One final beginning

Hello friends,

Well, for the 5th time, I'm watching school start up again here at BFA. As I picked up students from the airport, I couldn't help thinking how familiar all of this had become: greeting students in what is their fourth language, asking about their summers, most of which took place in a country that just a couple years ago I would've been hard pressed to find on a map. Driving 9-passenger vans down tiny winding streets, through rolling hills, passing sunflower fields and German villages. Dropping students off at dormitories which are older than my home country. Returning to my desk to prepare for a job that I've never done before. All of this has become so normal. And I realized again that I love this place which has become my home. So as I begin this last lap around the track, I want to live intentionally and with gratitude, with eyes open to see the people around me as Christ sees them.
So if you stop reading here, would you pray that with me? Thanks.

But if you'd like to hear a little more about how this school year is ramping up, here are some...
Highlights of the beginning of the year:

Opening Ceremonies

Every year, Black Forest Academy opens its school year with a ceremony in the auditorium: faculty and staff process in, and charges are read to the senior class, to the teachers, and to ResLife staff. There is a roll call of nations, as one of our teachers reads off the name of each country represented by our student body, and kids whoop and cheer when they hear their country called. But the most fun part is the procession of flags--each senior carries a flag from their homeland (or the homeland of one of their classmates) and marches in to epic music. It's awesome, and it's a sort of rite of passage for our seniors. As they walk past, proudly carrying a flag for Mozambique or Russia or one of the 'Stans, I always get kind of emotional. (I know. Embarrassing.) But these are my kids, and I can never quite believe that they're already seniors. You guys, I love love love living life with these students and watching them grow into strong and capable and loving men and women of Christ. And this year I watched as my first set of baby freshmen walk down those aisles as seniors, waving their flags. I won't say it makes me feel old. It just makes me feel so proud and honored to know them. And so excited for them. Please join me in praying for BFA's class of 2017. Because I want this to be an awesome year for them, and I want them to lead well and love well and lean hard into Christ. And I love them a lot. Okay thanks. I'm done freaking out now.




MS Play
This week we began rehearsals for BFA Middle School's production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I get to direct a very excited and hilarious group of 25 young actors, and I'm really looking forward to this rehearsal season and this show! We open in 8 weeks, so we have very little time to waste, but I couldn't ask for a better cast, crew, or set of student directors to help me. I look forward to sharing pictures of that process along the way.


Teaching Spanish
As I mentioned to many of you this summer,  I have been asked to teach Spanish 1 this year. I'm excited about this, since it means I'll actually be using my Spanish degree for the first time! And I'm nervous about this, because not only have I never taught a language before, I've never actually been in a high school language classroom. So once again, I'm learning as I go, diving into a new curriculum and a new set of lesson plans. It's a strange thing, teaching a language. So many topics seem to naturally leak into other ones, and I find that I have to be very intentional and specific about what I'm teaching, or it would be easy to accidentally start explaining grammar that they have no context for. (But honestly--how do I teach "Encantado" and "Encantada" without pointing out the difference between masculine and feminine nouns, and how do I discuss that without explaining all the various pronouns, and the various words for "you," depending on context, and then I find myself wanting to explain verb conjugation, and meanwhile, these kids don't know how to say "yes" and "no".) But my students are so engaged, and curious, and I love that. I think it's going to be a really fun year. I have discovered that I love teaching lower level language classes because I get to design Bingo games and Lord of the Rings themed vocabulary activities. So that's awesome.

Spiritual Emphasis Week
As I type this, I'm listening to the final chapel of Spiritual Emphasis Week. BFA holds this event every year: a guest speaker and band come into the school and we begin every school day with a chapel service. This year, the band leader and speaker is not only a gifted singer and preacher, but also an alumnus from BFA. Danny has done an excellent job preaching the gospel and leading these students in worship. Staff and students have all been praying that God would be present, be audible, and be moving in our school this week. As this week finishes out, please join me in praying that our students would hear and would listen. And that they would fearlessly respond to His voice as they move into the rest of the school year.


This isn't a highlight, but it is a request.
To be honest with you, I don't feel comfortable including this section in this post. Because it is about money. And I don't like talking about money.
I don't think this is a holiness thing. I would like to think that I don't ask people for money because like George Müller, I am relying completely on the supernatural provision of the Holy Spirit. God knows my needs, and he will provide them without my having to ask!
That would be nice, but I think it's mostly a pride thing. I don't like to ask for help, and I hate asking others for favors or gifts. Because it's humbling--but you know what? God designed his church as a body. I'm not some solitary figure, over here in Germany, doing my own thing. We are each unavoidably linked with and dependent on the prayers and encouragement and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And I need to get over myself and ask for help.
I have seen God's faithfulness in providing for my needs (spiritual AND financial) over the past four years. But I have been hit recently with some unexpected financial burdens: bills I didn't think I would have, taxes which were most substantial than I thought, housing expenses that are more than I budgeted for. As my support account currently stands, I will not have the finances to stay past December. None of these situations are a surprise to God, I know. And I know that he has promised to provide my needs.
And I would like to ask you: would you pray about being a part of that, either through a one-time gift to my ministry, or a pledge of monthly support?
If you're interested in giving, you can use this page to give to my TeachBeyond account: https://give.teachbeyond.org/support/amanda-rumbaugh/.

If you're not currently in a place where you can afford to do that, no worries. We are still friends! (This should be obvious. But sometimes as a missionary, I feel the need to clarify: we are still friends, even if you are not financially supporting me. We are even still friends if you didn't actually read this update.) I am SO grateful for all of your prayers and your encouragement. And hey, I'm grateful that you're even still reading this post. But please join me in praying that God will continue to provide for my final year here at Black Forest Academy.

Prayer Requests
I have included a few prayer requests in the updates, but I would like to reiterate them here:
1. Please pray for the seniors this year--that they would lead the school well, and that they would become ever more aware of Christ's presence and love, and that they would reflect that to their peers.
2. Please pray for me as I direct the Middle School play--pray for energy and patience and clarity of thought (those qualities are not always easy to maintain in a chaotic group of middle school students). And pray for the students as they learn their parts and encourage one another as we all work together to put on this show.
3. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be continually moving and speaking in this place, among students and staff. And pray that He would give all of us the ears to listen and the courage to respond.
4. Pray that God would continue to provide. Praise the Lord, he has already promised that he will.

Thank you all so much for your friendship, your grace, your support, and your prayers. I hope you all have an awesome September!

Love from Germany,
Amanda