Alethia's First Two Dance Recitals

Alethia has been taking a ballet class since September.  It has been such a good experience for her.  She has been learning how to follow directions and developing coordination.  She has also made some friends.  One little girl, Mia, goes to her school as well, so they have become especially good friends. 

Alethia's ballet teacher, Miss Jenny, organized two recitals for all her students.  She directed a short version of Sleeping Beauty and incorporated each of the ballet classes into it.  Alethia's class were rose flowers. 

Alethia's friend, Moriah, came and watched her dance at the first recital.

Mia was her dance partner

Morgan, Ellie, Kara, and Krista came to her second performance and brought her flowers, which she was very excited about.

If you want to watch Alethia's dance, Anthony filmed it with his iphone.  This one is from the first recital and she is in the group of three middle/left.



This one is from the second recital and is a little better.  She is the third one from the right:

Staff Conference in Switzerland

I usually enjoy our staff conferences.  They are a great opportunity for us to get away from the daily stresses of ministry, connect with our team from across Germany, and be refreshed spriritually and professionally.  This conference, in particular, was especially great from all of these perspectives.

view of the Alps from our window

It was definitely one of the most beautiful locations we have been to: a chalet nestled into the foot of the Swiss Alps.  Although the lodging was nothing grand, the view from every window was spectacular.  There was a constant tinkling of cow bells in the background just as you would expect in a quaint village in Switzerland. 

view out the back window of the chalet

our chalet

Our morning sessions were on the topic of conflict resolution and were incredibly practical and helpful both in our personal lives, as well as, our ministry worlds.  Our speaker, Ernie Baker, a professor at Masters, and his wife were great to have around.

Our evening sessions were more team oriented: talking about what we want to be about, and were led by our field director, Nate, out of the book of Acts.  These too were thought-provoking times. 

In our free-time, we got out for some hiking and to enjoy God's beautiful creation.  I walked with Heather out to a waterfall that was amazing.

One afternoon friends offered to watch the kids and Anthony and I got to go with a group to geocache.  The view from near the cache was really incredible!

On our last afternoon, a big group of us took the kids and went hiking in a nearby gorge.  Again, the views were breathtaking and the kids loved it.

 

While we were in sessions, the kids were in "childcare."  They absolutely loved it...these are their best friends.  They couldn't get enough of having time together.

Leah & Heather with some of the kids

We are so grateful to get to be in ministry with such an incredible group of people!  We have tremendous respect for each of our teammates and so thoroughly enjoy these rare occasions that we get to spend with them. 

CSM Europe Field

And of course no trip to Switzerland is complete without a stop in Bern at Starbucks to get a Switzerland mug to add to my collection!