Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
The end of the 2019-2020 school year came much more quietly this year. The usual interactions among staff between the end of finals and graduation were not there. Graduation was very different with the students who were still on campus being allowed to invite only one guest and having the other part of the graduating class spread out around the world. The ceremony was live-streamed to allow family members, friends, and teachers to watch from afar.
I was especially celebrating the fact that the two juniors, with whom I work, were able to get all their work in by the end of the year and pass their classes! After an initial nose dive with the move to remote learning, they were able to pull it back together. One student, whose strength is English, had a few weeks of uncertainty about whether she would make it into the senior AP English class, but she did! I am proud of the effort I saw in these two students as they completed the year. I am looking forward to working with them again next year.
While I continue to see my students grow in their academics and maturity, I am praying that they would also grow spiritually. I had a good conversation with one student as she asked about differences in denominations. She mentioned her discomfort with the term "Christian" as well as the hurt her family has encountered from members of the "church". We discussed this and talked about sin and sinners within the church, but I hope that she also comes to more fully understand God's true grace and redemption for sinners.
Wedding & Summer Update
I'm getting married next weekend! It is exciting, and yes, somewhat stressful right now. I think I have most of the details in place. There is still a lot to organize, even for our small group of family and friends. On Friday, we will have our legal ceremony and in the evening we will celebrate with a few friends from BFA. Then on Saturday, we will have our church ceremony and celebrate with Christian's family. Sadly, my family is only able to watch from afar, but they have been so loving and supportive in this time. I am so thankful for the way God brought Christian into my life, and I am looking forward to serving alongside him in our marriage. You are welcome to watch our church ceremony on June, 20th at 3 pm in Germany, which is 6 am in California. I will be sending out the link on Wednesday or Thursday, but if you miss it, the service will be live-streamed on YouTube through our church's channel: Neuenburg International Church.
This summer Christian and I will not be coming to the States due to the difficulty of traveling in the COVID crisis. The need for a 14 day quarantine on both ends of international travel make it impossible!. We hope to be able to come in the summer of 2021. So we changed our honeymoon plans from a road trip along the California Coast to hiking in the Bavarian Alps.
After the wedding we will live in my apartment in Kandern as we look for a new place. Since I have received a few questions about wedding gifts from some friends and supporters in the States, I wanted to let you all know that we don't have a wedding registry, as we have all our basic household items. We are happy to have your prayers and hope to celebrate with you when we are able to travel to the States. For those of you who would still like to give something. . . in the future we will need to buy a bed and possibly some other larger appliances. If you would like to contribute towards these things, you can mail a check to my mom. Please write the check to Rebecca Swanson and mail it to Jeanie Swanson, 390 Panorama Dr., Sedona, AZ 86336. If you would like to send a card, you can mail it to my mom or to Christian & Rebecca Buergin, Hammersteiner Str. 49, 79400 Kandern, Germany. (Please do not send any checks to Germany.)
One final note about my name: I will be working to change my last name in the States, but it may take some time since I am overseas. Please continue to send support for Rebecca Swanson, and I will let you know once the change has been officially made.
Please Pray...
Praise God for a good end of the school year (under the circumstances).
Praise God that Christian and I are getting married!
For a good start to our marriage
For the travel of students and staff over the summer
For the arrival of new staff over the summer (they will have to spend their first two weeks in quarantine)
For the administration to have wisdom as they plan the start of next school year
Blessings,
Becky
[email protected]
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