Goals for 2015

5 Books I want to Read:
Note: living overseas sometimes limits my access to English books... if you'd like to help me reach my goals with iBooks credit I would be ever so grateful! ;)

• Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
• When Others Shuddered by my former MBI writing prof Jamie Janosz
• Unseduced and Unshaken by another MBI prof, Rosalie de Rosset
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (in Spanish!) or a smaller work in Spanish

4 Places I want to See:

• Netherlands: to visit Anne Frank's house and the Corrie Ten Boom house
• Southern Spain: to see where my dad was stationed in Seville and visit Gibraltar
• Sweden
• Florida: to experience Disney World and the Kennedy Space Station

3 Things I want to Do:

• Run 600 kilometers in 2015
• Start writing again/get back to regular blogging
• Begin leading a new small group (fall)

2 Things I want to Learn:

• Metal stamping for jewelry design
• How to sew

1 Thing I want to Change:

• My morning routine - get back to waking up early

Christmas Presence

This year I had the huge blessing of spending Christmas in Germany. You're probably thinking, "Big deal - you always spend Christmas in Germany!" and you are very right. However, it IS a big deal to me because I did not expect to be spending this particular Christmas in Germany. A year ago I was beginning to think of life "after BFA" - where I would be, who I'd be with, etc. and I was preparing to apply to teach at ECA in Spain. I expected that I would spend Christmas in Spain this year, or if I was lucky, in America with my family. Then my visa application process took a few nasty turns and I ended up with an appointment to pick up my visa at the Spanish consulate in Germany on December 18. I figured if I was paying the money to fly to Germany, I might as well stick around for the holidays, especially since many of my friends in Spain were also leaving for break. My heart was overjoyed at the thought of being "home" for the holidays, and even though my closest friends were not here, I still enjoyed spending time with old and new friends alike.

I also had the privilege of staying in my own apartment, as the couple I am subletting to were away. I can't tell you what a huge blessing it was to sleep in my own bed, eat on my own dishes, and curl up with my own fuzzy brown blanket and a book. After all the stress and chaos and confusion of learning to live in Spain and finding my way in a new school, it was a much needed return to the comforts of home. Being able to unwind, decompress, and relax in my own apartment has helped renew my strength and prepare me for the next semester at ECA.

Christmas day can be quite lonely for single missionaries like me, so it's important to find a family to spend the holidays with. I lucked out in that I got to be with three different "families" over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I am often invited to a Christmas meal at the home of a family, and this year was no different. My Christmas dinner was spent with three BFA staff families who I have known and worked with to varying degrees for five years, and being with them after having been gone was like being at home with my extended family. None of them are old enough to be my parents, so it felt like hanging out with my aunts and uncles while the cousins played rambunctiously in the next room. They wanted to hear all about Spain, and then, even on Christmas Day, our conversation turned to our students! These friends knew me well, and I was blessed to simply bask in the comfort of their friendship. Even though I didn't get to unwrap any presents on Christmas day, I was gifted with the presence of people I love and that was more meaningful than any tangible gift I could have received.

thankful thursday

This week I'm thankful for:

Good days with my 8th grade pre-algebra class. I've written about them a lot lately because they have been my most challenging class to teach. The majority of first quarter I felt like a total failure, but lately things have been looking up. Their attitudes have been improving and they have even said things like, "This is fun!" and "Whoa, this is so easy!" in the last week. Tomorrow is their first quiz of the new chapter, and I am very hopeful that it will go well for everyone...

EasyJet. Without it, I would not be able to travel to Germany so cheaply to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my "family." 

Rest days. As I mentioned in this week's Hello Monday post, I started doing Les Mills BodyCombat again. I'm currently following their recommended schedule for two rest days a week. So after three consecutive days of intense workouts, my shoulders are sore enough to make holding my hairdryer uncomfortable, and every time I sit down I feel the burn in my quads. There's something wrong with the fact that I am more sore after three workouts than I ever was after running a half marathon! I've even been taking the elevator because I just can't bear climbing the stairs up to the third floor! I know it's a good thing and my body will thank me for it later, but for now I am thankful that today, Thursday, is a rest day.

Chocolate croissants. I have a love/hate relationship with these bad boys and they have become part of my daily routine. The best ones are obviously in Germany, but I have found a suitable alternative (albeit not fresh) at the local Día (our grocery store). During second period each day I have gotten into the habit of pouring a cup of coffee and enjoying a chocolate croissant while I grade or read. My mouth loves them. My waistline hates them. So good and yet so, so bad.

What are you thankful for this week?

visa visit

Last weekend I had the huge privilege of visiting Germany. While I had a lot of fun during my visit, it was primarily a business trip because I had to go to submit my visa application at the Spanish consulate. You may remember the visa saga that has been going on since February - I have jumped through many a hoop in order to get to where I am now, but as of last Thursday my application was successfully submitted and now all I do is wait!

I arrived in Germany on Saturday afternoon, giving me enough time to take a cat nap and get to the high school for the 5:00 showing of High School Musical. As usual, I was blown away by the talent of the BFA students and staff. Attending these performances is so much more meaningful for me now than it was five years ago, when I didn't know a single student on the stage. While waiting for the show to start, I counted THIRTY students on the cast list that I had taught in middle school - and that didn't even include the pit orchestra! All that to say, it was a very special night and I am thankful that I was able to combine this and my visa appointment in the same trip.

Many students knew I was coming and therefore attacked me in a mob-like fashion as soon as the house lights were up, while others I had the joy of sneaking up on and scaring half to death. A few didn't even register that I was visiting - because I have been at BFA for five years it is just "normal" for them to see me there. My hug quota for the month was met in just half an hour!

This brother and sister duo both had major roles! Zeke and Mrs. Darbus!

After the musical several friends gathered for pizza, snacks, laughter, and a movie. I enjoyed catching up with old friends and laughing together, and I introduced them to Spanish mantecados, which are flavored lard cakes. They sound much more disgusting than they are - I personally find them quite tasty. The trick to eating them, though, is that they need to be squeezed and squashed because they are rather crumbly and fall apart easily. When you squeeze a little patty in your hand, it naturally takes on an interesting shape, which we were very entertained by. OK, I was entertained by it, my friends just rolled their eyes. Hey, I teach middle school, I'm allowed to have potty humor!

On Sunday before church I caught up over coffee and croissants with my friend Allison, who directed the play. Then I went to BFCF and saw many more old friends who wanted to hear all about my new life in Spain and at ECA. I was so thrilled to get to hear David Harrop give the message - he spoke from 2 Corinthians 4 on the theme "Do Not Lose Heart." It was a very encouraging and challenging message that came for me at just the right time!

Sunday was also "dorm thanksgiving" at BFA. Because the activities calendar is so full in November, the dorms celebrate rather early. I was invited by my friends the Duhans, who are the current dorm parents at Maugenhard. You may remember that I used to sub at Maugenhard on a regular basis, so it was like coming home for me. The majority of the boys I knew are graduated now, but it was still nice to be in a familiar place and enjoy a warm meal with friends.

Then Monday morning arrived - the main reason for my visit. What was supposed to be a quick trip to Frankfurt and back turned into an eleven hour ordeal as my friend Sammie and I got caught in horrible stand-still traffic going and coming, and because we arrived late (due to the traffic) spent about twice as much time at the consulate as we'd planned. Regardless, I was able to successfully submit my application for my Spanish visa. The lady who helped me said it would be ready in two weeks (?!) which I really hope turns out to be true! 

Happy faces upon leaving the consulate!

We made it back to Kandern just in time for me to head to dinner with my old small group girls, who are now seniors and meeting with a new leader, my dear friend Suzanne. We enjoyed Mulligatawny soup and MadLibs, sang and prayed together, and then I got a chance to share a little of what God has been teaching me this year in Spain. It really did my heart good to be with my girls again.

Oh, these faces!

Perhaps one of the highlights of visiting when I did was getting to see Germany in full-blown fall foliage. My area here in Spain doesn't have a ton of color during the summer because everything turns brown from dehydration, and I haven't observed many fall colors here in the desert. Had I still been living in Germany these colors might not have seemed so vibrant to me, but because I have been away, they stopped me in my tracks and took my breath away.

I flew back to Spain on Tuesday and spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping off the busy weekend. Thankfully I had been very productive the day before I left Spain, so I didn't need to do any extra lesson prep or work before returning to school Wednesday morning. There were shouts of joy and hugs from my students, lots of questions about Germany, and of course, demands for chocolate. These kids sure know how to work their teacher!

green pastures

Tomorrow we embark on the annual eighth grade trip to Lugano, Switzerland, and I still need to pack. This is the typical story for me, your chronic procrastinator. While I have grown much in this area over the years, I am still the girl who often ends up paying what my dad calls the "stupid tax" as a result of my actions. Regardless, this will be the fifth year that I have had the privilege of chaperoning the trip, and while I do have a good idea of what to expect, I also know that every year, every class, every trip ends up being just a bit different than the previous.

When you have experienced an annual event multiple times it's easy to have certain expectations. My personal motto for this year's trip is "no expectations." This is because many times my disappointment is a result of reality not meeting my expectations. With this being my last time in Lugano for awhile, I want to remember it not as a disappointment because something didn't go the way I thought it should. Rather, I want to remember it as a special and meaningful time with my eighth graders, the third class that I have seen through all three years of middle school - with my upcoming transition to Madrid, it will be a few years before I can say that about another class!

I also want to be fully present and fully engaged during this trip. This is going to be difficult as my finances are still weighing heavy on my mind. It will be easy to "unplug" since I won't have a wifi connection at any point during the trip. That's right, no hashtagging for a few days! And while I am going to be "working" every minute of the day, this work is different than the daily teaching routine. I will have no choice but to leave everything behind when I board the bus and step out of reality for four days as I embrace a temporary reality: to show 28 eighth graders a good time and make sure they all get home in one piece.

I mentioned in my last blog post that I have been meditating on Psalm 23, and every time I think of this trip I think of the phrase "He makes me lie down in green pastures - he restores my soul." It's hard to fathom a week with teenagers being restful or refreshing, but I think that with the right attitude it can be. When we return from this trip it will be "go time" for me - the end of the school year will be in full swing and I will be just over three weeks from my departure date. I will need strength, focus, and good health to get through it all. My hope is that this week in Lugano, despite the schedules and activities and general stress that comes with taking someone else's kids to another country (!!), I would find the rest and restoration I need to persevere through those final weeks.

Join me in praying for this week's trip in the following ways:
- For safety on the roads, during our hikes, and while swimming in the lake
- For cheerful and helpful attitudes from the students
- For sunny weather, if only on Tuesday when we go on our three-hour hike!
- For walls to be torn down between students and true friendships to be cemente
- For students' hearts to be receptive to what the Lord might want to teach them this week

Madrid visit update

My time in Madrid was, in a word, amazing. I had a chance to stay with two staff members, Stephanie and Marie. Interestingly enough they both have BFA connections as Marie's brother attended BFA (he was a senior during my first year here!) and Steph herself is a BFA alum. So, we had a lot to talk about over the course of my visit! These girls were both incredibly welcoming by opening up their home to me, showing me all around Madrid and the surrounding area, and sharing their own stories and advice with me.

Seeing Christmas lights in downtown Madrid with Steph

Since I arrived on a Saturday morning, the first two days of my trip involved lots of touristy things: shopping, sightseeing, etc. I also had a chance to attend a progressive dinner with the ECA middle schoolers on Saturday night, and went to an international church on Sunday morning. I met several ECA staff members during the weekend, too. The rest of Sunday was spent in Madrid with Tour Guide Steph, who helped me finish my Christmas shopping, guided me to the best churros place, and basically showed me a great time.

Oh you know, just a ton of meat at the grocery store...

The city center of Madrid was jam-packed

Churros. That is all.



Meeting Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

Monday morning arrived and even though I was on Christmas vacation, I found myself walking to school with Marie for staff devotions! The staff were also very welcoming and I enjoyed chatting and getting to know some of them more throughout the rest of my visit. I sat in on several classes, mostly middle school ones but also a few high school one, too. I was blown away by how similar the students at ECA were to my own students at BFA. Aside from the language differences, they were almost the same kids. If I were to close my eyes and just listen to the conversations, I would have thought I was just sitting in my classroom in Germany. It was really neat for me to see firsthand how another international Christian school operates.

As you might remember from this post, I have been entertaining the thought of teaching at ECA during my totalization year. I asked you to pray for God to guide my thoughts and conversations while in Madrid, and for wisdom in how to respond if a job offer was made. Well, I am excited to share with you that during my visit, I was offered an invitation to teach in the middle school next year! I've spent the weeks since my visit thinking and praying about whether to accept, and within the last week several things have fallen into place that have affirmed for me that I should accept.

So now I begin the process of seeking approval for this transition from my mission, TeachBeyond. There are a lot of bases to cover before I can truly announce anything officially, but it's important for you to know where things stand right now and where they are (hopefully) heading. In other words, I am taking intentional steps toward spending next year teaching in Madrid, but it is not a done deal yet. I am simply continuing to say "Yes" to God until he closes this door.

Right now I'd ask your prayers in these specific ways:
- Official approval from TeachBeyond
- Spanish visa application (must be approved four months in advance and is very detailed!)
- That I can still be fully present and focused on my current role at BFA
- That God would clearly and firmly close this door if he doesn't want me in Madrid

Serving at ECA would be very similar to being at BFA in that it is also not a paid position, and everyone on staff raises support to be there. I'll be sending out more details in the weeks and months to come, but for now I'd like to ask you all to consider how you might join me in this next chapter of serving the kids at ECA. I'll be looking for new monthly supporters to join the team and praying that many of my current supporters will choose to stay on for this next year.

Lugano 2013

"Sono Libero!"

As their voices echoed off the surrounding mountains, I looked around at twenty-four smiling faces. They'd made it. After a whole year of eighth grade, of anticipating and planning and preparing and waiting, they'd made it to Lugano.

The week flew by in the blink of an eye. During those four days spent on the idyllic Lake Lugano bonds were strengthened, laughter was shared, and memories were made that will last these students a life time. It was a time to challenge the students physically, spiritually, socially, and academically, and everyone grew at least a little bit.

With this being my fourth year on the trip and the second year leading, it was easy to look past the joys of each new moment as the students experienced them. I found myself struggling to let go of the schedules, the headcounts, and the details and take in each day through the eyes of the students.

Through their eyes I saw magically epic castles in Bellinzona, took in breathtakingly beautiful scenery, felt my legs burn on the hike down Mount San Salvatore, let the wind whip through my hair as we rode the ferry across Lake Lugano, got a headache trying to draw the topographic map for Miss Bertschi's class, jumped into the freezing lake as often as possible, laughed until my stomach hurt, and was challenged to take my walk with the Lord to a deeper level.

Here are just a few highlights from the week. Thank you so much for the role YOU have played in allowing me to give this experience to the students here at BFA. I couldn't do this without you!