I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3 ESV
A number of events have happened in the past several weeks that I would like to share with you. Pictured above was our last "Gathering," a monthly dinner for young adults hosted by the Garitys (Jenny back left and Kym back second from right). They have been opening their home and cooking dinner for people since before I arrived. They are moving back to the States this summer after many years of service in Germany and Europe. The meals were a blessing of good food and great fellowship each month. In my small group, Libby and I invited one of the moms to come and share with the group. It was wonderful to have her and the girls enjoyed her talk and being able to ask their honest questions about being a wife and mother. This past week we had our small group sleepover and it was a good time of fellowship, painting nails, a movie, and a little sleep. We have two more times with our girls before the end of the year. Next week we will open the time up for them to asks us anything they want and then share our answers with them. For our last week small group, we are going to a place with bounce houses and trampolines. I am happy that all of our girls are planning on returning next year. I have been able to enjoy a few staff appreciation dinners as the end of the year approaches. There was one for the whole school and I was recognized for five years of services at BFA (two as an RA from '06-'08 and the past three in resource). They recognized staff for their milestone years of services and took time to say good-bye to those who will be leaving. I hosted a dinner to say thank you to Amy and James, the other two resource teachers. Sadly, neither of them will continue with BFA next year. Finally, I attended the dinner for academic support staff, including Resource, Discovery, and ELL staff. Each supervisor presented awards to their team and Christine, our department head, presented fun awards to the supervisors. I presented James with the "Big Picture" award as he is always looking at the whole child or whole situation, Amy was given the "Jump-Right-In" award for joining us mid-year and quickly becoming a vital and encouraging part of our team, and I received the "Light Up the Room" award from Christine.
Missionary Focus...
Over the past three years, I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with Johanna Taylor, a music teacher at Black Forest Academy. This summer Johanna will return home to Vermont to pursue what God has next for her. Johanna has faithfully taught in the music department for the past four years. She teaches music lessons throughout the day and directs the middle school orchestra after school. Johanna is dedicated to her students in shaping them as musicians and as individuals. One of the blessings of Johanna's friendship has been our ability to share deeper struggles with one another, share advice, and pray for one another. She has served the Lord well here in reflecting his love to her students, staff, and the friends around her. She will be truly missed, but I am confident God has good plans for her next journey in life. Please pray for Johanna as she returns to living in the States and all the matters of transitioning out of overseas ministry. And for those of us here who will miss her next year.
Please pray...
For God to continue to teach me to rely on Him in all circumstances.
For opportunities to have spiritual conversations with my students.
For continued physical healing and strength.
For time to spend with friends before saying good-bye at the end of the year.
For those in this community who are preparing to transition to a new home over the summer (both staff and students).
If you would like to make a monthly pledge or other financial contribution at this time please click on this link or enter the web address: give.teachbeyond.org/support/rebecca-swanson/ You can designate giving for Rebecca Swanson or account number 40335.
Feel free to check out more pictures on my Gallery page.