Guten tag! I hope that all of you are doing well. My, how time flies when you’re having fun! I can’t believe that I have been here for over a month and almost two months already. There have been a lot of things that have taken place since I last wrote a newsletter.
Life at Liel:
Life at Liel goes by at a whirlwind pace, or so it seems. I don’t think a week has gone by that has been “slow.” Some days will go by slowly, depending on what needs to get done or how much sleep I have had or other factors, but for the most part, the weeks fly by. Soon after I wrote the last newsletter, the high school students at BFA had a “Fall Party.” The theme dealt with movies, so the students dressed up as different characters from different TV shows or movies. I had the privilege of being dressed up as a wolf from a Little Red Riding Hood spin-off movie. Sorry! No pictures! :P Soon after that, I had my first weekend off (Friday after noon until 8am, Tuesday morning). Since I did not know the area that well, I decided to explore some castles with a Resident Assistant from another dorm. We got some basic directions and managed to eventually find our way (after turning around a couple of times…and finding a palace instead of a castle). Overall, though, the weekend was very relaxing and restful, which was needed. The other weekend that I had off, I was able to go hiking in the Swiss Alps (see the picture at the top of the page). It was absolutely gorgeous up there.
Since the dorm has both middle school and high school students in it, sometimes the schedule can get crazy. It is almost as though we have to duplicate events for the students. Early in the year, the high school students had their “Fall Party.” Just recently, the middle school students had their “Fall Party” with the movie theme again. Sometimes the Korean kids have worship at the school. To do this, they have to stay in after school and eat supper with all the other Korean students. Afterwards, we have to go pick them up. Since two of the students at the dorm are involved in volleyball, we’ll have to drop them off at the school early in the morning on a Saturday if it is an “away” game. There are a million little scheduling items that need to be considered with all of the students at times. Little did I know growing up that this must have been how my parents felt!
One of the phrases that have been used frequently in the dorm by the staff is, “Middle school drama.” This could entail a couple of students getting upset because another student at the school likes one person more than the other. It could also involve students learning life lessons about what friends they can trust information with. Some students have come home crying…life isn’t always easy, but we try to give the students affection, grace, love, and discipline.
General Schedule of my week:
Mondays I have off, so I usually sleep in, then I’ll either meet up with some other RAs or I will spend time watching movies. In the evening, I’ll play basketball and volleyball with staff from BFA and Germans from the community. Tuesdays, my main job is to wash the vans we use and do some small maintenance on them. Wednesdays are staff meeting days, where we will either meet as a whole Residence Life staff or I will meet with all the other RAs. Thursdays are the dorm parents’ day off, so the other RA and I manage to do everything fairly smoothly. My main job that day is to do laundry for the 8th grade students. We have a couple of helpers who come in during the evening to help with study hours for the students, so that’s nice. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the more relaxed days. I’ve made hot breakfasts twice already and I’ve also made cookies a couple times and no one has complained yet, so I think my mom taught me well!
Something to look for in the next newsletters:
In the next few newsletters, I will be introducing the students that I work with to you. They will be writing a short paragraph about themselves and I will also include a picture of them. J
Praises
The driving test went well and I can drive students around!
I am feeling much more comfortable in my job.
Prayer requests
That I would be steadfast in feeding myself from God’s word.
Pray for growth in student’s lives (emotional, physical, spiritual).
Physical healing for a girl who got kidney stones in our dorm.
That the rest of the support monies would come in.
That God would be glorified in everything that we do.
With love,
Nathan Pharr
Contact info:
E-mail address: nathan_pharr@yahoo.com
Address: Hauptstrasse 29
Schliengen Liel 79418
Germany
Life at Liel:
Life at Liel goes by at a whirlwind pace, or so it seems. I don’t think a week has gone by that has been “slow.” Some days will go by slowly, depending on what needs to get done or how much sleep I have had or other factors, but for the most part, the weeks fly by. Soon after I wrote the last newsletter, the high school students at BFA had a “Fall Party.” The theme dealt with movies, so the students dressed up as different characters from different TV shows or movies. I had the privilege of being dressed up as a wolf from a Little Red Riding Hood spin-off movie. Sorry! No pictures! :P Soon after that, I had my first weekend off (Friday after noon until 8am, Tuesday morning). Since I did not know the area that well, I decided to explore some castles with a Resident Assistant from another dorm. We got some basic directions and managed to eventually find our way (after turning around a couple of times…and finding a palace instead of a castle). Overall, though, the weekend was very relaxing and restful, which was needed. The other weekend that I had off, I was able to go hiking in the Swiss Alps (see the picture at the top of the page). It was absolutely gorgeous up there.
Since the dorm has both middle school and high school students in it, sometimes the schedule can get crazy. It is almost as though we have to duplicate events for the students. Early in the year, the high school students had their “Fall Party.” Just recently, the middle school students had their “Fall Party” with the movie theme again. Sometimes the Korean kids have worship at the school. To do this, they have to stay in after school and eat supper with all the other Korean students. Afterwards, we have to go pick them up. Since two of the students at the dorm are involved in volleyball, we’ll have to drop them off at the school early in the morning on a Saturday if it is an “away” game. There are a million little scheduling items that need to be considered with all of the students at times. Little did I know growing up that this must have been how my parents felt!
One of the phrases that have been used frequently in the dorm by the staff is, “Middle school drama.” This could entail a couple of students getting upset because another student at the school likes one person more than the other. It could also involve students learning life lessons about what friends they can trust information with. Some students have come home crying…life isn’t always easy, but we try to give the students affection, grace, love, and discipline.
General Schedule of my week:
Mondays I have off, so I usually sleep in, then I’ll either meet up with some other RAs or I will spend time watching movies. In the evening, I’ll play basketball and volleyball with staff from BFA and Germans from the community. Tuesdays, my main job is to wash the vans we use and do some small maintenance on them. Wednesdays are staff meeting days, where we will either meet as a whole Residence Life staff or I will meet with all the other RAs. Thursdays are the dorm parents’ day off, so the other RA and I manage to do everything fairly smoothly. My main job that day is to do laundry for the 8th grade students. We have a couple of helpers who come in during the evening to help with study hours for the students, so that’s nice. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the more relaxed days. I’ve made hot breakfasts twice already and I’ve also made cookies a couple times and no one has complained yet, so I think my mom taught me well!
Something to look for in the next newsletters:
In the next few newsletters, I will be introducing the students that I work with to you. They will be writing a short paragraph about themselves and I will also include a picture of them. J
Praises
The driving test went well and I can drive students around!
I am feeling much more comfortable in my job.
Prayer requests
That I would be steadfast in feeding myself from God’s word.
Pray for growth in student’s lives (emotional, physical, spiritual).
Physical healing for a girl who got kidney stones in our dorm.
That the rest of the support monies would come in.
That God would be glorified in everything that we do.
With love,
Nathan Pharr
Contact info:
E-mail address: nathan_pharr@yahoo.com
Address: Hauptstrasse 29
Schliengen Liel 79418
Germany
No comments:
Post a Comment