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!!

BFA Work Weeks

Every summer each BFA staff member is required to serve two work weeks. Because this is my first summer NOT spent support raising, it is the first time I've actually been able to fulfill my work week requirements. So, for the last two weeks my friend and colleague Katrina and I have been completing various maintenance jobs out at the middle school.

My first project was designed especially for me: I got to organize all of our supply cabinets! Some people hate organizing, but I love it. Katrina was especially grateful for my work on her social studies cabinet.

Another huge task we tackled was to weed our courtyard, where the students hang out and each lunch every day, as well as have their PE classes. In the two months since school let out, the courtyard has grown into a literal carpet of weeds! We both enjoyed weeding because it was so easy to see our progress, which of course we documented over the course of the two weeks. This first picture doesn't really do it justice, but if you look in the background of some of the pictures further down you can see just how bad it was in some spots! We managed to finish half of the courtyard, so the rest will be finished either by other middle school teachers serving their work weeks, or during our all-staff work day right before classes begin.

Some of the other jobs we finished included assembling bookshelves, cabinets, and computer chairs, defrosting and cleaning out the freezers and refrigerators, vacuuming, and carpet shampooing!

Isn't it beautiful? Katrina did a fabulous job!

A fleet of stools ready for service!

Our computer lab is ready for a great year!

We are now just a few weeks away from the beginning of the new school year, which is both exciting and scary! Please be in prayer for our new staff members, many of whom are already here and will begin their German classes on Monday, and others who are still in North America raising support to get here. 

hello Monday

Hello Monday. You are the first Monday of the 2013 school year and aside from making me scrape my windshield this morning, you have been kind to me!

Hello strange cravings for healthy food. You are something I've never experienced before. You are the reason I have eaten a huge salad every day since Wednesday and why this weekend I bought brand new colorful plastic boxes for packing healthy lunches.

Hello Freiburg marathon. I signed up to run in you with my friends, but don't get too excited. I won't be running you in your entirety, I will run a 14K leg of a team relay marathon. Oddly enough, my biggest fear right now is not running the actual race, but of ruining my perfect toenails during the training process.

Hello new winter tires. I had so much fun going to the shop this weekend with our head maintenance guy Kurt. He showed me how to grease you up, mount you to my old rims, balance you, and reattach you to my car. I feel much safer driving around on slippery roads now that you're in my life.

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?

five things friday: falling asleep

SO. I fully intended to publish this post on Friday but the day was insanely busy with last minute Lugano prep, and by the time I sat down at home to write it, I literally fell asleep on my computer.

*****

As you may or may not know, I'm leaving on Monday for a four-day trip with my eighth graders. I'm freaking out because this is the first time I have been the leader of the trip... so in the spirit of trying to avoid the freakout, here are five completely random things that are on my mind right now.

{1}

This dad is pretty dang awesome. He and his kids have figured out that Bohemian Rhapsody is just long enough for their ride to school so they listen to it each morning.  I hope someday I get to marry a guy who does awesome things like this with our kids.

{2}

source

I'm not totally in love with this gingham nail thingy, but I am intrigued by this tutorial, which involves painting Scotch tape, letting it try, then cutting it into stripes or other shapes. Stick to your nails, give it a swipe of topcoat, and voila, homemade nail stickers. I really want to try it, but here in Germany true Scotch tape isn't available so it may have to wait until I'm in America this summer.

{3}

pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk bschk pv bschk bschk pv kkkkkkkkkk bschk bschk bschk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk bschk pv bschk bschk pv kkkkkkkkkk bschk bschk bschk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk bschk pv bschk bschk pv kkkkkkkkkk bschk bschk bschk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk bschk pv bschk bschk pv kkkkkkkkkk bschk bschk bschk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk pv zk bschk pv zk pv bschk zk bschk pv bschk bschk pv kkkkkkkkkk bschk bschk bschk

No, that's not a giant typo. This week a former student of mine posted this gibberish on Facebook with the following instructions: Copy and paste into Google translate, and set it to translate from German to English. Then on the German side, click the audio button to listen. Just go do it. Now.

{4}

The epic spirit day that was this week. I talk about my students alot but I don't often mention how blessed I am to work with this incredibly talented and God-fearing team of women at the middle school. This isn't the whole middle school staff, and we do actually have a few men on staff, but these ladies are such a joy to work with and I'm so thankful for the team God assembled for our first year at the new middle school campus!

{5}

EEK! We leave on Monday morning for Lugano and I still can't shake the feeling that I'm forgetting something devastatingly huge. Everything is ready, except my suitcase of course. Lugano, here we come!!

coffee cupdate: in which I pour out my heart

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

I would probably lament the fact that May is one week away and we are stuck in a cold rainy stretch that just makes me want to sleep. Then I'd probably open up my planner to show you just how full the next few weeks will be and point out that I'm flying back to America on June 5th.

I'd name all the things that need to get done before then and confess that the upcoming weeks (and months!) are somewhat panic inducing, and that I don't foresee feeling calm and settled until school begins again in September.

I'd admit that I feel most at peace and when I am in full-on teacher mode: researching, organizing, planning and preparing lessons, teaching my students, engaging in their day-to-day lives, and doing what I was made to do... but that lately more often than not, the extra work necessary for me to be here fulfilling my life's calling has put knots in my stomach and kept me awake at night.

I'd tell you that I am looking at some scary big needs for the upcoming school year including a German tax bill for four years of residency, and that I wonder how God will provide. Together we might brainstorm ways for me to make new connections and gather new supporters, and we'd dream about all the possible ways God could work and provide this summer, knowing full well that His ways are mysterious and we will never be able to predict what He can do!

I'd wonder aloud if this summer will be like last summer, when six regular financial supporters had to withdraw their support within weeks of each other.

After confessing my doubts I would recall what a privilege it has been to partner with countless friends and family members who can't go overseas and do what I do, and instead "serve vicariously" through me. I would recount the many ways God has surprised me and done things for me that I never could have done on my own, so that I might serve the students of BFA and make His name known among the nations.

What would you tell me?

coffee cupdate

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

I would most likely shake my head in disbelief as I tell you that the third quarter ended today! I would groan a little telling you that I'm not looking forward to writing comments for the report cards because a few parents have taken offense at comments I gave last quarter and let me know by writing me angry emails. But then I would remember that parents like these are the exception, and tell you again what a privilege it is to serve at BFA.

I would definitely take a huge sip of coffee and tell you how thankful I am for caffeine. I would shamefully admit that I haven't gone to bed before midnight in almost two weeks and it's starting to wear on me! I might recount how full and long my days have been, and predict that things have no sign of tapering off anytime soon. I would no doubt declare how much I truly love what I'm doing and tell you how I'm trying to savor every last minute with my students, but at the same time am very much looking forward to Spring Break and the rest it promises.

I would probably share with you some of the highlights from the BFA high school retreat, which I attended for the very first time this past weekend with my freshman small group. I might show you this video, which I heard for the first time at retreat and has become my new favorite song. I'd confess that lately I have been doubting choices I've made and allowing Satan to play the "what if" game and feed me lies, but that I am clinging to this new reminder of God's faithfulness and excited to see what the next few years will hold for me.

By this point I would remember how tired I am and our conversation might begin to wind down. I'd ask you what you've been up to and how you're spending your days. I'd ask you what you're looking forward to this week and I'd ask what God has been teaching you lately. What would you say?

thankful thursday

This week I'm thankful for:

• Skype + encouraging conversations with friends
• A short week
• Restful sleep
• Laughter
• Warm weather and sunshine
• My 8th graders and their awesome sense of humor (read this post). Yesterday they said "Good morning, Miss Bertschi" in twelve different languages. TWELVE!!

8th graders working on a mineral identification lab

a coffee cupdate

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

I'd probably start by bemoaning the fact that we don't have enough three-day weekends, and wish that BFA would look into implementing a four-day school week. We can dream, right?

I'd probably tell you that I am 100% in love with my 8th grade class. I'd explain that this is the first class I've had for all three years of middle school, and I'm already getting teary-eyed thinking about saying goodbye to them. I'd tell you how excited I am to take them to Lugano in a few months, and how proud I am of the progress some of them have made since 6th grade. I'd laugh as I explain that right now, they're doing this thing when class begins and when I greet them with, "Good morning, everyone!" they respond sing-songy unison, "Good morning Miss Bertschi!"

I'd probably tell you that I'm struggling with my 7th grade class. I'd explain how many of them have become complacent and lazy - in their studies, in their homework, and in their classroom behavior. I'd tell you how everyday no less than ten students ask me what time class starts, when they are all standing inches away from the schedule that has been hanging on the wall since the first day of school. I'd shake my head in disbelief as I explain how just today this exact scenario unfolded and when I replied with, "Class starts at the same time it has always started. Look at the schedule," the questioning student retorted, "I'm too lazy to look at the stupid schedule!" ... And then I'd tell you how I'm embarassed with the way I snapped back, "And that's exactly why I'm not answering your question!"

At this point in our conversation I would probably heave a huge sigh and admit how much I dread going to 5th period these days. I would tell you how many different learning styles and needs are present in my 6th grade math class and how much of a challenge they have been to teach. I would admit to you that there have been brief glimpses of hope here and there, but that most days I leave that class feeling defeated and discouraged. I would wonder out loud if I have unleashed a beast by rewarding good quiz grades, because now they won't do anything with real effort unless a reward is promised. I would tell you how today I literally wanted to throw a bucket of water on them because I was doing everything I could think of to get a response from them, and they just stared at me...or stared out the window.

I would then probably perk up as I tell you how much I'm enjoying teaching my media communications class the second time around. I would explain how we refined the course description to weed out the kids looking for a "goof-off" class, and that only five kids signed up. I'd smile as I recounted how at first I freaked out because three of the five were sixth graders who hardly knew how to save a Word document, but how they have turned out to be quick learners and are three of the most responsible sixth graders. I'd brag about how my students have done the majority of their assignments outside of class, and that they have never missed a deadline, and then shake my head in awe as I told you how, in the same amount of time (one quarter), we will have accomplished twice as much work with half the number of students.

I would most likely mention how much I want to stab my eyes out when I think about going to German class. I'd whine about how confusing German grammar is, and wonder why I'm even bothering to learn this language. Then I'd remember how stupid I feel everytime someone outside of the BFA Bubble speaks to me, and realize that I need to learn the language.

At this point in the conversation, I would realize that I have been blabbing the whole time and be embarassed that I haven't yet asked how you are doing. So I'd ask you, how are you doing? What's new in your life? What have been your highs and lows this week? What's been on your mind?

nothing says "I love you" like cheddar cheese

Valentine's Day is one of those holidays with which I have always had a love/hate relationship. This video might explain it better than I can:

When I was a child it involved about decorating a paper sack, handing out cutesy cards, and collecting a boatload of Conversation Hearts. Love.

During my teenage years it brought Candy-Grams from secret admirers and the Sadie Hawkins dance, which I only attended once during my four years of high school, with the biggest dirtbag I've ever had the privilege of dating. Hate.

In college, it brought not-date-dates to Argo Tea with fellow Singles-Awareness-Day activist, Drew. Love. It also brought Crush Cans, the grown-up version of a CandyGram, in which various flavors corresponded with increasing levels of love: from Orange (Just Friends) to Cherry (True Love) to the Monster energy drink (I'm Stalking You). Hate.

As an elementary teacher, my Valentine's booty involved handmade cards, treats, and goodies from my sweet little students. Love. That year, is also involved a roadtrip to Iowa and partaking in the wedded bliss of friends Heidi and Jeff (LOVE) and a fender bender (HATE).

Now, as a middle school teacher, it has involved tremendous amounts of glee as I watch my students navigate the awkward waters of puppy love. At BFA it is tradition for a girl to make a paper heart and attach some sweets to it, then wear it to school around her neck. If a girl speaks to a boy during the school day, she must give him her "heart." It becomes a competition to see which girl can withstand the temptation to talk and which boy can collect the most hearts or crack the most stone-lipped lady.

This year, today, I have found myself so filled with love that I may have gained five pounds. I will say it again - we middle school teachers are blessed to have the most active, encouraging, and supportive parent community I have ever had the privilege of serving. We were greeted in the staff room this morning by bouquets of flowers, a plate of pink and white frosted cookies, and a poem written by the parents.

Later in the day, homemade fudge found it's way into the staff room and we nibbled on heavenly-rich dark chocolate and chocolate peanut butter varieties while watching our waistlines expand right before our eyes.

At lunch, TeachBeyond brought chocolate cupcakes for all TB staff and staff kids.

During lunch we teachers were each gifted with a beautiful scarf from Hong Kong (souvenirs from our principal's husband's recent travels) and a small block of cheddar cheese imported from Ireland. You're probably thinking, "Cheese? Who gives cheese for Valentine's Day??" What you don't know is that cheddar cheese is very rare here in Germany - the main flavors available to us are gouda and emmentaler. All the cheese is white here. So a small taste of home, in cheese form, was an incredibly meaningful and very well received gift!

So. Valentine's Day 2012.
Gained five pounds in one day: Hate.
Filled to the brim with encouragement and support from parents and teachers: Love.

After all, nothing says "I love you" like cheddar cheese.

one of these things is not like the other

Today was a long day. As predicted, I spent a lot of time sitting and listening to presenters, but the good news is I picked the right sessions! With the exception of one, all of the sessions turned out to be very relevant and practical for my role in teaching science and also applicable to the middle school. One of our presenters showed us this video, but thankfully none of my sessions were like this!! (If you're reading this in an email, go to my blog to view the clip)

train-ing

Today was a day of travel. Thankfully I had a group of nine others from BFA to accompany me so it wasn't as stressful as some of my past train experiences. We left Kandern at the ungodly hour of 6:00 am to take a morning train out of Basel, Switzerland... a total of three trains brought us to the hotel where our conference will be held. I have to hand it to the Germans - they have developed a railway system that is efficient and comfortable, at really reasonable prices.

tour the new middle school

I know I promised a tour of the new school, like, three days ago but YouTube has not been very nice to me lately. Let's start with a walkthrough of the first floor.