Thoughts from a TCK

MK Politics

2012-02-09T13:59:00.003-06:00

In History, we've entered the Middle Ages and were wrapping up Charlemagne this morning. Because we live in the Rhineland, I attempted to make a personal connection for some of the students and brought up the whole Alsace-Lorraine problem and the fact that it has switched hands between France and Germany many, many times in the last 1,200 years. It all goes back to Charlemagne's three grandsons who inherited his land. One of those heirs ruled what is now basically France, one ruled what is mostly today's Germany, and the third was squished in the middle and hence was quickly squeezed out by the other two.

So I asked them with a sly smile: Who do you think the Alsace region should belong to?

BS: Germany!!!

SW: No, France!!!

SK: Korea!!!

SK is on the right. Rest assured: this was a demonstration only.

Spirit Day: Time Warp

2012-02-06T15:09:00.004-06:00

Best. Spirit. Day. Ever. A History one!!!!!!!!! (I'm such a nerdy teacher.) I went as a 19th century gypsy, and I shared the office this day with a 50's poodle-skirt wearing teenager and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Priorities

2012-01-22T14:52:00.003-06:00

I often joke that all my students will become historians and archaeologists some day. Usually they just humor me and chuckle patronizingly. Not this time.

Me: Yes, that is just another one of those mysteries you'll have to solve one day. And then I'll be able to brag to future students - 'DP figured out the answer to that!'

I threw DP a quick smile who looked back at me with a sad expression on her face.

DP: But, Miss Custer, there's no money in archaeology.

Nose Kisses

2011-12-30T14:40:00.007-06:00

In the days of my youth, my parents had quite a big collection of Peanuts comic books. I'm pretty sure I devoured every single one to the point that I knew many storylines by heart. One of my favorites was a series that included a butterfly landing on Peppermint Patty's nose. She immediately jumps to the conclusion that there's a meaning behind this, and after much guesswork and analyzation, she decides it was an angel from heaven, sent to give her a kiss. For some reason, I always liked that image, that God might take the time to lean down from heaven and choose me specifically to spend a kiss on.

Nine years ago, I was sitting on a plan leaving Japan, and I was just so incredibly disappointed that our last drive through the country had not afforded me a sighting of Mount Fuji. I'd been told the airport was near it, but skyscrapers and smog had blocked my view. "Oh well," I thought, "guess I'll just have to come back." And that is when my seatmate elbowed me, pointed out her window, and said, "Look! Mount Fuji." It was perfectly illuminated against the backdrop of a rising sun, sticking out above the clouds. And it was my first named Nose Kiss from God.

(Note: none of these pictures are my own, but they're closest to the views I had.)

In 2007, I got to spend a week in Australia for my brother's wedding. The lack of vacation time and major distances between cities Down Under meant from the start that I would not be able to visit Sydney. I had to resign myself to that fact that the Opera House and Harbor would have to be saved for a future visit, even though my plan had a short lay-over in this famous city. Once again, just after take-off, I happened to glance out my left window (from the row I had all to myself), and there it was: the Sydney Opera House, perched on the edge of the harbor and sparkling in all its glory. My second Nose Kiss.

When I arrived in Quito, Ecuador for six months, I was a little disconcerted to find out my new home was perched on the edge of a volcano. But everyone was quick to assure me that there were many more dangerous volcanoes in other parts of the country, and they proceeded to name a few. One recurring name was Mount Chimborazo, supposedly one of the most perfectly cylindrical-cone shaped volcanoes you've ever seen and "technically" the highest point on the planet if one actually measured distance from the core of the earth and not sea level. (Chimborazo is almost exactly on the equator.) I spent the next six months trying to get a glimpse of this mountain on my various travels up and down the country. Alas, the clouds obscured my attempts every time without fail. My last day was March 18, 2009, and as my plane turned north to return me to Minnesota, you guessed it, it took us right past the most perfect, the most stunning, and the most clear peak of Mount Chimborazo. God and I shared a sweet moment of tears and thanks. My third Nose Kiss.

I was feeling pretty special. Three nose kisses on three continents, no less. It isn't as if I had been keeping a list of things I wanted to see in the world and hoped to spot from a plane window, but on my long flight across the Atlantic two weeks ago, God gave me my fourth Nose Kiss. I've only visited New York City once and had all of 2 hours, which barely afforded me time to see Central Park and run down to Times Square. I had flown in and out of Newark several times before, but I guess the seat and direction has just never been so perfect. This time, the world aligned, and I got to stare at the elusive Statue of Liberty for a full five minutes before our plane descended too low and hit the tarmac. But it was enough time for me to pour out my thanks and appreciation once again.

I realize these stories may seem silly to many and not all that special, but I'm amazed at the way God knows the path to my heart: in tender moments we share seeing the world together. I think he likes me. :-)

Update in Pictures

2011-12-13T03:31:00.004-06:00

I'm shamelessly copying my friend, Kristin, and just going to give you an update from classes to Thanksgiving/Christmas parties and Christmas markets to life in general through pictures. Enjoy! :-)

Overheard in the Middle School

2011-12-04T10:48:00.002-06:00

On Thursday

MB: How did the Soviet Union even come to be.

Me: Great question. We're actually going to talk about that on Monday.

On Friday, with guest speaker.

Guest Speaker: Any other questions about Russia?

MB: Can you tell me how the Soviet Union came to be. Miss Custer didn't know.

HW: I'd like to thank KS for all her contri-butations to my speech.

Colleague: Hey, Katrina, are you teaching the 6th graders that brains come out noses?!

Me: Yes, in the mummification process in Ancient Egypt.

Colleague: ... oh. They failed to mention that detail.

A Troubled Day ... to His Glory

2011-11-22T15:15:00.005-06:00

Tuesdays in Homeroom are "Troubled Tuesdays." It's the day when the kids can spill out any of the things that are troubling them, we dump it all on the board, and then we pray about them coated in the trust that God knows our troubles intimately and cares about them. Today was no exception, and boy was it a day that would need to be bathed in prayer.

I usually arrive at school around 8:15. By about 8:20 today, I could tell things were setting up to be a pretty crummy day. By 8:55 it was even more definite. Several mean e-mails, two poor tests, and a lunch detention later, I was dropping with hunched shoulders into my chair and just about to pop in the headphones to escape when I heard a small voice behind me, "Miss Custer?"

It was one of my 8th grade girls. Amidst the craziness of the staff room, she came straight up to me, got really close, and asked in all seriousness if we could talk somewhere in private. My heart went straight into my throat, and I have to admit my first thought was, "Uh-oh, now what?" But I followed her out into the hallway and then into the privacy of an unused room, and that's when she opened up. She wanted prayer. She said some really nice things about trusting me and just being in a place right now where she was asking all kinds of questions about God - is he really there for her? Does he care? What are his intentions with her life? Can he be trusted? And then she asked again, "Will you pray for me?"

What a blessing to be able to approach the throne with her, not as a student but as my sister. I wasn't sure about the right words, but I prayed with and for her. And when she left to go back to class, I had trouble fighting back the tears. More than anything, I was completely humbled and frightened - humbled that she had allowed me that privilege, and frightened because I was reminded of the scary responsibility I have here to represent Jesus to these kids. The thought that played over and over in my head the rest of the day was this one: "If they're looking at us, who do they see us looking at?" I sincerely hope they see me gazing intently and forever into the face of my Savior!

Think Seuss

2011-11-19T13:48:00.003-06:00

BFA's music department was feeling especially ambitious this year and decided to put on our first-ever Musical. It was to be a joint venture of the High School and Middle School and include a live orchestra, directed by my friend, Jill Musick. The chosen play was Seussical, and it was an exciting day in the Middle School when our "young ones" nabbed 2 of the main parts. Over all, the cast included some 20 odd Middle Schoolers, 10 more worked on the crew and on the set-building team, and 1 was even in the orchestra. Even among the High Schoolers, I was thrilled to see many of my former students. And THEY ROCKED IT! I can't begin to describe how impressed I was with all of their performances. If I'd been wearing a button shirt, they would've all been on the floor. :-)

MC, representing the Middle School in the orchestra

The center bird is our 7th grader, AM.

I was so proud of my small group freshmen, HH and EE. EE played the General!

Another former student: BD as Horton the Elephant.

Cat in the Hat, Bird, and Jojo (AD, AM, and CC)

11/11/11 at 11:11:11

2011-11-13T02:31:00.002-06:00

My kids begged me to have a second of silence on Nov. 11 when we hit exactly 11:11 and 11 seconds. They're so funny!

Pictures from the AMAZING Fall Musical about to come.

Fall Party 2011

2011-10-30T02:51:00.003-05:00

Fall Party is our best dress-up party of the year. My German neighbors thought it was a bit strange to see Little Bo Peep standing at the end of the driveway in a hoop skirt in October, but they're pretty much used to the strangeness that is BFA by now.

The M.S. party theme this year was "Movies." The staff went as the characters from Toy Story, hence my costume of Bo Peep (sadly, this is the only picture I have. See facebook for more):

The kids are as creative as always. Below you'll find characters from High School Musical, the old man from Up, Despicable Me (the minions were super funny), Remember the Titans, and Alice in Wonderland.

When TCK's get a hold of idioms

2011-10-12T14:32:00.002-05:00

"Fall has sprung!"

"And then, right out of the bat, ..."

"I've been trying to get him to do that all morning, but it's like pushing teeth."

Dr. Finkelbaumer

2011-10-08T01:30:00.003-05:00

My predecessor in the Middle School social studies position basically gave me all his materials and powerpoints when he left the Middle School two years ago. One of them was this great lecture for the 6th grade on what some of the major gaps are in Evolution. Because he was still around last year, I had him come guest lecture on that day, and the kids ate it up, even though the content was at a very high level for them.

This year, he was gone, but I really wanted the kids to have this lecture and not just from me. I knew with it begin somewhat difficult material, they would zone out after 20 minutes. So, on Tuesday, I announced that we would be having a very special guest speaker on Thursday: Dr. Finkelbaumer. The class began peppering me with questions about her - what she looked like, what her first name was, if she was a Christian, etc - and they were genuinely excited to have this science Dr. come to their class.

By Thursday morning, I felt pretty guilty because truthfully there was no Dr. Finkelbaumer. As class started, they looked around frantically. "Where was she?!" I slipped into the closet to "call her," and then proceeded to make a costume change and put on some nerd glasses my friend owns. I hiked up my skirt to my chest, put on mismatched shoes, tied up my hair in a bun, and emerged as made-up Dr. Doris Finkelbaumer. I wish I had taped their reactions. Some snorted, one put his head in his hands and shook it, and the rest looked seriously disappointed while I thought, "What kind of a horrible, lying teacher am I!?"

Anyway, the basic idea for the plan worked. 90% of the class stayed with me as I lectured about Darwinian gaps and all these new evolutionary concepts, and they dutifully took their notes and asked tons of questions as we went. They did also spend the rest of the day accusing me, Ms. Custer, of impersonating the famous Dr. Finkelbaumer, and I had to defend the crazy scientific possibility that we could look so much alike! :-)

If she ever comes to class again, I'll take a picture next time.

Dorm Birthdays

2011-09-26T06:59:00.002-05:00

Dorm subbing is a regular part of BFA life. Since the dorm parents are off every Thursday and the RA's every Monday, they need teachers and other staff to come help out and be an adult presence on those nights. In addition, each dorm parent couple and RA gets 3-4 weekends off per semester, so once again, they rely on outside adults to ensure that things run smoothly and the food makes it on the table.

Yesterday, I helped out at the Liel dorm, a high school girls dorm with 13 students. It also happened to be a girl's birthday, and Liel has an interesting tradition. :-) Watch:

Amateur Poetry

2011-09-26T04:21:00.002-05:00

Here a couple more Biblical haikus to have emerged of late:

suff’ring’s whip yields scar

cracked spirit mockery’s tune

glory eternal

(2. Corinthians 4:17)

Gold gifts follow star

Myrrh wrapped in wisdom

Frankincense for rev’rent praise

Silver Betrayal

Injured Slave and Certain Dream

Brotherly Savior

(Joseph, or Jesus)

My Basel 7k

2011-09-12T14:18:00.003-05:00

So, not many of you know, but I talked a whole bunch of people into signing up for a 7k in Basel this weekend. Which of course then meant I was obligated to run it, too. But we had so much fun (apart from the heat wave that took us all by surprise). I've been running every Mon-Wed-Fri with two Moms in town and have been feeling pretty good lately, so I was pretty pumped come Sunday morning. We successfully navigated our way through the industrious part of Basel, got our numbers and sent our stuff in a huge truck across town to wait for us at the finish line. Here we are still pumped up before the race.

Here we are a little more exhausted after the race. The two women on the far left were my running buddies. During our "training," our best time was somewhere between 48 and 50 minutes (we had conflicting watches), so we were shooting to definitely be better than the 50-minute mark. Somehow, the adrenaline did its thing though, and we all came in just shy of 43 minutes. Hooray for the happy feelings we had!!!
So right now I'm online looking for another race in the near future. Why is this so addicting?!

My wonderful students

2011-08-26T13:44:00.003-05:00

Gawk. Here's reason # 3956105762032 of why I adore Middle Schoolers and the way their minds are working and growing and maturing - both good and goofy.

In 7th grade Geography, we've spent the last two days setting the context for Planet Earth. It is, after all, going to be our subject of study for the year. Part of my goal was for them to see how small Earth is compared to other planets, let alone stars and galaxies and the rest of the universe, so I showed the class part of Louie Giglio's "Indescribable" video here. In our follow-up discussion, I asked the question "What is Earth's purpose? Why did God create it if it's so small and insignificant compared to everything else?" They came up with some good answers about God giving us a place to live and wanting to show up his creativity, etc. I was still trying to prompt them into seeing that all of creation glorifies God when MC raised his hand, and I called on him.

MC: "So, maybe God created the Earth as a home for us, okay. But why did he even create us?"

Me: "Do you mean 'why did he create humans'?"

MC: "Yes, why did he waste his time with us? Especially if he knew many of us would not even believe in him?"

Whoa, 7th graders asking philosophical questions most intellectuals can't even answer. My heart skipped a few beats, and of course my mind began racing for an answer. I chickened out and turned the question back on them.

Me: "Why do you think God created humans?"

AP (timidly): "Maybe he was lonely?"

Me: "Um, ... anybody else have any ideas?"

NR: "Maybe he wanted someone to love him."

Me: "Good, keep the ideas coming?"

Sadly we didn't have enough time to fully unpack it. We did eventually end with God's glory, and I'm planning on reviving the conversation on Monday, but HOW COOL IS MY JOB?!?!?!? Where Middle Schoolers can have spiritual conversations at the drop of a hat?

Bring on the kids

2011-08-21T00:44:00.002-05:00

As of yesterday, my classroom is pretty much ready for the start of the school year. Here's one view of the back where we've set up a "chill area" (since there's no room for an actual student center at the new campus, there are a few such couch areas around the school), and then there's a shot of the front with me and my lovely geography maps. I'm so much more relaxed this year around.

New Middle School

2011-08-18T13:39:00.004-05:00

Here are just some of the pictures of the summer - all the work that went into transforming the old Elementary School into our brand new Middle School! Pictures of the final product to come.

putting together 24 computer lab chairs

Ikea drawers for the teachers

destruction of the rotten playground

out with coat hooks and cubbies - in with lockers

shoveling rocks: by far the greatest summer challenge!!!

setting up book shelves for the library ...

... and then filling them! :-)

A first in 12 years!

2011-08-11T01:26:00.003-05:00

Today I woke up and missed America. Not the people - I've missed them many many many times in the last 2 years - but actually America with all its conveniences, amenities, faults, culture, and food. I really just wanted to hop over to Caribou for a morning jolt followed by a trip to the public library (because both WILL be open all the time). I'd throw all my trash into the same bin and make calls knowing each one isn't going to cost me extra. And maybe I'd stay up till 2 am just so I can go buy my Peanut Butter M&M's at a 24-hour store (one with a Redbox preferably).

Okay, it's not really that bad. My "missing America" only lasted about 10 minutes and then I remembered everything I love about Europe (and the fact that I seemed to only be missing the shallow consumerism aspects, and I don't want my emotions controlled by THAT). Truly, I'm doing great. I think it just hit me that I haven't been away from America this long in one stretch since before I moved there in 2000. Besides, these are good feelings to have 10 days before school starts because it reminds me what my students will be feeling when they leave all their various home countries to come to school in Germany.

Impressions from Camp

2011-08-04T15:21:00.005-05:00

Christian camp in Austria is so different from any camp I've been to in America. For starters, we're usually in some farmer's field, and we set up our own tents, build our own kitchen in the forest, find a spring to tap water from, chop our own firewood, and dig our own outhouses. This year, we had it a little cushy because there were toilets and showers nearby that we were allowed to use. Granted, the water was usually cold, but hey, I actually showered at this camp!

our homemade oven

Cooking over our homemade stove with "dining room" in the background

We were a conglomeration of teens (and leaders) from the Baptist Church, the Calvary Chapel Church (both in Spittal), and 1/3 outsiders, meaning they'd been invited by a friend and had no previous church experience. We spent a lot of time building the camp and doing the daily duties of cooking, gathering water, chopping firewood, etc, plus the regular camp things such as Capture the Flag, roasting s'mores, and playing with electric fences (teenagers!).

broken bridge when we got there

the bridge we built over it

Teaching them Capture the Flag - they LOVED it!

Yes, they did actually play around with an electric fence.

On Wednesday, we packed up our sleeping bags, some clothes, and a bunch of tarps, and we went on a 2-day hike. Wow! On the first day, the complaining really got to me. Of course, the kids' packs were very heavy, and for some of them, hiking for 5 hours was quite the new feat. However, I was more than ready to throw in the towel by the time we got to our overnight spot. The kids all fell to the ground, some in tears, and refused to move. So, we girls cooked them dinner while the guy leaders set up all the tarps, collected firewood, and found fresh water, and then we tucked them all into their sleeping bags. Our evening leader meeting found us all on the verge of tears and in prayer, and I can't begin to describe how beautifully God worked. The kids truly enjoyed the sleeping outside and woke up on Thursday morning entirely new kids. The hike back down was so much more enjoyable, and the hike marked the turning point of the week between complaints and great attitudes. I think we experienced a spiritual victory that night!

Johannes with the map and compass; the kids took turns leading us.

Break time!

Lovely sight on Thursday morning: everyone still sleeping under their tarps.

The most important facet of the week were the spiritual messages. Each day was devoted to a different topic, e.g. How to deal with disappointments, Building healthy friendships, Sexuality and love, Living with one's parents, etc. The disappointment day was especially hilarious because I drove off in a car and came back with McDonald's sacks. However, when they opened them up, they found only an apple and a piece of hard bread. (Don't worry, we fed them real dinner later.) I was also in charge of a tent of four girls, two of whom were non-believers. They were so much fun and asked some really good questions. If you'd like to pray, pray especially for Marie and Julia who were very open to having God in their lives, but no decisions were made this week (that I know of).

McDonald's disappointment

One of my girls: Lisa.

Thanks for reading!

Guilt tripping

2011-07-22T14:08:00.004-05:00

5 reactions that have convinced me to keep my newest phone in my pocket as much as possible.

Reaction #1: A new cell phone, huh? Do your supporters know this?

Reaction #2: Why did you get that one? Everyone knows the old model is better. Plus the newest one is coming out in a few months.

Reaction #3: Looks like the materialism of the world has a hold on you.

Reaction #4: Don't you know that those parts were made by child slave labor in Asia? Children, Katrina. Children.

Reaction #5: Why didn't you get a case? Your phone is sliding all over my lap. You need a case. Oh, and the phone charger. Why don't you have non-stick pads all over your car? That'll help the phone from sliding. Where are all your apps? What kind of a low-grade phone is this?

Biblical Haikus

2011-07-17T06:55:00.006-05:00

Rainy days always set me in a writing/reading mood. And since the tented Polka band across the street won't let me take my planned nap, I've been adding to my growing newest project: Biblical haikus. Sort of. I tend to like the rhythm of 5-5-7 better than the traditional 5-7-5, so I'm not sure what to call these guys. For now, I'm sticking with "Haiku."

It began with an online sermon a couple of weeks ago, and I loved the puns contained in the names of both the hero and the villain. The first haiku just came to me. Since then, my list has been growing, and I'm thinking I'll use them this fall in Homeroom as a fun guessing game. See if you can tell which stories the following three are from (the middle one being the one from the sermon, so all you GCR people have it easy):

Who knew risking all

- in times such as these -

Orphan's crown her people'd save?

Son of my Right Hand

Sword-wielding Leftie

Justice upon fat Cow-King

Leafy shadow's deed
Aside core and seed
Death-pierced heart which nails freed

Games

2011-07-14T02:30:00.003-05:00

This summer has been amazing in that I feel it's been a wonderful balance between work, time for myself, and time with others. I'm getting a lot of sleep, hopeful to be able to store some up for the coming school year. :-) I've gotten to read a whole slew of books on my reading list, taken both long and short hikes with other BFA-ers in town for the summer, and played a ton of games.

Last week Thursday, 9 of my former students came over for a game night. We played Dictionary, Fishbowl, and Spoons and laughed a lot. JH even came up from Zurich, which was impressive. She and KO spent the night upstairs in my guest room.

Then on Saturday, I was invited to a Dominion tournament. Dominion is a fairly new game for me, though I already love it and own my own set now. I only knew a couple of the people at the tournament, which was super fun meeting more young couples, although I was still the youngest, which meant I got to start every round. Yipee! I came in 9th place - ouch - but now that I have my own set, I plan on getting better, so you all should consider yourselves challenged!

This week, I moved in with the E kids for three days while their parents were gone. 9-year-old NE apparently can't get enough of games, and his sisters were more than happy to let me take over the role of his playing partner. In three days, we covered Taboo, Set, Outburst Junior, Dutch Blitz, Speed, Stress, Who Is It, War, Skipbo, and lots of Mario Kart on the Wii. I didn't know that was possible. :-)

My Worth?

2011-07-03T13:13:00.003-05:00

This afternoon as I was mixing and baking up some Patriotic Sugar Cookies, I was listening to KTIS on the radio. (It makes me feel warm and fuzzy, especially the weather and traffic reports. I still recognize all those place names versus the ones mentioned on German radio.) A song came on, and I thought I heard the following line: "... the lie that I am someone worth dying for."

Interesting, I thought, and began pondering what they might mean by that when the chorus came on again, and I realized I'd understood it wrong. The actual line was "Jesus, help me believe that I am someone worth dying for."

I guess I can see what the songwriter is trying to say. Earlier lyrics state, "Am I more than flesh and bone? Am I really something beautiful? ... I'm not just some wandering soul," and I wouldn't even disagree with any of those questions or that statement. I believe Christ's death on the cross carries the underlying message that as humans we are valuable, that we are more than skin over skeleton. I trust that even if I had been the only sinner on earth, God still would have sent his only Son to take my place because that's who He is. And in his working, that gives me worth.

However, asking Jesus to help me believe I am someone worth dying for still strikes me as completely backwards because the truth is: I'm not. I never have been and I never will be. Take me just as I am, and I don't deserve to have anyone lay his life on the line for me, much less the Son of God. I'm beyond unworthy to have him die for me, but he did it anyway. And now it's only because he dares to say I have any worth, only because he speaks those words, that I do. The order of things is crucial here. Not 1. I'm worthy and therefore 2. Christ died, but rather 1. Christ died thereby 2. making me worthy.

My intention is not to criticize this song. I just wanted to say that I almost like my first misunderstanding of it better. "Save me from the lie that I'm someone worth dying for, but remind me of the sacrifice of your Son and the worth this gives me."

Buying myself flowers

2011-06-28T00:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a grueling day, very manly. I shoveled rocks for an hour, then mowed a big lawn for two, and then went back to shoveling rocks, and all of this was in the in 90-degree heat. Sweat was just pouring off me. After work, a bunch of us headed over to the Kandern pool, which was of course wonderful, but I still have to say: lying in a swimsuit still does NOTHING for making me feel pretty and feminine.

So, last night in the grocery store, I bought myself flowers.

It's taken a long time (too long) for me to really be okay with buying myself flowers. They were something you got at special times as a form of recognition (acting in a play, being class president, birthdays, ...), and if they were to come at a time "just because," then they were naturally going to come from a special person (read: a man). I think my reluctance to buy them for myself came from not wanting to usurp that special someone. However, I've slowly begun to realize that waiting just means I'm missing out on years of having fragrant flowers on my kitchen table, and for 3 bucks a bundle, I really could splurge every now and then. He can pay me back when we finally meet. :-)

Vacation 2011

2011-06-20T08:48:00.005-05:00

I'm back! No, I did not drop off the face of the earth as some people here at BFA thought, but I did launch myself out of school immediately into a 2-week vacation. My good friend KL (http://wordslikenets.blogspot.com), who is moving to Kenya for 2 years this July, came to visit, and we did a very quick run-around of the Alps.

We began in Paris, the City of Lights, for 2 days, where we climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, gawked at the Louvre, and ambled our way around Versailles. This was followed by a 6-day driving tour through southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, and Switzerland. We clambered around many a castle, visited a WW II Concentration Camp, attended my old church, ate pastries and tortes to our hearts' content, rode a boat in Venice, took amazing sunset pictures in multiple countries, hung out with a couple of my students, and hiked a Swiss Alp. That last bit was probably one of the best stories because we accidentally stranded ourselves at the peak when we forgot to check the time for the final chair lift run; we missed it by 10 minutes. Thus began our frantic hike/run down the mountain so that we wouldn't miss the cog train, too. 1 cow pie and 2 sweat-stained outfits later, we arrived out of breath at the station, only to wait another 40 minutes to be allowed on the train. Such is the adventure called life.

I had a great time and came home very relaxed. KL has left me, and I spent three days mostly on the couch reading, doing laundry, and writing postcards for all my lovely supporters. This week, it's back to school. My next blog will be about the big news happening on that front. For now, just enjoy some pictures. :-)

Appreciation

2011-06-17T03:31:00.002-05:00

On a note from a student on the last day of school:

"Thanks for being my Geography and German teacher. The German has definitely helped a lot, and I'm sure the Geography will ... some day."

M.S. Awards Ceremony

2011-05-29T02:03:00.007-05:00

BFA is such a transient community. It's an unavoidable trait considering our purpose and the identity of our students. Missionaries move, military families are reassigned, business families transfer, not to mention seniors graduate. Every year, the good-byes are emotion-filled and many, and I'd like to say it gets easier, but so far Year 2 has proven much more difficult than Year 1.

I tell you this, however, to go a step further and say how impressed I have been with the effort BFA puts into saying good-bye well. Over the past few weeks, I've seen several instances of encouragement and gathering of people who know fully well, this is the "last" whatever, and they intentionally soak it in. Last night, in particular, the Middle School hosted its annual 8th grade Banquet followed by the Middle School Awards Ceremony. It's a time for all to recognize some of the achievements of the past year (academics, music, spiritual growth, ...) and to offer the 8th graders some transition into high school.

Here are some pictures from the dinner:

At the Ceremony itself, the most unique and special part of the evening is the reading of the 8th grade tributes. Several teachers write personalized tributes for 2-3 students they think they know the best and then read them aloud for all their parents and peers. It's powerful, especially when older siblings and even BFA alumni come up and tell you afterwards how they still have their tribute and read it from time to time.

I was thrilled with the three students I got to write for and admit I shed more than one tear in writing (and reading) them. Here's a video of one of them:

As much as I hate it, I do have to come to terms with the fact that our school year is over (although I am ready for a break from lesson planning and grading). Some of my students are leaving for good. Some will be gone for a year or two, and of course some will be back in the fall. I've learned a lot from all of them, and I praise God and thank you for allowing me to be a part of their lives.

More funny lines

2011-05-28T03:11:00.001-05:00

Student running for next year's class president:

"Elections are like wedgies. One good pick, and you're set for a comfortable ride!"

Lines of the Day

2011-05-24T15:51:00.002-05:00

#1, from the mouth of a 13-year-old:

"I'd like to be president because, well, I've never been president before."

#2:

"After the Middle Ages, many changes occurred because of the Renaissance starting to unwrap."

Lugano: Thursday and Friday

2011-05-16T23:30:00.002-05:00

Thursday was more of a work day for the kids. In the morning, they did a mapping activity from their hike, and while they did that, I graded all their castle sketches. Some were really impressive. Then in the afternoon, they had to spend a good hour working on English, which was to write a creative short story set in the 1400's in or around the Bellinzona castles. I was in charge of grading those, too, and it was actually really fun to read their ideas and see the castles through their eyes.

Finally, they arrived at their play time, and they even managed to get our Principal (top left corner) wet. She was a good sport!
Friday was for cleaning up and driving home, though we did have one FUN stop: a chocolate factory. The all-you-can-eat sample bar was amazing, but the site in this photo was actually quite hard to watch, almost physically painful. They took chocolate bars off the assembly line that didn't make the cut and ... and ... tossed them!!!

I didn't realize SJ snuck into this picture to "milk" the cow till later.

The day was supposed to end with lunch by the lake, at which point we took this group photo. Then we piled into the vans and began the trek northward. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far because one of the vans broke down. (I have no pictures, sadly.) We ended up waiting nearly 4 hours for Roadside assistance, used up all 30 Euros worth of minutes on my phone, and they still hadn't found us. Finally, we left behind one of our leaders and 2 students, squeezed everybody else into the vans that were left, and continued on to BFA. Parents were pretty excited we brought their kids back, even though it was nearly 11 pm by the time we did. And I have to say: I was pretty impressed with the students and their lack of complaining through the whole ordeal as we sat there in the heat just waiting. What a great group of kids!

Organizing parent calling chains

More Minute to Win It

2011-05-16T14:39:00.002-05:00

Lugano: Wednesday

2011-05-16T14:18:00.005-05:00

(Read to the end for a moving story.)

Tuesday was our Science/PE day. We took the Funicolare up the peninsula in the middle of Lake Lugano to the top of Mount San Salvatore. Check out the view that our 8th grade boys managed to spruce up. Awww.
The hike down was actually quite the killer, which I never thought I'd say of a DOWNhill hike, but 1,500 steps will do that to me. My job was to catch all the stragglers at the back and keep them moving. For the second half of the day, it was these two lovely girls. We had such great conversations, and I'm really grateful for our time together. Check out our view along the way as well.
Everyone was especially thankful to reach the bottom and the lake. The ferry ride back to the parking lot was invigorating. Rachel played captain the whole way. (Okay, not really, just for a few seconds.)
Once back at the Youth Centro, nobody wasted any time getting into swimming suits and jumping into the lake to cool off. After that it was back to devos and games of Minute to Win It. I'll try to add a video as well.
The one downside to this day was that I scratched up the van I was driving. Ahhhh, I know! It was just a block from the Youth Centro, and I was immediately upset. (Even yelled at the kids for squealing and had to apologize for it later.) As I walked back to the corner to check out the damage to the wall, SJ (in the last picture) offered to walk with me. Sensing my depressed mood, he reached out to pat my arm.

"It's okay, Miss Custer. You don't need to be sad. Remember, you're worth more than a van."

"Are you getting back at me for saying this to you all year long? That you're worth more than your grades?"

"Uh-huh. Is it working?"

Made everything all better again.

Lugano: Tuesday

2011-05-15T11:19:00.005-05:00

Tuesday morning, we met at school at 8:30 and loaded 25 students and 5 chaperones into 4 school vans for our 4-hour trip to Lugano. Along the way, we stopped at the Bellinzona castles: three medieval fortifications that are in surprisingly good shape. It was SO MUCH FUN researching them and teaching about them to the kids. It'll just never be the same to teach in a regular classroom again!

Walking the battlements with Rachel

Rachel also found the 600-year-old latrines.

The students' assignment was to sketch 8 castle parts,

combining history and art into one lesson.

We arrived at the Centro Evangelico Magliosa outside of Lugano around 5 pm, giving the kids enough time to explore the grounds and get settled in before supper and our evening program. On Tuesday, the devotions were about "encouragment," and the students engaged in a cool activity in which they wrote each other notes. I love the look on JB's face as he reads his sheet. The rest of the evening was for fun and games - various versions of Minute to Win It. That's what the video in the last post was about, too.

Foosball was a big hit, and the best player of all was the Principal, Ms. Steele!

How many cards could you knock down with an unlimited supply of rubber bands?

Lugano preview

2011-05-14T15:59:00.003-05:00

Just to give you a little taste of the fun stories to come of our time in Lugano, Switzerland.

Rest of My Africa Thoughts

2011-05-12T07:01:00.000-05:00

burned-out bus

I’m sorry this is such a long entry, but I wanted to finish my Africa update and let you in on my continual processing development, just in case you’re interested. The time in the Bush really was eye-opening and life-changing. Besides getting a goat and experiencing a gratefulness beyond anything I’d known, God taught me things about myself and my expectations of other believers, and I know I grew through it all.

What was a bit more unexpected were the days that followed the Bush experience. We left on Thursday and arrived back in Ouagadougou without any major delays. Our driver even took us on a round-about tour past government buildings and the president’s house. The students went off to youth group that night with the African MK’s, and we all went to bed pretty early, exhausted as we were. It was a great night in which the air conditioning never went off, and after three nights under constant mosquito attack, our guesthouse felt like the Hilton. Until we found out on Friday morning that the night had actually been rather eventful.

There had been an attempted coup on the president’s life, and he’d been whisked away to his home outside the city, leaving an upset military who took their weapons’ storage out into the streets to protest, loot, and damage. When vendors arrived at their businesses Friday morning and saw the mess, they took the streets to voice their complaint as well, and things escalated from there. The President returned by Friday afternoon, promptly dissolved government, which in turn brought about more demonstrations. I can now say that I have heard live gunfire in my life, just a block away from the guesthouse. It was pretty new and awfully scary for this European MK (I’m such a wimp compared to African MK’s). All our planned activities for our Fun Friday were, of course, cancelled, and we spent the day watching old movies, taking naps, getting our hair braided, and playing games when the electricity went out. And truth be told, we passed the night in relative calm. By Saturday, the kids were antsy to get going, and I myself was counting down the hours till we’d board out plane at 7 pm.

There were still protests going on downtown – right around all those buildings we’d seen Thursday on our drive – so the president issued a curfew for the dark hours, basically 6:30 pm – 6:30 am. And that’s when things got thrown upside down. AirFrance, realizing they wouldn’t be able to take off after 6:30 pm, decided to not even fly into Ouagadougou on Saturday. So: no plane. Fortunately/Unfortunately, we hadn’t left the guesthouse yet, so it did save us a trip to the airport, but it meant that we were stuck inside for yet another 24-hour period. It wasn’t so much feeling like the Hilton anymore, more like prison. The kids, as you can imagine, were upset and could only think about calling their families, but as a whole, they managed this new obstacle really well. I was so impressed. We had an impromptu praise session and then watched more movies, took more naps, and played more games.

We did finally leave Africa Sunday by 1 pm, though we missed every single connecting flight in Paris. 4 stressful hours of rebooking 11 people on various flights later, we were at our AirFrance hotel by 12:30 am, only to have to get up and be back at the airport around 6:00 am Monday morning. We got back to Kandern 27 hours later, and all I can say is that I take no responsibility for any of the things I said that day because at that point I was so loopy!

At no point, however, did I feel unsafe, even when there was gunfire a block away, and at no point did I ever doubt God’s goodness or his sovereignty over this African nation. But I definitely doubted myself and my ability to handle new challenges completely out of my normal realm of thinking. Which did make me wonder: how many of the risks I take in daily living are truly “risks” for God’s glory, or are they more a show of reliance on myself? “Come everybody and see how good I look doing … you name it” when I already trust myself to handle it well. Teaching someone to drive a stick shift. Inviting a class over for a movie night. Baking cookies for the church luncheon. Africa was a big and true “risk” for me. I’d never intended to sign up for this trip and only went because I was asked to and heard God’s confirmation. If nothing else, he wanted to increase my dependence on him. Of course, that does put me in the precarious situation of wondering what other comforts God will remove from my life in order to increase my dependence on him. J

So this is Africa!

2011-05-05T14:55:00.003-05:00

Here is the video from the report our team gave in church. Enjoy!

Nepotism

2011-05-04T12:43:00.003-05:00

I have another great story from today. In World History in 8th grade, we're just starting to shift into the Reformation. Today's lesson was about highlighting the major problems that were tainting the Church, some of the basic reasons people were wanting to reform it. What I had the students do was act out a problem based on a description I gave them (e.g. selling forgiveness for sins, trying to buy a church position, etc), and the rest of the class had to guess what the name of this particular problem was (e.g. indulgences, simony, etc). I had a list of 5-6 problems.

One that hadn't ever appeared in the book and I figured would be brand new was nepotism, the idea of showing favoritism to a family member or friend. The group acted it out perfectly, and with a smirk, I asked if anyone had any idea what the name for this problem was. But the joke was on me when one student haltingly tried muttering "Nepo- something. Nepotism?"

Picking my jaw up off the floor, I asked, "JB, how did you know that?"

"The Office."

"Come again?"

BD chimed in. "Oh yeah, they did have an episode on Nepotism."

Who knew? The Office is educational!

Days of Laughter

2011-05-03T15:12:00.003-05:00

Laughter really is the best medicine, and though I wasn't "sick" per say, I still thank God for the day of laughter he gave me.

1. In History class today, in a slide show of various Renaissance painters and authors, I tried to include a funny picture of a giant from Rebelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. What I didn't notice until 10 students pointed it out at the same time, was the human figure poised on the tip of the giant's fork just as he was lifting it to his mouth. Gross. And oops. I quickly moved on to the next slide.

2. In German class, a student winked at me. I can't even type it without laughing and blushing. I sit here 6 hours later, and I can't for the life of me remember what the wink was for. All I remember was wildly looking around to see if any other students had noticed. (Sidenote: coming from this particular kid, I know it had no meaning. Most likely he had something stuck in his eye.)

3. I won a door prize tonight at the Staff Appreciation Dinner to go bowling and take 5 friends. Hooray! It was one of the more unusual prizes as nobody even knew there was a bowling alley nearby. The fun part was having people come running up afterwards suggesting combinations of friends I could take. Am I blessed, or what.

Just sayin'

2011-05-03T00:04:00.001-05:00

Anytime, as often as you like, if you come visit me, I will take you to Kandern's Eiscafe! Yummm!

Blood

2011-04-22T16:55:00.004-05:00

I haven't spent nearly the time on this poem that I should've before posting, but it's fitting for Good Friday. Check out Leviticus 17:10-14 and Hebrews 9:22 for the inspiration.

Perfect

and

pure

Blood

Endowed with all humanness to live and all

divinity to save, most living blood in history

Depleted in one instance, Confiscated to a cross

Spreading

out across

wooden

knots

Staining

Roman

spears

Atonement

for my

polluted

blood

We own a goat!

2011-04-20T08:12:00.006-05:00

A few people have been asking when I'm going to blog about Africa. The truth is I'm still processing, so you'll have to be patient with me. There were just so many impressions to take in: heat, poverty, work, water, food, dance, drums, dust. There was never lack of a child's hand to hold or a smile to photograph. Here are a few of the church we roofed in the village of Debe and some kids we played with.

One of the impressions I have already worked through a bit was the gratefulness I experienced, not on behalf of the team but on behalf of the Bush villagers. Twice, they randomly pulled out the drums and began singing while the women formed a semi-circle around them to dance. I got to hold babies both times, which made my day each time, but it was fascinating to watch their uninhibited expression of thankfulness as they watched the roof go up. Our team felt so fake in some ways since we got to swoop in with a bunch of corrugated aluminum, swing some hammers, and get all this "credit." And they showered their thanks upon us, not just with the dances and the kisses on cheeks, but as we were getting ready to leave, they even brought out a goat and four chickens! Some of our girls wailed, "They need them more than we do," but leaving them behind would've been incredibly rude. So, we loaded that goat and those chickens up on top of the Jeep (quite the process) and drove with it the 5 1/2 hours all the way back to Ouagadougou, listening to it bleat the entire way. At one point, mid-way through the trip, one of the students turned to the rest of us and said, "Guys. We own a goat!"

It's made me think about my own level of generosity and expression of gratefulness, not just in response to gifts people give me or deeds they do for me, but as a way of life. It's got to be the oldest axiom in the book: that joy is not found in the accumulation of things, and the people of Debe proved that. So, how do I show my thankfulness to God. If I ever owed anyone pure joy, my total heart, it's him. Do I dance and sing for him? Do I bring him gifts gladly? Do I grip his face between my hands, kiss his cheeks, and whisper over and over "Barrika" (Thank you)? 2 days of roofing, and the people of Debe were pouring themselves out. What a challenge to live that way!

How DO you say Ouagadougou?

2011-04-07T14:48:00.005-05:00

Last fall, I was keeping score at a basketball game next to the Chaplain who was announcing plays, and he leaned over during halftime, his eyes glinting as if he were up to something, and he said, "Have you ever thought about Africa?" Odd to ask a geography teacher. "Of course, I have." "How would you feel about co-leading the Spring Break missions trip to Burkina Faso?"

I didn't admit that I had to even figure out where it was on a map first (sad geography teacher), but after more prayer and exchange of information about what the trip would entail, I decided to say "yes." (Good thing, or this post would be pretty pointless.)

Months of planning and praying and getting yellow fever shots are coming together, and now we stand 36 hours before departure. Our team consists of 4 guys, 7 girls, and 2 leaders, and our job will be to roof a church in a small bush community, the 5th one BFA will now do this for. The students are thrilled - the guys to play with tools and the girls to play with kids - and I'm just praying none of them break anything or even bleed since I was asked to play nurse for the week.

Another cool moment we've gotten to experience as a team was when a church in the states collected used skirts for us, 2 per girl, and sent them in a huge box along with some encouraging notes. What a blessing, and what fun it was to unpack it with these girls.

We covet your prayers as we travel, work, and seek to be Christ's hands and feet from April 9-17, both for the people we hope to serve and for our own hearts.

P.S. Waa-gaa-doo-goo

Clever Kid

2011-04-02T16:25:00.009-05:00

In German class, which takes place in the Main Building (not the Janz Building), we've been recently learning the use of prepositions. For a fun review game on Thursday, I told students they could make a sentence about another student who would then have to act it out, so of course it kept getting bigger and better. (Mind you, this was all in German. And I did mention we were in the Main Building, right?)

Me: Where is LA?

SW: She is next to the window.

Me: Where is DC?

LA: He is standing on the desk.

Me: DC, where is JZ?

DC: She is under the chair.

Me: Where is LS?

JZ: He is out in the hallway.

Me: LS, where is Miss Custer?

LS (from the hall): Miss Custer is in the Janz Building. Take your time!

The Middle School Play

2011-03-25T06:46:00.006-05:00

a.k.a. that which has sucked up most of my March in terms of time and sleep and yet given me deepened relationships and lots of giggles in return. When I first agreed to help "look for props" back in February, I thought it meant locating a chair or two and making some bows and arrows. As you can guess, it was a bit more involved than that, and by the time the curtains went up last weekend, I was the full-fledged Props Manager backstage with my own crew of 6 and a headset no less (my favorite part). On the Monday before the play, it was Crazy Costume day to advertise to the rest of the school to buy tickets. I picked out the Queen's hat, so the two princesses (HH and EC) became my daughters for the day. They hammed it up. IC and BD in their suspenders were my second favorite (I just find suspenders classy).
The prep work was lots of fun, too. I got to draw purple on three girls' feet to make it look like they had trampled on grapes. We tried beets, kool-aid, and food coloring before settling on old-fashioned markers. The wrinkles to make students look older really freaked out a bunch of them, though TP was thrilled to be given a mustache. It was too funny!
Backstage, I spent a large part of my time either shushing students (sorry, students) or yanking the desk around the stage in the dark. We didn't lose any fingers, and one window hung crooked was the only mistake in two shows. Praise God!When we were done, someone said "See you next year." I'll have to think about that. I'm really enjoying my sleep right now.

Duh, Miss Custer...

2011-03-21T05:49:00.002-05:00

One particular 6th grade student has just shot up in height since Christmas break. We're talking about a growth spurt here of at least 6 inches. The other day, he stood up in front of me, and the two of us were eye-level.

Me: Whoa, MC! What happened that you've gotten so tall!?

MC (completely nonchalant): Puberty.

Detention Duty

2011-03-18T11:57:00.003-05:00

Student begins to whistle as he sweeps: Miss Custer. I'm whistling so that I have a good attitude while I'm being punished.

Me: Okay, good for you.

Student: Is it Paul or Peter who talks about suffering?

Me: Both?

Student: Which one says to be happy while you suffer?

Me: Well, I know Peter does. But I can also think of James right now who said, "Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds."

Student (very seriously): Did James plagiarize?

A compliment gone wrong or an insulting jab

2011-03-17T10:33:00.003-05:00

In class today, we were reviewing the Greek gods for the 6th grade test tomorrow. Stealing an idea from my Principal, I was playing "Who am I" with the students.

Me: I am female.

Student 1: Aphrodite.

Me: No. I also used to be very beautiful, you know, a long time ago.

Student 2: Miss Custer!!!

Me: (shocked expression on my face while student turns bright red)

Guarded yet vulnerable?

2011-03-15T17:27:00.001-05:00

Last week I was sent into a tail-spin, re-evaluative crisis when I found out that a couple of my students had discovered this blog. And not just any students, but two whose opinions I highly value and often seek out, two students who many times act more mature than their History teacher and whose artistic capabilities and spiritual sensitivities speak volumes to me personally. The idea of their seeing the blog intended for my peers, with stories of their class and raw attempts at poetry, unnerved me for a couple of days. They might even be reading this … (hi, you guys).

On top of that, one student asked me a very point blank question about a time in my life when I was especially close to God. Immediately, I thought of one my deepest, darkest hurdles, a story that I’d always imagined I’d one day share with students who needed to hear it, and my mouth went dry. My heart began beating rapidly. It’s just so much easier to stay guarded and safe, isn’t it.

I’ve spent the last couple of days seeking out other BFA staff’s opinions on how much to “withdraw” and how much to “put out there” for the students to see. After all, when I came, my intention was always to share my life with them. Perhaps not completely the open, vulnerable book that might be ideal, but open nonetheless. Different staff have quite different opinions on the matter, which didn’t give me any clarity at all; however, it was Mark Steele in his book Flashbang that gave me the most comfort yesterday. Here’s an excerpt I hope he won’t mind if I plagiarize. It’s from an inner dialogue he’s having with himself:

That is the difference between a grenade and a flashbang. A flashbang only lets out what is impressive while a grenade throws every bit of itself out there when the pin is pulled.

That doesn’t sound right. Every bit of myself? It doesn’t sound healthy to be an open book to everyone.

I didn’t say that.

Then what are you saying? Because I’ve done this, you know. I’ve been unguarded with people I thought were godly – people I thought I could trust. And when they ended up not being trustworthy, I hated that I had given them any information whatsoever. I don’t think it’s safe to throw every bit of myself out there.

I didn't say it was safe. I said it will change people.

At my expense.

Yes. Look, … you do have to be careful who you let into your inner circle of accountability. That is not what I’m saying. To play your problems on a loudspeaker for all to hear would be foolish and ineffective.

But probably entertaining.

To everyone but yourself, perhaps. But this is about the fact that many who believe they are just being guarded are actually imprisoning themselves. This is not about stating everything to everyone. This is about being open to God, saying “the truth to this person right now.” … That person is no longer afraid of that truth because it is in the light to someone else. That is when truth loses its chains and instead holds power. The power to heal others

(Me again:) I don’t want to imprison myself, so as long as God plants the opportunities, I’ll do my best to live an unchained truthful life, both carefully checked and yet freely abandoned.

London baby!

2011-03-09T16:21:00.002-06:00

My trip to London was fabulous. I got to be an absolute nerd with fellow teacher, Jill Young. We visited the Tower of London and Dover Castle, and I finally saw real, live Murder Holes (something I'd taught in class).

On Saturday, we went inside the British Library where I saw Mozart's signature, a Jane Austen manuscript, the Magna Carta, DaVinci drawings, and part of the Codex Sinaiticus with 2 half-torn fragmented parchment pieces of 3rd century New Testament writings. I had a little worship moment with God in front of that last case. How cool of him to preserve his Word throughout the ages.
The knight on the left tried to woo me, but he was a bit arrogant, so I turned him down. The one on the right purported to be King Henry II's son, but I didn't ask if that made him Richard the Lionhearted or Bad King John.
And then on Sunday, we attended Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral. This shot of it all lit up was my favorite. Stunning building! Ask me sometime about my new most embarrassing moment ever that happened right after I took this photo in the nearby Starbucks.
It was stressful coming home and still needing to lesson plan for the week, but I'm glad I went.

Human Clue

2011-03-04T11:16:00.002-06:00

Today was Middle School activity day. After Chapel, some of the 8th grade leaders put together a game of Human Clue. All the teachers were characters and were spread out around the school with various weapons. Here we are, from left to right:

Dimitri DaVinci, Mafioso

Chef Cindy, Crazy Lady

Natasha Svetlanava, Russian Spy

The Professor, Genius

Col. Custard, strict military advisor

Vectra Skypetalker, Robot

Natasha and I sent threatening messages to each other the entire time (which was super funny), and Vectra threatened to self-destruct when some of the kids began pulling at her costume. A fun time was had by all! And guess who did it? Col. Custard in the Computer Lab with the stapler. The kids harassed me to no end when the figured it out.

Have fun storming the castle!

2011-02-27T14:01:00.005-06:00

This has to have been one my favorite weeks so far in 8th grade History. After studying castle parts in some detail, teams built clay model ones and had to name all the parts they had included. Of course, there was a lot of creativity as well, putting their castles on top of book mountains for protection, surrounded by binder cliffs and paper moats so that enemies wouldn't be able to advance so easily, and of course everyone's new favorite - behind a wall of Greek Fire and under the guard of a fire-breathing dragon.

Then, when they were finished, they were given weapons and told to lay siege to another team's castle.
Things kind of fell apart at this point since paper siege towers could roll right up to book mountains and still be taller. But it was still fun, and I think the students enjoyed themselves AND got the point.

Guess what Iceland has?

2011-02-25T16:53:00.000-06:00

According to one student today: volcanoes and geezers (instead of geysers)!

Spirit Day: Opposites

2011-02-20T15:52:00.004-06:00

I'm falling more and more in love with teaching Middle School. Or perhaps it's just these middle schoolers. They're so creative and so much fun!!! Check out pictures from our Spirit Day a week ago. The theme was "Opposites."

Nerdy & Popular

Black & White

They switched home countries (Mexico & Yemen)

4 Seasons

Milka & Rittersport

2 sticks of butter

2011-02-19T13:31:00.004-06:00

Poor AP and EP. I was supposed to babysit these two girls last Saturday, and their Mom had said we could make cookies together. Anxious, the two girls decided to go ahead and mix up the ingredients before I got there at 7. Then, even more anxious, they decided to go ahead and bake them, too.

However, they were using an American recipe, which clearly called for 2 sticks of butter. German butter comes in packages of 250 grams, roughly 3 sticks of butter each. AP and EP dutifully followed the recipe and put in 2 "sticks."

I know you can just picture the cookie sheet of grease that greeted me when I arrived!

More from Grandma's Kitchen

2011-02-12T16:18:00.003-06:00

Here's another Grandma poem that has come out in the last couple of weeks.

Flour flies from her fingers

The gentlest dusting of snow

Over green countryside of countertop

She shoves her glasses up the bridge of her nose

A white print remains amid furrowed eyebrows

As she recites, “Boiled sour cream – secret ingredient”

My pen flies across pages of notes

Studying the queen in her castle of cinnamon and spice

Compelling the ingredients to meld together

Treasures for the tongue which

Fingers fold faster than the eye

I long to emulate her graceful movement

Firmness, resolve, obvious love

As she leans across a snowy landscape and

With a smile brushes white flour from my cheek

Knight in Shining Armor

2011-02-02T16:18:00.004-06:00

JB is one of the few students I had last year for tutoring whom I also now teach in a regular classroom setting, and thus he is very dear to me. However, I was pretty sure that he wasn't too thrilled with this fact. He seems to get more tardies in my class than anyone else, he is continually having to "sit down for a chat" with me, and I've ruined more than one of his afternoons doing his favorite thing: inter-murals because of a late or missing assignment. Nope. Pretty sure I didn't rank too high on his "Most Beloved Teachers" List.

And yet, today he melted my heart (and I hope he never reads this blog to be embarrassed by it). We had a guest speaker who was trying to make the point about tribal warfare and belonging.

"Say, JE over here attacks IS. Well IS's clan is going to rise up under the leadership of their chieftain and attack JE's clan, right?" Many nods. "But now Ms. Custer comes in, and she doesn't belong to any of your clans. She's an outsider. If she oversteps her boundaries and is under attack, who's going to stand up and protect her? Nobody."

That's when JB raised his hand. "I would."

Sigh. :-)

Marriage and ... making babies

2011-01-30T14:30:00.003-06:00

On Friday in 8th grade, the issue of marriage in the Middle Ages came up. The great Christian king Charlemagne had 5 wives and at least 5 known mistresses, so the point I wanted students to understand was that the institution of marriage was different then. They seemed to get it, all nodding as we talked.

Then in the 3-second pause that followed, a very shy student raised her hand. "Why do you always hear of a man having 5 wives and never of a woman having 5 husbands?"

Snickers from the class. So I turned it back on them. "What do you guys think?"

After one or two comments, they were able to come up with the fact that men inherited the money, so they were the ones providing for the wives, not the other way around. Then here's where I went wrong. I said, "Yes, that's a very big part of it."

Another 3-second pause. The same first girl raised her hand. "Well, ... what's the other part of it?"

I could feel everyone's eyes on me, and I'm pretty sure I began to blush. The room got hot, and I cleared my throat. "Well, ... the other part has to do with ... making babies."

More snickers and a couple of raised eyebrows.

I forged ahead. "1 husband and 5 wives means that this guy could technically be having 5 babies at once. 1 wife with 5 husbands, and she can still only be having 1 baby at a time." An awkward silence followed while some students ran the math, and then there were even more giggles. I opened my mouth to add the issue of not knowing whose baby it even was what with parentage being a high medieval value, but then I closed it again and chose to move on ... to something else. Got to love Middle School.

Grandma's Cinnamon Twists

2011-01-27T02:55:00.003-06:00

Sweet sticky cinnamon-sugar

Softly sprinkled onto rich dough

Succulent, lusciously sublime

Harshly twisted, wrongly wrenched

Tightly shaped, truncated

Heated beyond bearing

Rescued, oven-released

Heaven’s aroma, adorned

Consumed, purpose achieved

We'll miss you Grandma Jake! See you on the other side.
March 12, 1930 - January 25, 2011

Go hug a tree!

2011-01-26T15:20:00.006-06:00

I was trying to teach my 6th graders about the debates Traveling Thinkers in Ancient China would have. This was after we'd briefly looked at the philosophies of Confucians, Daoists, and Legalists, so I was using their viewpoints as the basis of my lesson. The point I was trying to make was that within debate you can have solid arguments, and you can have pointless arguments that add nothing to the debate. In fact, those arguments can get so off topic or become accusing of the people rather than the subject. So here's a snippet of the monologue I performed.

Confucian: Leaders need to be virtuous. If a leader has nothing good about him, people won't follow him, and what good is he then?

Legalist: I'm fine with a leader being virtuous, but that's not the most important characteristic. A leader needs to be strong and enforce the law. People will follow that!

Daoist: Ah, you're both plain nuts. Forget leaders! Go hug a tree!

At this point, the entire 6th grade dissolved into laughter and stayed there for the rest of the period. Not exactly what I had intended, but one of the moms told me today that her son got it. He recounted the entire thing last night for them at home (including the positions of all three philosophies) and then ran around the house yelling "Go hug a tree! Go hug a tree!"

So you had a bad day, ...

2011-01-22T13:49:00.002-06:00

Actually, try bad week. 4 vaccinations on Monday that made me sick Tuesday, dentist Wednesday, all my technology in my classroom failed Thursday, broken pitcher Friday, and a bunch of other uncool stuff in between. Come Friday afternoon, I was sitting at my desk with a pounding headache and trying to get a head start on my lesson planning when a red gummy bear went whizzing past my head.

I whirled to the right only to see Rachel staring at her computer screen unable to contain a smirk on her face. Sneakily, I reached down into the printer (where it had gone), scooped up said gummy bear and turned to hurl it back at her when a white one came flying at my face.

This was war.

Within a couple of minutes, colors were flying through the air, and we were both ducking and squealing around bookshelves, chairs and doorways. I successfully locked her out twice to give myself time to collect all the loose bears, but then she got three students on her side to help attack me. My History 6 textbook worked great as a shield, I have to say.

When we were finished, we set up all the gummies into a battlescene to represent our scene. Sorry if it's a little graphic for children. Thank you God for some fun in our week!

Why I loathe going to the dentist

2011-01-12T14:40:00.003-06:00

First of all, can I just point out my maturity in no longer saying "I loathe dentists." I try to be very careful and specify that I actually loathe "going" to the dentist.

It all began at the lovely age of 6 or 7. Baby teeth are supposed to be those nice, soft, pliable things that fall out in order to make room for the hard, sturdy adult teeth to last you (most of) the rest of your life. I think my mouth got the order mixed up because some of my baby teeth refused to fall out. And thus it was that six of my front teeth had to be pulled. Many tears were spilled, though oddly enough, I remember the six stickers I got - one for each tooth pulled.
Current total of teeth pulled by the dentist: 6

Somewhere in the next year or two following, all four of my corner teeth (not sure what they're called in English) had to be pulled to make room the new ones that were already growing in and were, so said the dentist, going to be crooked and warped if we didn't immediately extract the ones in there. Whatever.
New total: 10 teeth pulled

Very shortly after this, I had another dread-filled appointment, and the dentist peered into my mouth aghast. The wrong teeth were growing into those holes. The side teeth were coming in, so four more teeth fell prey to the pliers.
Total of teeth lost to the man in the white coat: 14

Apparently, my mouth is very small because at the very next visit, he shook his head profusely and declared that now the teeth from the other side were growing in. Or perhaps two teeth were growing into the same hole at the same time. I don't remember exactly. All I know is that three more had to go.
Gasp: 17 teeth!

Surely, I thought, I can finally keep the few I have left. And yet, at age 20, yet another well-studied man in the lab coat pronounced my mouth too small. A couple of months and one surgery later, I'd lost my wisdom teeth and spent over a week recovering, nearly two of those full days with blood-soaked gauze in my mouth and barely keeping enough Vicodin in my body to stave off the pain.
Final grand total: 21 teeth pulled!!!

I say: rip 'em all out now and give me dentures.

Nostalgia: 2010

2010-12-31T04:11:00.003-06:00

I'm easily sentimental, and after watching Toy Story 3 last night, I'm in a very reflective mood. The verse in my devotions this morning was from Psalm 118:24. "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." The highlights were also in the book like that. So I thought: What better day to look back on my last year than this day? And to rejoice!

God chose to lavish another 365 days on me in 2010, and it has been good.

The month of February was dark at BFA as we underwent an emotional time and had to deal with several wounded students on campus. But God brought healing, and in May we saw 17 students baptized. Victory!

In June, he blessed the Custer family with the birth of Olivia Marie, the happiest little niece on the block, and we found out that another niece was due to arrive in January (any day now). It's such a strange and wonderful feeling to see your family grow and multiply.

This summer saw me back in the states trying to raise the necessary support in order to be back at BFA by the Fall. It held moments of rest, complete panic, worry and fret, joys, humbling conversations, scary presentations, encouragement, frustrations, and in the end, the overwhelming truth that God provides and works all things out in his own timing! What a privilege it is to be on this journey with him.

August found me in the classroom. In some ways, 10 years of study and trying out all kinds of jobs and positions seemed to culminate as I "arrived." Now I can laugh at that and say "hardly!", but it still is a blessing to be teaching full time in my very own classroom.

This last week has to go into the Highlight List as well. I'm actually writing this from a hotel in Turkey where I'm at a conference with many other veterans of the faith from all over Europe. It's the physical rest and the spiritual feeding that I've been craving for the last couple of months all in a very historical setting that of course invigorates me like nothing else. :-)

Over all, the one thing that really stands out to me this year has been the RELATIONSHIPS: new people, old people, founding relationships, restoring relationships, deepening relationships. It's been at the center, and I've been so blessed by the people God has placed around me - on multiple continents. I rejoice!

Hope

2010-12-17T16:20:00.005-06:00

Hearing the prodigal’s flailing roam

piecing by footstep the fragile path home

Opening weary arms with tender long

pierced to wash away yesterday’s wrong

Proving forgiveness is etched with pain

inviting the scar with promise for gain

Embracing security, enough to suffice

eternity safe through love’s sacrifice

(It's more of an Easter poem than a Christmas one, but the two do go together, don't they?)

Thoughts during Finals

2010-12-15T05:55:00.003-06:00

This is cool. I'm sitting in Finals and blogging. It probably helps that I don't have to take them. (Only grade them all afterwards. ... Think I'd rather take them.)

Anyway, that's not what I wanted to blog about. As I'm sitting at the back of the classroom looking out over 15 heads, my heart is squeezed, and I'm surprised at how much I've come to love them. SB when she runs up to me every day with a "Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi" until I answer; even now, she's bouncing in her seat as she writes the final essay. DP's quiet intelligence as she shyly sits at the back of the room - until a little game of Jeopardy brings out quite the personality! BR, a Swiss boy scout and all around outdoorsman, who wishes all of class was spent on World War II. KB whose favorite activity is Journal writing and who can wax eloquently with the best of them. LA's enthusiasm for learning; sometimes when she's waving her hand in the air, I think her eyeballs are going to pop out because she's willing me so badly to call on her. LS, the class clown, who now also has crutches to add to his daily tricks and who seems to be best friends with all the girls a grade above him. HK, my beautiful 7th grade Korean, who is going to grow up to be the world's best brain surgeon, though she doesn't know it yet. And that's not even half the kids I love so much!

Class Update

2010-11-28T09:53:00.007-06:00

The majority of my day and week is spent in the classroom, and I'd love to give you a glimpse of each class. (Not that we did all of this in one day, of course!)

Here are some 6th graders creating clay tablets with Cuneiform. We had been studying Hammurabi's Code, so they created various laws for our classroom, e.g. "If a student arrives late to class, he must do 20 push-ups." Pretty funny. It's wonderful that Kandern is a pottery town, and the clay only cost a couple of Euros, plus we have free access to a kiln. Hopefully the tablets will all be fired this week and displayed in the Middle School soon.The 7th graders just finished a unit on U.S. History. At the end, we had a "dress-up-as-a-U.S.-history-character" day. Among others, we had a Native American, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., a WW 2 pilot, a flapper, and a survivor of Pearl Harbor.
The 8th graders are in the middle of wrapping up a World Religions unit. Here's a picture of them doing research. Tomorrow (Nov 29) will be the exciting day because their videos are all due. :-)Finally, my Beginner's German class is lucky because they get to have Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) every other Friday. We invite a German speaker guest, and they all have to interview the guest in order to deserve the cake and coffee part. It's been a fun application of what they're learning, plus I get to bake! :-)Lots of fun to be had in the Middle School when we are able to take a break from the books.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T06:59:00.002-06:00

The dorms celebrated last week, and I got my fill of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing. It was wonderful, and I wasn't even required to clean it up this time. The best part was sitting around afterward, drinking wassail, and listening to the dorm guys sing loud ballads ("I will always love you," "Time to Say Good-bye," you get the picture). Dinner and a show! Never a dull moment at BFA.

Hoping you all enjoy time with family and friends today. Eat some pie for me!!!

Remembering Well

2010-11-16T02:55:00.003-06:00

I wrote this at midnight last week when I couldn't sleep after visiting a Holocaust exhibit.

November 9, 2010

Today, of all days, I broke a glass. Before fate or fortune could stop it, it had slipped from my fingers and scattered into hundreds of pieces, escaping even into the tiniest crevices of my kitchen walls. Of course I retaliated with the broom and dustbin, but there was that one shard, astoundingly wedged between floor and the cupboards of my new home. The broom wasn’t enough, so I had to use my very fingers to pry it loose. With a violent tug, the sparkling glass came out, but not before it had extracted the tiniest trickle of blood from my index finger, the price of its sacrifice.

Today, of all days, I met you. I believed I was heightening my intellectuality by attending my first German lecture. Proudly was I ready to cast my critical eye over the newest museum display and talk mightily with my fellow colleagues about our superiority of compassion over people of the past. But I had barely made it past the door when you greeted me, standing there in your button-down wool coat, carpet slung over one arm and tote bag firmly clutched in the other. You stood in the middle of the lively crowd, and your thoughts were a hundred miles away. No one was looking at you. Everyone was too busy staring at the guard who had just barely forced himself into the edge of the frame, finger outstretched, tonsils glaring at me from his open throat. Your father was scowling at him, your mother hanging on to his arm fearfully, her own bag pressed against her chest. Kids who should have been in school were congested up almost to your legs, and neighbors hung with their big bosoms over their balcony rails to watch the spectacle. You just stood there in front of the transport truck, obviously unfazed, your smooth facial features emotionless and your lips pursed in a straight line. Yet the injustice of what was happening simmered beneath the surface. You could feel it in the pulse of your fingertips, and your eyes were fiery as you stared off into a distant land where no price was demanded of your blood.

Today, of all days, I walked the same streets you once called home. The glass has been cleaned up along with your carpet and other possessions that were pried from your fingers seventy-two Novembers ago. Then, the people praised themselves for their purity and rational-mindedness; now, we praise ourselves for our empathy and open-heartedness. Yet how does any of it compare to the simplicity of a young girl whose life splintered into thousands of shards in the blink of an eye? Who was asked to pay an ultimate price? And only one forgotten photographer noticed as she boarded that transport truck and slipped into oblivion.

Today, of all days, I will remember your scar as I finger my own.

Finally: an Update!

2010-11-14T00:43:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while. Oops. Life continues to be good though very very very very busy. This week for example, I got asked to babysit last minute Monday night, drove some colleagues to a Holocaust exhibit Tuesday night, attended an Alpha Course session Wednesday night, subbed at my regular dorm Thursday night, went to a fun concert we've been planning since August on Friday night, and moved in with a couple high school kids to babysit Saturday night. All of it was very fun, and I'm glad I did them, but it's a challenge filling in the cracks with lesson planning and grading when all I want to do is use my new Internet to call people. :-)

Actually, I also mention all those evening things because I covet your prayers for some of them:
- babysitting: the family from Monday night has a student of mine you'll meet in my next prayer update if you get those. She could really use your prayers for her academic needs.
- dorm life: November is traditionally the hardest month for the dorm kids. They've been away from home now the longest, and Christmas is "still" a month away. This is when they're the crankiest. Grades tend to slip, and fights can break out in the dorms. Pray for perseverence.
- Alpha course: The 1st night came, and 10 missionaries showed up. 0 Germans. I wasn't overly shocked having grown up watching my parents do evangelism in slightly religiously dead Europe, but it was still a disappointment when so many of us had invited friends and neighbors. We're going to keep doing it in the hopes that one of these Wednesdays an outsider might still show up. You could pray. Thanks!
- Concert: It was a personal encouragement to me to see my favorite group (Casting Crowns), and I praise God for the opportunity to go. :-)

You're all a blessing. Happy November!

Fall Party

2010-10-19T11:05:00.005-05:00

Life is finally settling down a bit. That doesn't mean it's getting quieter by any means, but I'm getting more comfortable with its routine, and there's lots of laughter again.

Exhibit A would have to be the Middle School Fall Party a couple of weekends ago. I was blown away by the creativity of the students' costumes. The theme was "Children's Books." Here are some costume examples:

2 Stepsisters

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
Grumpy the Dwarf and Bigfootthe characters from Winnie the PoohCat in the Hat, Thing 1, and Thing 2

The teachers all wore letters and were the alphabet from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I accidentally found this rap online, and of course then we all had to wig out to it on stage during the party. The kids called it "epic" when we were done. I'm not quite sure what I let myself be talked into, but I had fun! (For video, please refer to facebook.)

Best News...

2010-10-05T06:55:00.001-05:00

...I've heard all day: Jen's blog. Hooray, Jen and Harry! I'm so excited for you!!!

Middle School Overnight

2010-10-02T02:24:00.005-05:00

Last weekend was the Middle School Overnight, a night on which crazy teachers take the entire middle school to a youth hostel on the German-Swiss border. To make it even crazier, they do it on a soggy weekend full of rain in order to coop themselves up inside with said middle schoolers! Actually, it was a blast!

We played Group Scategories, had a bonfire with S'mores, played Capture the Flag in an apple orchard, watched a hilarious movie that was perfect for their age, and followed it up with a time of Praise & Worship. The chaplain and I ended the night by taking willing and brave students on a night hike!
After breakfast on Saturday, we went on the famous "Middle School Overnight Country Hike." We crossed the border into Switzerland which was cause for more than one spread-eagle (or feet) picture. A big debate arose over the cows: Were they cows on the border Swiss or German, and would they say "Muh" or Mueeh"? In all seriousness though, the hike was the best part because I ended up having some really great conversations with some kids. One boy was missing his old school in Russia, and I gave him room to vent about all the changes in his life lately. Another girl wanted to know my opinion on all kinds of theological topics, and the best was when we went back and forth listing all the things we were excited to do in heaven one day. Super fun!This was followed by the group photo, and then parents showed up to pick up their much-missed kids. The end.

Teacher Retreat

2010-09-23T01:25:00.002-05:00

Last Friday after school, 42 teachers piled into some cars and took off for the Teach Beyond Chalet, which happens to be in Adelboden, Switzerland (Alps!!!). The purpose of the retreat was to connect as staff (since the turnover rate at BFA is so high every year) and to unite under a vision of what it means to be a teacher to TCK's. We spent time reading and praying together, hiking, playing games, and doing everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and driving.

Goats frolicking on the mountainside

Friends Katie and Jillthe view Sunday morning at breakfast

Round and Round

2010-09-15T09:27:00.002-05:00

In 7th grade Geography, we've started a new unit on Water and Climate. One of the things I needed to teach was the water cycle. Trying to be the impressive, cool teacher that I aspire to be, I looked to youtube for any funny or creative ideas to really drive home the main concepts. Lo and behold, I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YswL4dIDQuk

At first, I thought it was way too elementary and corny for my wanna-be-cool-and-grown-up middle schoolers, so I chose another one instead. Much more adult and fact-driven. On Tuesday, I cued up the video on my laptop before taking it into the classroom and plugging it into the beamer. However, when I went to hit "play," I had selected the wrong video, and, as you can guess by now, played this one instead. The kids LOVED it!

I had to immediately play it again, and for fun and review I played it again today. Now everyone on campus hates me because all the 7th graders are wandering around singing the song. "Oh the water cycle, round and round. Vapor goes up and rain comes down." And if you watch to the Uncle Dan part, try to imagine how they dissolve into giggles every time we reach that part.

A Much better First Day

2010-08-25T02:52:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the first day of classes! My Middle School Principal also dubs it "the day of screaming children" because everyone is so excited to see each other again after the super long summer apart. Some MK's, who were on Home Assignment in the states or Canada or Korea, were even gone for over a year, so the tears flow readily. It's a very happy reunion.
The big highlight is the Opening Ceremonies for the entire school (high, middle, and elementary), faculty, staff, dorms, parents, and friends. We all marched in to happy music, and then they switch it dramatically for the Class of 2011 who parades in carrying the flags of all the countries represented by this year's student body. This year it's 52 countries!
Normally, the first part of the ceremony is a speech by the Director of the school. Since Tim Shuman resigned last year, our new interim director, Phil Peters, was on the schedule. But I didn't see him anywhere in the front row. Weird. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight shown on this big black box in the rafters where Phil was emerging and within 10 seconds was rappelling down to the stage. Highly cool. The kids absolutely flipped out with laughter and applause.
From there, things went on pretty normally. The Middle schoolers split off from the big group for our own assembly, ID photos, and textbook collecting, and then I took the 6th graders - my Homeroom Class!!! (so adorable) - to our classroom. Following some housekeeping items that took nearly an hour and a half, we then entered a mock schedule where the kids visited all their classes and met their teacher for 8 minutes. It was super busy day, but all in all, I'm so glad school's starting, and I no longer have to be in the planning stage.

Here I am in the Middle school office with my friend, Rachel (the Science and math teacher).I hope soon to introduce you to my students a bit.

A "Crappy" First Day

2010-08-21T02:16:00.003-05:00

That title makes it seem like I had a horrible first day back, and that's not quite true, just a horrible first hour. Literally crappy. And here's why:

** Warning: not for the weak stomach!**

It needs to be said first of all that flying is not very kind to my bowels. I get bloated on planes and of course feel very uncomfortable throughout the whole travel experience, so I'm always happy to get back to a real house with a real bathroom. When David picked me up from the airport, he took me straight to my new apartment, which was SOOOO exciting. After we brought up the suitcases and he took off to let me nap, I immediately headed to the bathroom to do my thing. Forgetting that the pipes hadn't been used in 3 months, I proceeded to press down the button to flush. It didn't send out flushing water, however. Instead, it sent out a high-pressure burst of air that in turn sent poop and pee flying all over my bathroom and all over me.

Needless to say, I was not very happy (though grateful my mouth had been closed). I only freaked out a little though and was able to quickly find a rag to clean up my mess, hose down the shower, peel out of my clothes, and then quickly douse myself in pure water. I also ran around the apartment opening all faucets to let water run out. Welcome home, huh?

Yuck.

So kiss me and smile for me

2010-08-19T06:56:00.003-05:00

Because I'm smiling pretty big right now. As of yesterday, my support is at 100%!!!! WOHOOOOOO! I still can hardly believe God made it all happen!!! And truth be told, that is the "unofficial" number, which means enough people have told me they'd like to support me, and 100% of the costs could be covered. However, the "official" number is lower, meaning not everyone has told WorldVenture yet, so they still think I'm at 95%. But I'm sure people will let them know in the next couple of weeks.

I leave today on that jet plane! 7:40 tonight. I'm scheduled to arrive in Basel tomorrow at 2 pm local time, and the Loves will pick me up and take me back to my new apartment, lined wall to wall with boxes that need unpacking. You can pray for me for the next few days:
- to get over jet lag quickly
- set up my classroom
- get the first week of lessons planned well
- find lights so I can see in my apartment
- can get settled enough that I'm don't freak out living among boxes for a few days

THANKS to everyone for the love and support this summer. THANKS to God for allowing me to return to BFA on time!

I would go to the ends of the earth

2010-08-08T22:07:00.003-05:00

To be honest, I had my first "this missions thing stinks" today. I haven't had one up until now. Sure there have been rough patches and mornings I didn't want to call another church and "beg" for money, but I never was sad to think of going. I never doubted that my calling into missions was the greatest thing ever! Today though, when my parents drove off and I left my brother and his family at the airport, for the first time, it wasn't so rosy.

I suppose meeting Olivia had something to do with it; she'll be walking the next time I see her. It's also the fact that as a family, we've always had the next get-together on the calendar, even if it was nearly a year out in the future, there was something certain to look forward to. Furthermore, I've never left for a two-year stint to anywhere. The most was 11 months in Taiwan. 2 years!?! It just sounds so much longer!

I was feeling pretty low in the car on the way back to Shoreview tonight. So God showed up in the form of a song on the radio again (he's done it before). The song "Jesus, I believe in you" has ministered to me before, but never quite the way it did tonight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErYjQNg_BAw.

Jesus, I believe in you,
and I would go to the ends of the earth
the ends of the earth
For you alone are the Son of God
and all the world will see that you are God
You are God!

It's all about Him. I've had the privilege up until now that it could also be somewhat about my love of Europe, my own knowledge of German, and my comfort of living cross-culturally. the cost hasn't been as real to me, but now that it is, I need to remind myself daily that it is still all about him. As they told us in training, nothing will keep you in your calling as much as a commitment to obedience. So, the "stinky days" will probably come again, but I know who's God, and I know where I'm supposed to be.

Yikes!

2010-08-07T08:35:00.001-05:00

In faith that the final 7% will come in, I went ahead and bought a ticket!!! Not quite sure it was the wisest thing yet, but the prices were too good to pass up, plus you kind of need to book at least a couple weeks out in advance. However, I won't be able to use it until WorldVenture registers 100% support. Please pray!

Renewal Conference

2010-07-26T11:09:00.002-05:00

Renewal Conference is WorldVenture's Annual conference for all its missionaries (who can come) and the staff members from headquarters. The President of the mission gives the State of the Mission update, and we get to hear about all kinds of new ideas and great initiatives for reaching more people around the globe. It's very exciting.

But my favorite part by far were the first two days where we spend every minute of every session only in prayer. I'd never been to a Prayer Summit like that before, and I know I thought "What in the world could we spend two whole days praying about?" However, it was amazing! Monday morning was all about just praising and worshiping our cool God. In the afternoon, we broke into two groups - men and women. Tuesday morning was for prayer in small groups, and I got to share a neat time with 4 amazing women I admire. Then in the afternoon, we all came back together again to offer petitions for the various ministries around the world.

in the Europe/Middle East prayer room

I walked away from the week emotionally and mentally drained but spiritually so revived! Funny how that works.

Showing off my niece

2010-07-22T07:25:00.001-05:00

This melts my heart! 12 days till I get to meet her:

My Country Tis of Thee ... which one?

2010-07-04T21:46:00.005-05:00

The 4th of July always brings with it such mixed feelings. I am extremely grateful to be an American. More than anything, I know what privileges my little eagle-embossed, blue-stitched passport bears outside these borders, not to mention the incredible opportunities and freedoms I've gotten to experience within this country. I've gotten to travel coast to coast and back again in one summer, seeing sights such as roaming elk in Yellowstone, the crack in the Liberty Bell, the view from the top of Space Mountain, and the chance to lie in four states at once. My education is another thing not to be taken for granted. I'm nearly finished with my master's degree - how many people around the world can claim that? How many of them female? And of course, who can forget the American staples such as national security, religious freedom, and apple pie?

However, a part of me feels more homesick than ever on this particular day. And with each passing year it gets harder and harder to pinpoint where I'm homesick for. Austria to be sure, but each trip there reminds more and more that I've moved from resident to visitor status, so it's hard to be HOMEsick for a certain place anymore. Germany and BFA? Not yet. My parents' house? Maybe that gets a little closer, but it still doesn't explain the way I both burst with pride and feel riddled with guilt when I try to sing "My Country Tis of Thee," which has nothing to do with where my parents find themselves at the moment.

The longing to have a home country and, more than anything, to BELONG somewhere is so strong sometimes. Once again, the only place I can find solace for my aching heart is in God's word and the promise of the place he's preparing. I trust that he knows me so well that he's going to make my house in heaven exactly what I need on all levels - spiritual, mental, emotional - and that upon entering it, I'll know for the first time in my life that I'm HOME! It will fit me like a glove and wrap me up in a warm blanket. Until then, I'll gladly cheer the fireworks, mumble as many of the words as I can remember to the Star-Spangled Banner, and stand tall and proudly when I watch the waves roll in on an Oregon shore, but oh how I long for that day of being finally in MY country! The one that ironically truly is of sweet liberty.

Olivia Marie

2010-06-27T22:07:00.003-05:00

It is with so much joy and more pride than a spinster aunt probably should feel that I get to introduce the newest member of my family: Olivia Marie Custer!!! She was born on June 25 after 33 hours of labor (Fiona, you're my new hero) at 21 inches and 7 lbs 12 oz. And she's adorable if I do say so myself.

Summer Reading and Reflections

2010-06-19T08:08:00.005-05:00

It's been a long time that a book as moved me to tears as often as Too Small To Ignore by Wess Stafford has. In it, he tells his testimony starting with the blissful months he spent living with his family in tropical West Africa, being loved on and cherished by the African village his parents were ministering to, and growing both in his conviction of God's love for him and the calling on his life to help the poorest of the poor. I actually laughed out loud at some of the stories, especially the one where a clothes donation arrives from America, and the chief, who gets first choice of course, selects old women's nighties to wear.

However, his testimony also includes the dark months spent at his MK boarding school several hundred miles away where he encountered child abuse of the foulest kind, both physical and emotional. It broke my heart and just added to the mounting resolve I felt this past year to keep fighting for children around the world. They are under so much more attack than I ever realized. Wess Stafford makes the point that the most common age in which people turn to Christ is under 18. Ask most believers today when they became Christians, and you'll receive a "pre-adult" answer. That's why he's convinced a spiritual war rages over children because the enemy knows if he can keep them from trusting God before 18, half the battle is won.

I went to BFA thinking I was serving missionaries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa and helping them stay in their ministries, and that's still 100% true. But it's so much more. I've found MY mission field in the 320 kids who attend our school, many more non-believers than I expected. So many of them have seen and experienced deep hurt already in the countries they come from: friends oppressed, families divided, war, murder, constant threat, and adamant refusal of the hope-bringing gospel. If Satan can get to them in these years, he may be able to destroy not only the ministries of their parents (who can't concentrate or ethically stay on the field if their kids are hurting), but also the spirits of these kids entrusted to BFA.

My child advocacy may not be among the poorest of the poor as Wess Stafford's is, but I believe in it more assuredly today than even a year ago! If you're looking for some not-so-light-but-excellent summer reading, I highly recommend this book.

Summer Plans

2010-06-16T17:23:00.002-05:00

My summer is slowly taking shape, and I thought I'd put up some dates just in case any of you wonderful, loyal readers want to come to anything or possibly get together! I really want to see ALL of you this summer.

6/18: Update Evening at Grace Church Roseville in Roseville, MN
7/6: speak at Women's Missionary Stewardship at Grace Church Roseville
7/8?: leave for Nebraska, see friends and family along the way
7/11: speak at two churches in grandparents' home town?
7/13: arrive in Colorado
7/15: speak at Deborah Meeting at E-Free Church Colorado Springs, CO
7/15 - 7/17: Training at WorldVenture
7/19 - 7/23: Renewal Conference for WorldVenture
7/27: start journey back to Minnesota
8/1: speak at Cedar Creek Church in Hayfield, MN
8/4: speak at Bible Study at Hayden Heights Baptist Church in St. Paul, MN
8/4-8/8: Family Vacation (hopefully with my new little niece)

I'd love to fill in all those gaps. :-) E-mail me! Much love,
Katrina

Lizzie's Big Day

2010-06-09T17:33:00.004-05:00

My whole reason for coming back to the states before BFA's school year was up was so that I could share in my old roommate's Big Day. It actually started 2 days earlier with the bachelorette party. Ask me sometime about how lost I got on the way there.
Here's a better shot of the beautiful bride on her wedding day:
I really enjoyed my time as a bridesmaid in the stunning blue dresses. I laughed so much! Though part of that could've been the jet lag. Rita (in the picture below) was usually the main reason for my laughter. Ooh, and they had the cutest chocolate-covered strawberries ever!
What a gentleman Ben was to help her into her shoes before their first dance and the father-daughter dance.Loved the shock when Lizzie discovered it was HER car that got smeared and not Ben's. I think he loved that, too.
All in all, a very fun day! Friends of Lizzie, if you want more pictures, see facebook.

Moving Day

2010-06-03T13:09:00.003-05:00

I once again forgot to take pictures of the actual apartment, but it's a mess now anyway. Here are some shots of the move though. Thanks guys (AC, KK, TC, TA, HP, SS, and EH) as well as all my WorldVenture colleagues who showed up to move and pray. Love you all.

I had forgotten about the carrying the mattress down the street. It and two chairs were the only things that didn't fit into the truck. Fortunately, I didn't move far.
Enjoying my first outdoor dinner at the new place with Doner pizza. Yummm.

More of VW

2010-05-31T10:52:00.002-05:00

As we're working on VW's final History project (a self-invented board game), he has me cutting out little circle soldiers while he works on the catapults and centurions. Of course, he only needs 4 catapults, but he's asked for 220 circle soldiers. So, I'm cutting away while he's drawing, when a parent walks in. She starts asking me about her two kids and their homework status, and naturally I put the scissors down to devote my full attention.

Barely two minutes into the conversation, VW looks up. "Hey, less talking, more working!"

Final Week

2010-05-28T12:55:00.004-05:00

My last week at BFA for this first year hasn't exactly gone as planned. In fact, it's been rather tough in a year that's been rather filled with tough weeks. More bad things happened, and more tears were shed on behalf of students I've come to love and care for deeply. On Wednesday night, I found myself engrossed in a deep conversation with God, wondering what the point of being here was if the cost to my heart was so great. The spiritual weight felt heavy on my chest, and I went so far as to question MK schools as a whole. Were they really all that wonderful? Did I want to go back to the states and defend them to supporters and friends? "Sure, send your kids to an MK school where they'll be emotionally dragged through the mud!" I stood on my bed, peering out my skylight window, and praying over and over that God would bring more healing (theme of the year). It was a late night, and there didn't seem to be any answers, so I feel asleep exhausted.

48 hours later, and I'm still tired. I've been staying late at school and coming home to pack more boxes for the big move on Tuesday. There are errands to run, bills to pay in advance, suitcases to pack for the states, and good-byes to be said. And in the midst of this chaos, God just gave me a gift. 5 minutes ago, my work was interrupted by a pack of squealing boys out on the square. Yes, you read that right: squealing boys! I ran to the skylight over my bed to see what the commotion was, and I saw some strangely clad boys dashing around and looking behind lampposts, around the fountain, and under benches. One of them screamed louder, and the others congregated as he pulled a neon yellow hat out from under the bench with a crumpled piece of paper. He put the bright hat on his head, proceeded to read what I assume was a clue to the others, and then they all ran off squealing some more. It made me smile.

Maybe this place is a place worth investing in. Maybe these kids, who certainly have seen a lot of bad things in this world, need a haven, and just maybe BFA can still be one. I got to thinking. What if the bad things that happened this year would have happened somewhere else, where they couldn't have been caught or curbed or healed? What if being at an MK school actually was God's way of pulling them out? What if the people who are here are here for a reason this year? I may not know all the staff yet, but the ones I know really do care, and the students I know best have sensitive hearts. I feel honored to be a part of it.

Funniest Moment of the Day

2010-05-25T10:25:00.002-05:00

All the seniors are stressing out about meeting their community service hours quota before graduation. Those are basically volunteer hours that they do for people in the community for free. I have 6 helping me move next week.

So today on my way home, I saw two of them sweating in the sun hauling bricks.

Me: Ah, trying to rack up those hours, huh?
HVDM: No, this is for the joy of the Lord!

Made me laugh. (By the way, those really are all HVDM's initials.)

God's working

2010-05-21T05:51:00.003-05:00

I still look back at the last three months and cannot believe all that God has done. Here's a work in progress of my attempt to express some of it:

Out of February's grime, you brought May's identity.
Out of rot, you brought worth.
Out of ashes, beauty.

You turned February's scars into May's completeness.
You turned trash into a crown.
Shame into honor.

For February's storm, you exchanged May's rays.
For driftwood, you exchanged a temple.
For brokenness, healing.

February grew winter. May found spring.
February held loss. May gave gain.
February saw death. May was life.

I love VW

2010-05-18T08:11:00.002-05:00

I continue to be amazed at VW's progress. He was less than happy this morning in History, and it was all I could do to drag him through the lesson. We had almost reverted to the old days of his never answering my questions and not even making eye contact.

But then this afternoon, the 5th graders came over to visit the middle school, their new home next year. The 6th graders were assigned various jobs in showing their underclassmen the ropes, and VW was given the task of tour guide down the main hallway. My heart was filled with warm fuzzies when I heard his strong voice and Swedish accent drifting through my door:

"And here is de computer lab. You will learn many dings in dere about computer programming and typing. Now Room 405 is de storage room. You will not need to go in dere. Here is de Resource Room. Come along now. Hurry, please."

Adorable!

London, baby!

2010-05-17T15:35:00.002-05:00

(Sarah Helget, that title's for you.)

The AP trip to London was SO MUCH fun - good kids, fantastic city, and a break from the routine. Hurrah! The youth hostel was really the only downer what with the stench, the nasty public showers, and the attached disco, not to mention the drunken fist fight right outside one's door in the middle of the night.

On Thursday we arrived, hit the British Museum, took 1/2 the students to the Imperial War Museum, wandered around Covent Garden, and saw Phantom of the Opera. My feet were shot by the end of that night. On Friday we went to Greenwich, saw maritime stuff at their museum, paraded around the Natural History Museum, snuck off to Foyle's bookstore, and attended a Globe production (that sadly left some things to be desired, such as proper clothes for some of the characters). On Saturday we visited Blenheim Palace and Oxford, where my friend Adeline joined me for the day. And on Sunday we hit some main sites in London such as Parliament, Westminster, and Buckingham (all from the outside), and returned to BFA 3 hours before they shut Gatwick Airport due to the ash cloud. Praise God!

Prime Meridian

old-fashioned tennis balls

the Globe with the rather promiscuous rendition of Midsummer Night's Dream

Definite highlight: Foyle's bookstore that the show Foyle's War was named after; I bought a book on Anglo-Saxon history in Britain (yep, I'm a nerd)

Got to see Adeline (friend from Ecuador)

Last adventure of the year - apart from moving in 2 weeks, though I'm not nearly looking forward to that one as much. Love you all and can't wait to see most of you soon.

Retro Day

2010-05-09T05:29:00.003-05:00

I think I'm mourning the fact that Austrian schools never had spirit days (can you imagine!) by completely overkilling my costumes when we have spirit days here. The theme this time was 60's, 70's or 80's. Here's one of me with other middle school teachers and the principal - my future colleagues! Makes me happy.(If you couldn't tell, I was supposed to be a hippie.)

Kids and Colds

2010-05-04T08:15:00.004-05:00

I should invest in the hand sanitizer stock market. Every day after my middle schoolers leave, I practically run to the hand sanitizer in the hallway, load up two paper towels and wipe down every surface I can in my room. Yesterday, one particular middle schooler finished blowing his nose and threw away his tissue (after the usual routine of his putting it on the table and my asking him to throw it away), and then he returned to his seat with a giant, hot pink booger hanging out of his nose. In revolt, I pushed my chair away, hurled another tissue at him, and pointed aghast, "What's that?" He wiped the hot pink booger into the kleenex, studied it for a minute, and said, "Must be my nose medicine. My mom told me not to blow it out." For one lingering, dreadful second, I thought he was going to sniff it back up into his nose, but to my relief, he crumpled it up and placed it on the table (until I once again asked him to throw it away in the trash).

Look what God has done

2010-05-02T14:14:00.006-05:00

I'd never understood what people were talking about when they were glad to see a month end. Sure some months were often tougher than others, but I never blamed it on the month itself. Until this past February. It was bad from start to finish, full of crises and challenges and bad news. Those of you who helped pray me through it remember! March didn't come soon enough, and it definitely turned a corner. High school retreat picked up our spirits, and then we all headed in spring break with mission trips and uplifting conferences. I looked back at February 2010 and said, "Good. Riddance!" February was rot, dust, ashes.

Last week and today, the Black Forest Christian Fellowship (the English-speaking church that meets at school) had baptisms. I decided to forgo my German church to see some of my current and future students make this big step of obedience. Well, no one told me EY was among those getting baptized. EY was the one who helped blow the whistle on the sexual abuse case in February, and so many of you have prayed for her and her healing process since. Today I saw some of those prayers answered. God has brought beauty out of the ashes!
There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Especially from all the boys you can see in the front of the picture - her dorm brothers. During the prayer time, her mother asked everyone who'd invested in EY's life or at any time ever prayed for her to stand. The entire auditorium was on its feet, and I couldn't help but think of all the people and supporters around the world who'd also laid EY at Jesus' feet. It was a beautiful picture. Do February storms also bring May crowns?

Not to overlook all the other students who took big steps today as well, here are some other snapshots. The first one is a girl who'll be my student next year! The middle one had a testimony of loss that also made me sob, and the final shot is one of the boys from the dorm I volunteer at every Thursday. Such sweethearts all of them!

Signs of spring!

2010-04-26T05:20:00.004-05:00

- It could almost be snowing, there's so much pollen floating in the air right now.
- The trees on the hill outside my window are practically neon green.
- This morning, a huge bumble bee crashed into my four large windows numerous times before finally decided he was in fact not going to get me to open them for him to come in.
- I wore sandals to work today.
- The clouds are getting puffier and looking whiter.
- There's the promise of our first thunderstorm coming up.
- Kids are getting stir crazy in classes.
- Everyone eats lunch outside.
- I really don't want to grade anymore online papers!
- It's getting too warm at night for my down comforter.
- And the best one: it's light-ish when I get up at 5:50 and stays light till 9:30-ish!!! LOVE it!

Guilty

2010-04-16T14:40:00.003-05:00

Today during VW's homework period, he was done with his homework for the entire weekend. Excitedly, he asked if he could play on the classroom computer. It was Friday, so I said sure. He practically ran down the hallway to take his science book back to his locker and clean up his stuff, then he jumped on the computer. I meanwhile grabbed one of the 8th grade novels off the shelf that I've been eying for a while and started browsing. Five minutes into my enjoyable perusal, VW turned around with a stern look on his face, "Are you working, Ms. Custer?" "Um, no, not really." "You should be working." Caught red-handed, I suppose.

What's the point?

2010-04-14T08:35:00.006-05:00

Yesterday over lunch, one of the many announcements that came through was the following:

"Anyone interested in being baptized as a part of BFCF's (Black Forest Christian Fellowship) baptismal service - coming up - should go see Pastor Harrop right now during lunch. He's sitting in the student center and promises he won't take more than 2 minutes of your time."

During my 6th period class, JB said something about being baptized.

Me: "Oh, did you go see Pastor Harrop during lunch?"
JB: "No, that seemed really meaningless and rushed."
Me: "You mean short-notice? You didn't have your testimony ready?"
JB: "No, I mean that 2 minutes to talk and get baptized and you're out of there all seems really fast and kind of pointless."
Me: "Uhh, ...."

I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't laugh (too loud) and then tried to explain today was just about expressing interest in being baptized, not the baptism itself. However, it was really cool because afterwards, we did get onto a short conversation about living a life for God and allowed God to control it. Darn bell interrupted us though! I've never had a serious conversation with JB before, so I was extra excited!

Spring Break Part 1: Austria

2010-04-13T14:40:00.004-05:00

I've been avoiding tackling the blog because it seems like there is so much to catch up on. But I guess rather than overwhelming everyone with details no one cares about anyway, I'll hit the highlights.

The WorldVenture Austria team conference takes place every spring in the mountains of Austria. The Germany team (which used to consist of one family) always joined them. This year, the Germany team is finally big enough to hold its own water! Hooray! We still met with the Austria team for the devotions and worship, but we had team meetings and strategy planning sessions separately. And all this is gorgeous Alpine setting:
On the last day, Jill, Amanda, and I hiked to the Toplitzsee Lake. It's where the Nazis supposely dumped a lot of treasure on the eve of their loss in 1945. However, there have been many searches of the lake's depths, and all that has been uncovered were thousands and thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit money. They were intending on flooding (and bankrupting) the British and American economies.From there, we three girls drove to Spittal for Good Friday and Easter. It was fun to show them my old stomping grounds and to stay with fantastic friends. I think I ate approximately eight loaves of bread, cheese of two whole cows, meat from a giant pig, fifteen cloves of garlic, and seventy-three pieces of cake. Give or take a few. It was yummy, and a lot of great conversations happened over those dinner tables.

I've run out of the pictures I took. I have to get the rest from Jill and Amanda to tell you about the real adventures that followed.