attends a service trip to work with orphans in Africa. Student's love for Jesus radiates from him and attracts the attention of many of the young boys. Because of student's affection for the young boys, they come to know the love of Jesus and decide that they have worth. Young boys grow up confident in Christ's love and work hard to attend school so that they, too, can share God's word with others. One young boy becomes the man who cures cancer. Another young boy becomes the next president of his nation. Another young boy becomes a famous athlete who uses his fame to tell the next generation of young boys about Jesus. The possibilities really are endless. 

Don't you want to be a part of this awesome opportunity? Wouldn't you like to plant a seed that could sprout into an orchard of apples, each one filled with more seeds to sow? This is not something that can be accomplished by just one person, but instead requires every person! This can only happen when a network of people come together towards a common goal - to make disciples of all nations. One person can not disciple the entire world, but one person can disciple another person, who can disciple another, and so on. We know that this is also due to the work of God, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

So because this theme of planting seeds has been on my mind so much lately, I will be using an apple tree to track my support levels this summer. Each apple represents $100/month. The red apples are for the support and pledges already received, and the white apples represent the current need. For every $100 monthly pledge that is given, one of the six white apples on the tree will turn red. The goal is to fill the tree with red apples before the end of July! 

You may also notice five white apples on the ground - these are the "bonus apples." You can read this post to get the full explanation of the 1- and 2-year goals and hear more details about my upcoming transition to Evangelical Christian Academy in Madrid, Spain.

Maybe you can't commit to $100 a month, but instead $20, $40, or even $60. That's perfectly ok and just as helpful! When you cut open an apple you will often find five seeds. Just think of your $20 pledge as one single seed - with infinite potential - that together with four other "seeds" you can help me turn another apple red!

If you'd like to discuss the possibility of monthly support, please email me at bertschirae@gmail.com or send me a message on Facebook and we can set up a time to chat.

If you have already decided you're ready to help fill the apple tree, visit TeachBeyond's website for options and detailed instructions on how to set up monthly giving or make a special one-time gift.

If you are already on my support team, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your faithful generosity. If you will be joining my support team soon I thank you in advance for letting God use you to help plant seeds in the lives of some very special students. 

stateside update and prayer needs

ahhh, summer

This is my first official stateside update! I have been here in America for about ten days now, and most of that time has been spent getting over jetlag and catching up on some much needed sleep. There is no way I can make you truly understand just how exhausting these last few months have been, or how stressful my last week in Germany really was. What matters is that I survived and am (almost) caught up on sleep. I have been feeling pretty guilty about spending so much of the last week asleep, but the reality is that my body needs rest, and my health is my number one priority. I have also been eating lots of Chipotle burritos and pounding the pavement again in preparation for the Rock’n’Roll Chicago Half Marathon, which is coming up July 20 and will be my third half marathon this year.

Many friends have been asking for more details about Spain and my new role at Evangelical Christian Academy, and I finally have some solid information that I can share with you! Provided my support is in, I will fly to Spain on August 7 -- five years to the day after my very first departure for Germany! I have been offered a fully furnished apartment with a housemate who is already well-established in the community and a fluent Spanish speaker, so that will help with my transition a bit. My role with ECA will be in the middle school teaching a combination of 6^th and 7^th grade math and science courses for one year. I am excited for this chance to partner with another international Christian school for the year, invest in more third culture kids, and put to good use all the Spanish that I studied so diligently in high school but have yet to use! If you'd like to know more details about ECA, please visit their website here.

The first way you can pray right now is for the visa application process. The Spanish visa is rather complicated and I have already been turned away from the Spanish consulate once for not having the necessary endorsements to make my documents and their translations recognized in Spain. I will return to the consulate with what I hope is the proper documentation and try again in mid-August. In the meantime, I can be in Spain for up to 90 days on a tourist visa so please pray that this issue is resolved before my 90 days are up!

The second way you can pray is for my financial support. My account with TeachBeyond is finally out of the red and thanks to the generous gifts of so many friends my bills for June and July were fully covered! I am now looking ahead to my new expenses that will begin August 1 in Spain – mainly rent, utilities, and groceries. I will not have a car during that year, so that should minimize my expenses quite a bit. My goals for support raising are two-fold: first and foremost, I need to raise the minimum necessary to spend this year in Spain ($2,000/month).  Second, I would like to raise as much as possible this summer to go towards my return to Germany in the fall of 2015, where the budget is a bit higher ($2,500/month).

Currently I am at 71% of my one-year goal ($1,420/month pledged) and 57% of my two-year goal. That means I am looking for a minimum of $580 a month in new partnerships. At the very least, my one-year goal must be met by the end of July in order to go to Spain. Please join me in praying for God’s provision in the weeks to come. If you are not already part of my support team and would like more information about how to join, please visit TeachBeyond’s website and consider what role God might have for you in this vital ministry.

not safe

Moving to Spain is stressing me out.

There. I said it.

I'm supposed to be excited about another adventure but right now all I can think about is how much work is going to need to happen in order for me to get to Madrid by August.

At first, I thought that going to Spain was taking the easy route. I'd just keep doing what I've been doing, teaching MKs in middle school and living in a country that's not my own. I would be able to keep working on support and not have to make things complicated tax-wise with American income. I would be close enough to Germany to return for my small group girls' graduation. It seemed like such a simple transition.

The reality of this situation is that I am making my life more complicated and this is, in fact, the harder path to take. First, I am adding another "home" to my heart. As someone who spent most of her life in the same town, I had a hard time identifying with the nomads who sat in my classroom conflicted about where they called home. After living in Germany for five year things have changed. Germany has become home for me, but I still have my HOME home in America. So when I go to the States and people say "Welcome home!" I become so turned around that I don't know whether to hug them or punch them in the face. Clearly that's not enough confusion for me as I will soon add Spain to my list of "homes" and be even more divided in my loyalties.

Another reason why this move is proving more difficult is because it will require me to continue living off the financial support of my friends and family. While at first this seemed ideal for long term ministry, it also makes things harder because let's face it, support raising is hard work and it's never over. Even when you get all the pledges and gifts you need to be fully funded, you have to maintain personal relationships with every single person who supports you. While I'd like to say otherwise, I have failed miserably at that aspect of the job. The discouraging lack of funding that I'm currently facing doesn't help matters, it just makes the idea of moving to America and getting a "real job" that much more tempting.

Finally, there's the paperwork. Don't even get me started on the paperwork. I have been working on my visa application since February and still don't have all the necessary documents in order for this application. It took over a month to get a letter of good health from my German doctor, and tonight I discovered that it will cost over $100 to translate two documents amounting to approximately four sentences into Spanish for this application. Then there's the trip I will have to make - probably by train - to the nearest Spanish consulate to apply in person and pay the hefty application fee and then face the very real possibility of my application being rejected because one staple is out of place.

I don't tell you all these things so that you can have pity on me, and please hear me: I am NOT complaining. I just need to put this into words: following Jesus is HARD WORK. No one ever said that the roads He calls us to walk will be easy, in fact He told us quite the opposite. We are to expect difficulty without being surprised, and we are called to face it with bravery rather than run away. If I believed that every bump on the road was some sort of warning sign from God then I would have left Germany within a week of arriving and never come back. I am making a conscious choice to take the hard road and do the things that scare me and make me question what in the world God is doing because I know that the rewards of an obedient life far outweigh the alternative. I am not called to live a safe life, and I can't let these difficulties scare me away.

This brings to mind a scene from C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." When the Beavers are explaining Aslan to the Pevensie children Susan inquires, "Is he safe?" Mr. Beaver laughs and retorts, "Safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

God is not calling me to be safe. He is calling me to take risks, be brave, and do hard things. I know I can trust Him to make this possible because He is GOOD.

Do you want to be a part of my unsafe life? Prayerfully consider becoming a monthly supporter or making a special one-time gift to help get my support account out of the red.

thankful thursday

This week I'm thankful for:

• Reaching 94%! Support levels jumped over the weekend and I was permitted to fly to Germany on Monday. I landed Tuesday evening and jumped right into my responsibilities here on Wednesday - teacher's conference in the morning followed by work at the middle school in the afternoon all this week!
• Uneventful travel. Flying out of Cleveland really stinks. My flight is always delayed or canceled. This time around was no different, but thankfully this time I made my connecting flights to London and Basel.
• Free luggage allowance. Flying on missionary airfare with British Airways means you get three free checked bags. I was warned that since my return flight originated with American Airlines, that I would only receive one free bag. Then my awesome grandma loaded me up with a ton of really useful school supplies and I made plans to check two suitcases and pay for the extra one. That would leave me with a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. So when I checked in I explained my situation and asked about the possibility of checking multiple bags. The ticket agent gladly checked both large suitcases plus my small carry-on suitcase for free! All I had to carry on the plane was my backpack and I didn't have to pay for the checked bags!

hello monday

Hello Monday.

Hello insane day of blessings. You can bet I'll have a lot to share on Thankful Thursday this week.

Hello 94%! I am so excited! God has done amazing things in the past few weeks and I am so humbled by all that he's done to bring me this far. All that remains is $120/month!

Hello free airport wi-fi. Without you I would have nothing to do for the next hour and a half while waiting for my flight.
Hello Chicago, London, and Basel. "Today" I will visit all three of you, even if it will only be airport visits. I am not looking forward to the long layover in London, but at least I will be in an English-speaking airport.

Hello jet lag. You will strike soon, but I will vanquish you this time!

we are go for launch: 90% and what it means

Let's start with some fabulous news: This week I reached 90.9%! This means TeachBeyond will allow me to fly back to Germany on Monday as planned. Praise the Lord!! After moving my flight from the 6th to the 20th, I was excited about having two extra weeks in America with my family, but at the same time I was anxious about losing two weeks of valuable classroom and lesson prep time. As the days passed and my support status leveled out at 83%, I honestly began to wonder if I would be forced to delay my departure a second time. Doing so would cause me to miss the beginning of teacher's conference, which of course brought me a bit of anxiety. I clung to the promise that God would be faithful to keep His promises, but I was legitimately worried. But, things change quickly and in one day it jumped from 83% to the coveted 90%!

So here's the deal: I am still in need of $200 in monthly support in order to be fully funded. While I have been cleared to fly, I have not reached 100%.  Of course I would love to reach 100% before my plane lifts off Monday afternoon, and the exciting thing is, it's totally possible! All that remains is TEN individuals or families willing to commit $20 a month, EIGHT individuals or families willing to commit $25 a month, FOUR individuals or families willing to commit $50 a month, or TWO individuals or families willing to give $100 a month!

So what do you think? Wouldn't you like to partner with me and become involved in the incredible ministry of Black Forest Academy? If so, visit the TeachBeyond website right now and sign up to become a monthly supporter. You can do so much more than simply put me on a plane. Your support can help students like Sophie, Joyce, and so many others to receive a quality international Christian education at BFA!

If you are unable to offer financial support, please join me in praying that the last 20% will come in quickly!

still

Waiting for another $350 in monthly support.
Waiting for people to stand behind me.
Waiting for clearance to fly on Monday.
Waiting for God to reveal just what it is He's trying to teach me through this.

Trying to communicate the passion I have for serving the students at Black Forest Academy.
Trying to express why it matters.
Trying to find people willing to give cheerfully and sacrificially.
Trying to reach 100% - something I've never been able to do.

Watching God do miraculous things for my fellow support raisers.
Wondering when it will be my turn.
Wanting to be happy for them.
Wishing I weren't jealous of their blessings.

I haven't written my regular weekly posts because there is nothing new to say. I've said everything I know to say, and done everything I know to do, and still I've fallen short. $350 a month short. I am not enough, but God is, and from here on out, it's all Him. I have already had to delay my departure by two weeks and even that wasn't enough. If I don't leave on Monday, I will miss the beginning of my responsibilities - staff meetings and valuable work days necessary for preparing for the start of school.

If you feel led to partner with me financially this year so that I can return to Germany and to my ministry to the students of Black Forest Academy, please visit this page and sign up today to become a monthly supporter (be sure to specify that your gift is for me). I promise, you will not regret it.

five things {you can do} friday

Yes, I've taken a break from blogging this week. No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. This week was supposed to be spent setting up my new apartment and working on lesson plans and classroom decorations. Instead, I have spent it in America trying to finish raising the support I need to return to Germany on August 20th. There hasn't been much to report on, since I have been stuck at 83% since Sunday. So today, I want to share with you five things you can do to support the work I do at BFA and help me get back to Germany on time.

{1} Sign up to become a monthly supporter. At the time of writing this post, I still need $350/month to be fully funded. Any amount you are willing to share so that I can serve at BFA will make a difference. Your gift does not have to be huge to be helpful. During my first year, my elementary-aged cousin gave me $1 a month. You can bet that made a difference.

{2} Make a one time or annual gift. Special gifts send to TeachBeyond on my behalf are saved up and used for many things - airfare for home assignment, reimbursement of ministry expenses, emergencies, and even going to cover any monthly support that doesn't come in. Last year about 50% of my monthly support came from one-time gifts.

{3} Buy my jewelry. All the items in my Etsy shop are handmade by me and all the sales go towards covering miscellaneous expenses related to living in Germany. In the past I've used Etsy sales to cover my Skype subscription for calling home, to put gas in my car, and to buy snacks and gifts for my small group girls.

{4} Tell a friend. My circle of contacts is only so big, and there are only so many people I can ask. Social networking sites like Facebook and Blogger have helped me reach outside my own personal circle, but you, my friend, are my best advocate. If you know me personally or have followed this blog for any length of time, then you know the heart and passion I have for my students and the work I do at BFA, and you can tell others about that. Is there someone in your own circle that would enjoy hearing my story, or consider joining my support team because you recommended it?

{5} Pray. Pray that I would continue to trust and have peace in God's provision. Pray that God would bring to my attention the right people to approach about financial support. Pray that the ones God calls to give will be obedient. Pray that God's power and faithfulness be evident throughout this whole process.

 

hello monday

Hello Monday. You were supposed to be the Monday that I flew back to Germany but alas, God has other plans. But it's ok, I'm confident that I will only see two more of you before I do get to fly!

Hello new week. Instead of spending you in my new apartment fighting jetlag and working on my classroom, I will get to spend you in America finishing up my support raising and enjoying my family.

Hello jogging. You and I have had an on-again, off-again relationship and it's time to be on again. Starting tomorrow. No, really. I just signed up to run the 7K in the Basel Marathon again, and this time I'm actually going to prepare for it. Last year's run almost killed me and I have no intention of finishing last this year.

Still alive after the run that almost killed me ... (September 2012)

Hello packing. I know I have two weeks to spend working on you, but I figure I should probably get started, seeing as how I have a tendency to procrastinate.

50 states of support: week five update

Whoohoo! This week I jumped from 65% to 80%! Join me in celebrating!

Unfortunately, 80% is not enough to fly, so the big announcement is that my flight has been delayed by two weeks so that I can have ample time to find the other 20% that I need to be fully funded. On the one hand, I'm bummed because I'm ready to start getting my classroom ready for the new year, and I'm ready to start lesson planning, but I can't do that from another continent. On the other hand, I'm really excited to have two more unexpected weeks in America to spend with my family. This summer will have been the longest amount of time I've gotten to spend in America and with my family since I left for Germany three years ago.

So, please join me in both praising God for His provision this week, and in praying that the other 20% will come in quickly. And if you are someone who has been thinking about joining my support team and have yet to commit, PLEASE pray about it and get in touch with me as soon as possible to let me know your thoughts. I would love to answer any questions you have or tell you more personally about my ministry at BFA.

You can sign up today to become a monthly supporter by visiting TeachBeyond's page and either downloading the form to mail in, or submitting your info online.

thankful thursday

This week I'm thankful for:

• A jump of 15% in monthly support this week! As I write this post I'm at 80%!! I don't have a new map to show you, though, because I did not receive any new pledges yesterday.
• Life. It's a shame when it's lost unexpectedly. We are grieving with a family friend this week.
• The generosity of a family friend that allows me to have one more big yard sale this weekend. Even if it does mean I have to do all the work by myself since my parents can't get the time off from work and my brother, who isn't working, inexplicably has no time for me anymore.
• Good times with friends. Last weekend we had a family from church over for lunch and a Ticket to Ride party and we had a blast. I have also finally met my matches - I didn't win a single game that day!!
• Kool-Aid. Sounds crazy, but I've been sipping it all week and it reminds me of the summers of my childhood, when the biggest question I had to answer was whether or not I would ride my bike or play the Nintendo that day.

duke and his cookies

This summer I've LOVED getting to spend tons of time with Duke, my parents' pup. In the mornings before I wake up, he will climb into my bed and snuggle up beside me, and he follows me around the house all day. At the beginning of the summer we were going for walk/jogs around the block, before the humidity reached terrifying heights. He's a quirky little guy, and he looooves his cookies (dog treats). Here's a little bit of what he was up to yesterday. I can't stop laughing when I watch this clip - he is VERY excited about his cookies!!

Yesterday I hit 80%!! There are only 20 states left to claim, which equals $400 in monthly support still needed for me to be fully funded. I am so amazed at how God has been working this week to bring in my support!! Check out the most updated map - all the red states are new!!

There's still time, friends. If you want to get involved and support the work that I do at Black Forest Academy, please visit TeachBeyond's page today and sign up to become a monthly supporter. You could make a valuable contribution to furthering God's work among the nations (aka, my students!!).

coffee cupdate

If we were to sit down for a cup of coffee I'd have a lot to tell you.

First, we might be sad about the fact that this could be my last Tuesday in America as I am scheduled to return to Germany next Monday. You might ask me where my support stands and I would share with you that I have hit 70%, which means I still need about $600 in monthly support before being cleared to fly.

I'd tell how excited I am to be returning to Germany soon, but that I'm also kind of bummed to leave. I'd confess that this summer has been pretty lonely in terms of friendships, and that even though I've gotten to spend a good chunk of time with my mom nursing her back to health after her foot surgery, I've not spent hardly any time with people my own age. I'd tell you how suddenly, people have been coming out of the woodwork wanting to see me before I leave and now I'm stressed out because I want to see them all but I have no time left.

I'd tell you how awesomely supportive my grandma is. I might show you a bag full of school supplies like Post-Its, gluesticks, etc. that she collected for me to take back to Germany, and then laugh as I tell you that she called me today from Target excited about even more things she'd found for me to take back!

What would you tell me?

hello monday

Hello Monday. You may be the last full Monday of the summer that I spend in America! I hope you bring a Tuesday and a Wednesday and a Thursday full of blessings as I try to raise the last bit of support I need to get back to Germany.

Hello yard sale goods. Thanks to Dad's very generous friend you are going to make this weekend's final yard sale a huge event. I hope the people in my neighborhood will not be as cheap this time around and be willing to pay reasonable prices, rather than heckle me into selling everything for a quarter.

Hello solitude. Now that Mom finally got to go back to work after four weeks of recovery following her foot surgery, I am home alone. Good thing I have a yard sale to prepare and a suitcase to pack.

Hello new followers! I have been noticing my GFC follower count rise ever so slightly over the past few weeks and I hope you decide to introduce yourself and stick around!

Hello new monthly supporters! Since yesterday's update TWO more states were claimed for $20 each. Now that I am one week from departure, I'll be posting daily support updates. Join me in praying that the funds come in quickly!! If you want to get involved, visit TeachBeyond's website to sign up for monthly support today.

What do you say hello to today?