This weekend was the ICE Conference at BFA (International Christian Educators Conference). All day Thursday we scrubbed and cleaned the campus so it would be ready for teachers from schools all over Europe. They arrived Friday and Saturday.
All of Friday evening I was able to hang out with a group of RAs – very atypical at BFA! During a normal school week, the lives of teachers and RAs do not intersect very often. We have completely opposite schedules; they’re on when we’re off. It was fun to actually be able to sit and play a game with a group of RAs without having a high school guy interrupt and ask if he could get a ride to another dorm or have a guest for dinner or get help for homework!
Kristi Schliep came to stay with me for ICEC – she’s the one that recruited me to BFA! She’s living in California now, but she came back to BFA for this conference. It was really good to have time to talk with her about her own transition experiences and thoughts on the future. We’re trusting God to lead us step by step!
Kari and Kristi may be going a little crazy from sitting in workshops all day. What can I say? I have a knack for capturing people's weirdest faces. Don't worry, they don't normally look like that.
Along with quality RA and Kristi time, I got to hang out with teachers from all over Europe (and beyond) during ICEC! Teachers from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague, Madrid, and places in Africa and the Middle East came to our little town in Germany for this ACSI conference. It was fun to reconnect with a few PFO friends in the midst of sessions, seminars, lunches, and workshops.
PFO and RA friends
The conference goes through Tuesday, but a few of us are saying “Tschüss” to BFA and heading off to our next conference: the WorldVenture Germany field kickoff in Austria! There has been a Europe field for a while, but now there are enough WorldVenture people in Germany for it to have its own field.
I’m sad I couldn’t spend more time with the other teachers and RAs, but I’m looking forward to this time of spiritual refreshment and sharing stories with other WorldVenture workers in Europe.
I probably won’t be writing anything for the next 2 weeks because I won’t have consistent access to internet. It will be good to get away and rest and have time with God!
