Tyler soloed (flew an airplane by himself) for the first time yesterday! We can hardly believe it! We are so proud of him! When I emailed him last night and asked him if it actually happened (because whether he flies or not is always dependent on the weather), this was his reply: yes i did...yes i did.
it went really well! first me and my instructor went up. just to get a feel for things before letting me go. The wind was quite a bit higher than what i've been used to, so that was good. Than i dropped him off at the letourneau hanger, and i was off! i took off, and landed 3 times. that was pretty much it. I was pretty nervous at first, but it went really well.
after the flight he took some pictures, and then he cut off part of my shirt. thats a tradition for your first solo. they cut it off because the instructor isn't gonna be tugging on my shirt anymore, i am free haha. These pictures were taken after he flew yesterday. Go Tyler!!
BFA is on spring break, but our staff have been "on duty" because we have just finished hosting a huge international Christian educators conference. We had approximately 350 delegates (including BFA staff). The visiting delegates were mostly from other Christian international schools in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Here are a few snapshots from the past few days. We are very well at the conference! This bread shaped like a turtle was hollowed out and filled with little sandwiches. We had great worship times together. Our worship band was comprised of BFA staff and students. The banners for the conference were designed by Luke. The theme of the conference was "Beyond" with Ephesians 3:20-21 as the theme verses. Pulling off a conference like this is a pile of work! We were very grateful for 3 different work teams from the U.S. who came to BFA to help out wherever needed. Many of our BFA staff helped throughout the conference with serving meals, hosting at our service desk, chauffeuring, serving coffee, cleaning, etc... Dr. Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International was one of our keynote speakers. The conference culminated with an amazing banquet. This meal and all of the other conference meals were hosted in our school gym. Kurt placed fire extinguishers throughout the gym last night in case they would be needed (notice the hundreds of candles on top of the huge candelabra on each table!). Here he is being a little distracted en route! Bill and Deb were part of one of the work teams. Bill was former Principal at BFA and Tim's very good friend. So good to have them back! ACSI colleagues Mike and Loralee were the main organizers of ICEC 2010. They are an amazing team; they invested countless hours (beginning many months before the conference) to make these past four days a huge success. My wonderful friend, Neeva, from Kiev, Ukraine
We have some important news to share with you. Tim and I have just made one of the biggest and most exciting decisions of our married lives. We will be leaving BFA at the end of this school year, departing sometime in the summer of 2010.
Back in mid February on a Friday afternoon just as Tim was about to close up his office to head home, he received an email inviting him to apply for a new position that was opening up at the headquarters of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Immediately, both Tim and I felt a clear leading to pursue this, so Tim went through the whole application process and then we waited.
Finally, last week Tim was offered the position of Director of International Services within the ACSI Global Division. As soon as we heard the news, we knew that this was God nudging us in a new direction and so Tim accepted the job. In this new role Tim will be serving ACSI member schools, schools like BFA, around the world, while providing administrative support to the ACSI Global team. His duties will include things like providing accreditation services, conference planning, recruitment, administrative detail, etc. It will also involve some travel to schools around the world. In other words, the role is an excellent fit to Tim’s expertise and passion for international Christian education.
Naturally, leaving BFA will be not be easy for us, as we say good-bye to the place and people that we love so dearly. I am finishing my 29th year at BFA and Tim is completing his 24th. Over these years, we have experienced all facets of life at BFA. This also included the birth of our two sons, Luke and Tyler, and years later, their graduation from the school. We can’t think of a better place on earth to raise a family, and to serve God and love people. As I have reflected on my years at this school, I realized that the longer I have been here, the more I truly love BFA. And that love is really all about the people who make this school such an amazing place.
We covet your prayers for us during this time of transition, not only for Tim and I, and Luke and Tyler, but for BFA as well. We have full confidence that God is in this and that He will strengthen and equip us as we close this chapter of our lives. We know that He is going to do the very same for BFA. He is going to supply the perfect replacement for Tim, someone who can continue to lead our favorite school in the whole world!
Thank-you for standing with us in the months ahead.
Gratefully,
Sandee and Tim
ACSI headquarters where Tim will be working
Colorado Springs where we will be living
Our beloved BFA!
Kandern
I just had to take these pictures today when Tim and I were grocery shopping! I love the wonderful yogurt that we can buy in Germany. There are many varieties and many great flavors. However, corn flavored yogurt and popcorn flavored yogurt - hmmmm - no thanks! Tim suggested that we buy it and try it, but I was already warned by someone who sampled it that it is not worth it! Click on photo so you can read the yogurt label!
Our Easter break starts next week. Last night our small group met one last time before that happens. Tim and I treated them to Greek food followed by strawberry shortcake. We have been going through a book this year called "And the Bride Wore White" and finished it last night. It has been a good study. I don't have very many weeks left with these amazing ladies. After Easter break time is going to go very quickly and soon graduation will be upon us! That is way too painful to think about right now! Jessica loves seafood. She is holding a poor little squid on her fork! )o: Every year during Easter break BFA staff and students participate in missions trips. Last year Tyler and I were part of a team that went to Kenya. This year there are teams traveling to Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Tajikistan, Greece, and Macedonia. Two of my small group, Kyra and Anna (in the front in the above picture) are going to Tanzania. Please pray for them!!
This weekend our middle school at BFA is performing "Get Smart". We went to the production last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. They did an amazing job, bringing many laughs to their audience!
