That's kind of what it felt like to start this school year. :-D We came back from Canada on Thursday evening and started school straight away on Friday. Johann spent the day at home with Elijah to give him some time before Elijah's everyday life would change so much.
After the summer, we are living here in Colorado in the same house as last school year. Apart from the address, however, a lot has changed. In August and September, we had a young German family in our house who also came to the USA for Charis Bible College. They have since found a nice apartment for themselves in Woodland Park and moved there. With three less people in the household, things are a lot quieter in our house now. We are using the time to put invitations into action that were already extended during the last school year. Every now and then, we can also get rid of excess energy in the yard. We prune bushes and trees and tidy up leaves. In the process, we have discovered new residents. The little snakes feel right at home here and Betty has already rescued one from the basement shaft.
The fact that we are both going to school this year has also changed a lot for Elijah. We take him to the babysitter every morning and pick him up again at lunchtime after school. Elijah spends six hours there from Mon-Fri. That's why we took this matter to God already a year ago. It mattered a lot to us that Elijah didn't get panicky when he was left with the babysitter. If that had been the case, one of us would have stopped studying. Our family is very important to us and comes before our studies and work. Saying goodbye was hard every time for the first two weeks and it also happened that we had to leave with tears in our eyes. However, our babysitter always texted us within 10 minutes that everything was fine and that Elijah was playing happily. We are incredibly grateful for Sunniva, she is such a blessing for us and we have great confidence in her! The way she organizes the day with the children has positively surprised us. We are always amazed at how many different play opportunities she creates every day to offer the children lots of variety. Meanwhile, Elijah is already asking about the other children (Sunniva has two daughters of her own and the son of another student family is also with her) and has the best time in the morning. We are so grateful that he has settled in so well and are convinced that God is with him during this time.
In the last 6 weeks at school we have already learned so much and it is very important to us to use this year to allow ourselves to be changed even more by God's Word and Spirit. We are here because of Him.
For Betty, the second school year has become a whole level more practical. This year includes a mission trip, about which we will share more. She will also be practicing sharing her testimony in interactive groups in a few minutes and also talking about Bible verses or topics in 3-7 minutes. These interactive groups are made up of the Mission Teams. This will help them get to know each other really well for the trip.
What is more practical for Betty is all hands on deck for Johann. A lot is required in ministry class and Johann also has to invest a lot outside of school. In addition to exegesis of Bible texts and preparing sermons, he also has to invest 2 hours a week in a church or ministry and collaborate on projects.
We are challenged, but we also know that we are living in God's will and therefore have grace for this time. It is an exciting time and there is nothing better than being on God's way!
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