Ending the Year

After a rather long absence in writing, I am back! The last few months have absolutely flown by and I hardly know where to begin. I'll try and hit a few of the highlights.

Warm Weather.

So this isn't really a specific event but it was definitely a highlight of spring. We had a rather cool, gray May but June came with lots of sunshine and we took full advantage of this by spending lots of time outside playing soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, badminton, and just relaxing on the front steps of the dorm. Here are a few pictures from an impromptu photo shoot one warm evening.

Beka and Caroline. They are roommates and they are wonderful.

Becca and Hannah Jo showing off the spring flowers around our dorm.

Caroline and Ami rolling in the flowers.

And just a group of us being ridiculous, as usual.

Junior Senior Banquet.

One of the traditions at BFA is JSB, our version of prom. The girls come straight home after school on Friday and we rush around to get their hair up, makeup done, dresses on, and get them out the door in a couple hours. The juniors and seniors looked gorgeous and it was so fun helping them get ready. Soyoung, my fellow RA, went with the upperclassman to JSB and I stayed back with the underclassman. We had dinner at the dorm and then got dressed up and went out for ice cream at McDonald's. Maybe not quite as exciting as JSB but we had a great time.

Here are the upperclassman and Soyoung at JSB. I must say, I live in a dorm with beautiful girls.

And here is a smattering of pictures of our underclassman night on the town.

Here we are all ready to get going.

On our way to McDonald's we decided to watch some of the sunset from a hill near another dorm. An intense photo shoot resulted. This is Alesia frolicking through the fields. The picture is a little blurry but I kind of like it that way.

I think we all have a future in modeling.

And this is my beautiful Parisian, Claire.

Don't be fooled by their innocent faces. These girls are vicious. Beka managed to catch them attacking me.

And this is all of us together. I love these girls and it is a joy to spend time with them.

Soccer.

As I've mentioned before, I had the privilege of helping coach our girls soccer team this year. It was a great learning experience for me and a fun way to meet new girls. We travelled to Ramstien, Germany for tournament and made it to quarterfinals. The girls went into overtime in their last game and ended up losing 0-1 to the team who won the entire tournament. So while we didn't make it as far was we would have liked, the girls played very well. This is me at tournament french braiding hair. Not only did I get to practice coaching this year, I also perfected my braiding skills.

And this is a picture taken by Becca, a senior in my dorm, at one of our games played in the town where our dorm is. It was in May but it felt like March. The day was drizzly and foggy. If you look to the left of the umbrella you can make out the lines of the field. The fans in the stands often couldn't make out anything past half field. This definitely made for interesting games.

Graduation.

On June 11th my dear seniors walked across the platform and received their high school diplomas. It was fun celebrating with them and getting excited but graduation at BFA is very different from any other grad I have been to. The director of our school brought the students up individually and said a few words about who they are, what strengths our community has seen in them, and gave them each a Bible verse. Each of the students, in return, gave a tie to the director. Each year the seniors give something to the director as a gift. I don't think the director will ever need to buy another tie. All in all, the grad was very personal and meaningful. After grad, everyone goes outside and for many of the kids, they say their final goodbyes. When I graduated from high school, I still had a summer in front of me to spend final moments with my friends and then probably see them again at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and maybe a few times in between. For this class, the students are headed for colleges all over the United States and even the world. Because of this, BFA's grad was the most emotional grad I have even been to.

Here is a picture of the class of 2010.

And this is Anna, one of Blauen's seniors, receiving her diploma.

And that is about it. I spent the day the girls left cleaning up and then we had the dorm checked out. The next few days were full of cleaning and packing up my own room and spending some time with friends. Then I took off.

Now I am back in the States and would love to see you. I am trying to figure out how to connect with everyone and have meaningful time with people here. I would appreciate prayer as I try and not only rest and get ready for a new year, but also spend quality time with people that I love here. Also, I would appreciate prayer for a little more monetary support. I am in need of a new computer, my current laptop is five years old and barely hanging on, and I don't have enough support to purchase a new one at the moment. Pray specifically that I would find the right computer, at the right price, and have the money to purchase it.

That's about all for now. If you are in Bluffton area, I am presenting a brief update on life in Blauen at St. John this Sunday during the sunday school hour. I would love to catch up with you more there.

Peace.