Winter Wonderland

The Heavenly Storehouses of Snow have fallen on Kandern. It's absolutely beautiful.

Interesting Story about Zurich

My British sister, Betty Jo, visited us again in November. We decided to take a trip to Zurich. One notable thing about the city was how "open" they are with their advertisements, especially concerning the sex industry. This was the first time I had experienced this type of exposure with the kids. We were looking for a place to get some ice cream and their little eyes were looking in every direction. It was difficult to steer them away from some very large poster advertisements. Finally; I just told them they were "medical posters" and we started looking for a park.

The most interesting thing about the experience, was a conversation with other staff at BFA the next week. One co-worker told me her senior daughter was in Zurich that week with another group and they were evangelizing in the "red light district, at night". These students go on missions every spring to places in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They also go on short trip missions during the school year. These students are getting a first rate education that is not only academic, but also experiential. They are raised up and equipped to live in this world without being devoured by this world. They grow in strength together and desire to show the love of Christ to every nation. I don't know where else in the world that this happens, but it touches my heart when I think that God has allowed our family to be a part of it.


We love you and miss you,

Loving and Serving Christ,
The Pogson Family

School starts in 4 days!

Hi all,

We have been very busy getting ready for school to start up again. It is amazing watching how God puts all the talents together, sometimes in the 12th hour, but it gets done. We are praying for some teachers and staff who have been delayed for medical reasons, and some for financial reasons.

I wanted to share with you a conversation I overheard in the hall today as some of the students are arriving. It made my heart swell with pride for the amazing staff that cares for these students while they are away from their families....

3 boys in the hall... (1st boy) "Wow, it seems weird feeling so comfortable at school". (2nd boy) "yea I know, me too." (3rd boy)... I remember my first day here; I felt like I was going to throw up. (boys 1 and 2) "really?" (boy 3).. "yea; I had been home schooled all my life....." voices fade in the hall.

The thing about these students is that they make each other strong. They all have very different and complicated lives. They pull together and will build eternal relationships. I just wanted to take a moment to share a snippet of what you are part of in this ministry.

Love, Sheila

Our Plans vs. God's Plans.

We have BIG plans for the Summer!

Sheila will be staying in Kandern with the triplets during the Summer while Brian returns to the US for a few weeks. While Brian is gone, Sheila... as usual.. is planning more than she can possibly get done.

SHEILA's PLANS

1. Repair the holes in the roof of the shed, from the hail storm several years ago.

2. Shore up the back of the shed that is falling apart. The widow that lives behind us is very concerned the whole thing is going to come crashing down onto her fence and into her back yard. I can't rule that out as a possibility.

I also need to haul off all the wood, bricks, rocks, and junk I pulled out of the shed and various places in the yard.

I also am planning to plant a vegetable garden and an herb garden. This should save us a good amount of grocery costs and also give my black thumb an ego boost. Everything seems to grow well here without much effort. I found some seeds for chili peppers, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, dill, and basil. I'm hoping to find some cilantro.

And; I need to trim the tree next to the other widow neighbor. It's too much work for her when our leaves fall into her yard.

So that's just around the house. Of coarse I also plan to take the girls to the Kandern Pool often, the water is very cold, but we can walk to it and they really enjoy it. Plus they sleep well on swim days. : ) And we will all be missing Daddy.

.

Brian's Plans:

Brian will be returning to the U.S. to try to shore up our partnership and financial support. We have been supplementing our funding with our savings and that has it's limits.

Brian and I will schedule appointments in the US, with anyone wanting to hear about our ministry. He will base his schedule on responses we get from newsletters, email, and word of mouth. We are planning for him to be gone 4 to 6 weeks. Sometime around mid June to mid July. He will probably be driving from Nebraska to Texas, California, and Washington; but that's all up to how the scheduling of appointments goes. We wish we could all go, but Brian can cover much more ground on his own at a great reduction in cost.

God's Plans:

You know how to make God laugh? ...... show Him your plans.

Despite the challenges we have faced during this first 8 months; we very strongly feel that God has equipped us specifically for serving Him here in Kandern, Germany. Every month that we are here we find the original challenges to be less daunting, and God finds more ways to stretch us for the next month. It's a joy to see what God is doing in the lives of BFA students, and staff. We also get to be a part in reaching the local community for Christ. It is our prayer that we can serve here for as long as God wants us to be here.

Your Plans:

Is God giving you a heart for His mission at Black Forest Academy and Teach Beyond? Is He wispering names or places in your ear? We ask you to pray for us as a family. Please pray for our ability to complete the work God has commisioned us to do here. Please pray for the LORD's protection over the school, and the families of the students that attend BFA. Prayerfully consider asking your small group, Bible study, church, friends, family,..... to schedule a presentation with Brian or just to sit and talk with him this summer. We urge you to prayerfully consider comming along side us as a partner in this ministry.

May the God of Peace bless you and your family,

Brian and Sheila Pogson

Mysteries of Kandern

Mystery 3:
Where is Spring?

I see robins all year long.

But it still looks like this..... ????

Easter is in 2 weeks.

literature week

The school is having their "Reading Olympics!" They get to dress up as their favorite literary charachter. Jennifer chose Aslin, from Narnia.

Heather chose Elina from Mermaidia.

And Hannah chose Dandilion from Mermaidia.

Aren't they adorable!!!

Mysteries of Kandern Germany (2)

Mystery 2:
How do they do that?

Log stacking here is an ART!

I feel like I did my share of stacking when I was in high school, but it never looked like this! I think it's amazing. Every house in the village has a perfectly formed stack of wood near their house.

Possible explanations?
1. It's genetic.
2. They take wood stacking 101 in 1st grade.
3. They buy "pre-fab" stacks of wood.

Any more ideas?

The Mysteries of Kandern, Germany

Mystery 1:
Why do the leaves only fall on our yard?


I wish I had taken pictures of the neighbors yards this fall. I could have shown you how perfect they were. Maybe next year. I would do it now, but it's snowing. So I ripped off this pic from the Shuman's blog. Even their golf coarse is leafless in the fall.

All the yards here in Germany have trees, but for some unexplainable reason... our yard gets covered with leaves when the neighbors yards don't. How do they do that?

Here are the only possible explanations I can come up with....

1. They teach the wind and the trees to only drop leaves into our yard.

2. In the event that a leaf does fall... they run out into their yard and grab the leaf. They then run back into the house very quickly.

3. They convince their pets to pick up the leaves and carry them over to our yard.

4. The sheep eat them.

What do you think? Any ideas?


Sheila

Christmas in Germany

Germany really knows how to do Christmas BIG! If anyone is thinking of visiting us while we are here, you may want to consider any time in December.

The girls were excited to learn that there is Christmas in Germany too. I think they were a little worried about that until we got our tree.

This year everyone got things like scarfs, gloves, earmuffs, coats, snow boots, etc... and a few toys.

Then we had to modify our traditional Christmas day walk to the beach. The girls put on just about every gift they had just received, grabbed their new umbrellas, and we took a hike to some nearby castle ruins.

We got to the castle latter than expected. The sun was going down and it was starting to snow.

The girls
were right...
We should have brought their new flashlights also.

We hiked back down the mountain in no time. We got home just as the sun went down. The hot chocolate was the best I had ever tasted in a very long time!

Although we miss you all and the beautiful Aptos climate, we thank God every day that we can be here. I truly believe Brian's professional experience was a great need here and we are blessed to have your support to make that happen.

A very belated Merry Christmas to all of you. Please forgive the huge gap between posts. We do think of you often and pray for you regularly.

Love Brian, Sheila, Hannah, Jennifer, and Heather.

Fehler vs. Falle....

They actually sound pretty much the same, (or at least to me the do) but it's important to know the difference. So... Just in case you ever find yourself "accidently" taking a case of milk from a German grocery store: the correct phrase to use is:

"Ich habe einen Fehler gemacht." (I made a mistake).

Just trust me... "Ich habe eine Falle." (I made a trap) is NOT the recommended response!

Thank God the cashier was patient and understanding. Also, pretty generous.. She gave me a chocholate bar on my way out. : -0