Simply Trusting

Dear friends, I have to admit that my mind has been a whir lately, so this is going to be more of a reflective post. Watching the political struggles in my homeland has been disheartening and disconcerting. To-do lists seem endless. Balance is an elusive thing. But there have been some wonderful moments too, like getting together with my small group girls. My piano class is making some exciting progress on their ensemble pieces. They are improvising left and right, and grasping the style of their solos. Last night I was privileged to perform with my colleagues in the Performing Arts Department in our annual Faculty Recital. Today I was a guest at a baby's 1st birthday party. I'm grateful for these things. And there have been some unplanned moments of quiet that have restored part of my spirit. Please allow me to share a moment from the other day with you:  Something about it felt different.  After I finished teaching during 1st period, sunlight was beginning to seep throu

Happy October! We are in the midst of a beautiful Autumn season here, full of the lovely colors of changing foliage. This month has been jam-packed full of life and happenings! This update is my attempt to summarize all that has happened. One question that I hear frequently when I talk to friends and family is "How's Germany?" Well, Germany (and some other places) has been pretty exciting lately... Three weeks ago, I was privileged to travel with the senior class and a group of adult sponsors on the senior trip to Italy. We are very fortunate to be able to tour such a beautiful country! Every day we saw something exceptional and unique. The educational and social value of seeing and experiencing things that so many of us grew up only reading about in textbooks is immense. Only when you walk through the Colosseum do you really begin to understand how huge it is and how much happened in that place. As amazing as it was to get to see the Pantheon and St. Peter's Basili

The last weeks have been full of new beginnings and activities. We have now completed our first two weeks of classes and the days have gotten busy! Let me fill you in on what a day can look like right now: I try to get to school by 8:15am so I have time to get some coffee in my system before my 1st period class comes in. I have a small section of Piano 2 during this time, so it's a really nice, gentle start to the day. They're there because they want to be, and they are eager to learn and grow. Each one has voiced specifically how they would like to grow this semester, and they are well on their way to meeting their goals. Class time involves a short warm-up time (because fingers take a while to wake up!), group improvisation, sight-reading, time to check individual process on the pieces they're learning, and discovering other topics, such as chords, scale and arpeggio fingerings, and many other things. I'm always a little sad when the bell rings to end this class.

"I've learned that God's timing is perfect, He knows in advance the who, what and when of every situation; I can't plan God's actions for Him." - Csehy Counselor Dear Readers, For the last month or so, I've been processing and pondering. How to sum up one of the fullest summers of my life thus far? Some words that come to mind are intensity, joy, longing, and most of all peace. It is my deep privilege to serve at the Csehy Summer School of Music, helping to lead the team of counselors, and contributing to life there in any way necessary. More than ever before, this year I was asked by my colleagues and friends at Black Forest Academy, "WHY, after a busy school year, would you choose to spend your summer at CAMP??" While Csehy has been part of my life since I was thirteen,  in my adult life I have pondered this question myself. But, as with anything in life, when God's calling is evident, one simply must obey. This summer was full of many

Dear Friend, My heart is so very full! This last month and a half has been filled with many events and opportunities. Mid-April held our annual Music Festival, so after spring break my schedule centered around teaching and playing for as many string and voice lessons as possible. So many great opportunities to work with fantastic students. There were a few days in which I played for 10 lessons. That may not sound like much, but I also maintained a normal teaching schedule of both piano classes and private lessons. It was a very busy season, but it was also very fulfilling as well. I loved getting to be a 'fly on the wall' as the students learned and grew. Music Festival week was a full one. In addition to playing for all of our string players and singers, I also had piano students participate. As I observed the adjudicator working with them, it was gratifying to hear him tell them things I had told them, as well as pick up some new teaching ideas myself! I think I have ment

"When's the last time you did something for the first time?" #keeplearning This question appeared on my Facebook newsfeed, posted by a friend (thanks Dan Davis!). It was so cool to see various responses, and of course I wanted to chime in! However, I have to admit that after thinking about it most of the day, twelve hours after seeing the post I finally came up with what felt like a decent answer. The challenge is that although so much in my day doesn't feel new, so many emotions that are associated with a first experience occur throughout my day. So why is this the case, and why am I bothering to blog about it? Well friends, to answer the second question first, I feel that this may give you a bit of a window into what goes on in the mind of a missionary, and it may help you to see just how human we really are. So why that 'first' feeling, and why doesn't it go away? This question would pop across my mind frequently through the first year here, quick

Greetings friends and family! I have been itching to get a post up, as it feels as though it has been forever! Tonight I arrived home from the 2nd full day of a conference we are hosting at the school, and though my brain is fried I just KNEW I had to write. There is so much going on that I want to tell you about! Approximately a week and a half ago I was privileged to be part of our annual faculty recital. As much fun as it is to learn a piece to perform solo, I particularly enjoyed collaborating with my colleagues, playing for a violist friend and having immense amounts of fun squeezing no less than four pianists at one piano for a piece titled Galop-march. As much fun as we do have, we also take our performing seriously, as this is something we try to model well for our students. The day after the recital, the entire high school once again headed off to Switzerland for a weekend away on retreat. Challenges from the Word and deep times of worship were among the highlights. My small

Dear Reader, I wish that you could come spend time in my cozy living room at this moment. My house is so warm and inviting, I just made coffee (thank you Carolyn and Jimmy for the Beehouse! It has changed my life), and it's quietly snowing outside. One step out of my door and I think I'm living in fairy land :)  What a week this has been! Monday marked the first day of classes, post-Christmas. Seeing the students again was great, although they weren't so excited to be back in class. We have one more day of class, then four days of exams, and then at last we get to start a whole new semester. I'm anticipating a lot of things in the coming weeks, including more piano class students, even more private lessons tackling challenging repertoire, and playing the piano to perform and accompany more than ever. I'm also looking forward to sweet times with my small group girls - they make me laugh! That being said, I'm sad to end this term with the students I've bee