SBS 2011-2012

After 3 years of working with the SBS here in Muizenberg, this year I have transitioned into a new role in Staff and Student Development on our YWAM base. It's been a good move for me, and I am enjoying the challenge of the new position. I am also enjoying being a part of the SBS in a less official way. Since Hans is still SBS staff, I get to participate in the social aspect of the school, attending parties and staff functions. Even though I don't spend as much time with them, I still enjoy getting to know the students through hearing their stories and seeing their passion for learning God's Word and serving Him in the world. I feel like God is giving me a new perspective on the SBS and the value it holds for the students who are dedicating 9 months of their lives to studying the Bible. Having stepped out of that environment, I am constantly drawn back to the things I've learned and the perspective I've gained through studying the Bible inductively for 3 years. What a blessing and a privilege.

Here are a few pictures from the school year so far:

a beginning-of-the-year braai with our new students

hans teaching on the book of Colossians

picnicing with the students

a typical afternoon in the life of the SBS student... studying

3 of our students from Nigeria, South Africa, and Swaziland

Home Again

After a bit of a hiatus from blogging, we are back! We are currently in South Africa, having just returned from another trip to the States, and we are excited about what this new season will bring for us. Hans is staff of the School of Biblical Studies, and I am transitioning into a new role in Staff and Student Development. We are entering our 4th year living in Africa, and are so thankful for the opportunity to continue serving God in this place that we have come to love. Coming back felt a bit like coming home.

Many Blessings, Susan

Our Students

This year we have 18 wonderful students in our School of Biblical Studies. They are from 13 nations (14 if you include staff), so we have a very diverse classroom! It makes for a very interesting environment in which to study the word of God.

Nations represented in our classroom:

Taiwan, France, Kenya, Australia, USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Brazil, Germany, Nigeria and South Africa.

Here are a few pictures taken in our classroom during an in-class assignment:

Rabo from Burkina Faso

Lesley from Taiwan and Katrien from France

The students hard at work

thank you

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for our family, especially last year during my mom's 4th time battling cancer. When we left California to come back to Africa, we knew that her surgery had been successful and the cancer had been removed, but we didn't know what kind of treatment she would need. By God's grace, her doctor said she didn't need any chemo. He just wanted to monitor her as she recovered from her surgery. So for the past 6 months, she's been recovering. She's had one scare since then, but thankfully, it was unfounded. She's fighting a persistent cough due to some sort of lung infection right now. So, we keep praying. We pray that the cancer will stay away and that her health will keep improving.

This is probably the most difficult part of living overseas, so far away from family. I'd say this past year has been one of the more difficult years of my life. So I thank all of you who have prayed and continue to pray for us. We need it and we are grateful for it!

Lots of Love,
Susan

We're alive!

Hello!

Well... after a gentle nudge from my loving mother, I decided it was time to get back on the blogging train. Last time I posted was in September, with pictures from our summer trip to the States. Now it's March and we're half way through our School of Biblical Studies. I will fill you in on that soon. But first, I want to post a few more pictures from our summer trip.

Visit To America - Part 3

After our time in Alaska, we returned to California. I came back a week before Hans did, in order to be with my mom for a doctors visit. When Hans got back from Alaska, we were able to spend a few days in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains. Our friends, Anneliese and Devin, live in the mountains and were going to be away from their house for a week, and they graciously offered it to us for a mid-summer getaway. So Hans and I had a relaxing and refreshing mountain retreat in the middle of our summer travels. It was a huge blessing. Here's a few pictures:

We visited Calaveras Big Trees, a National Park known for it's magnificent Giant Sequoias. Here, Hans is standing on the stump of one that was cut down about a hundred years ago.

Susan and a live Sequoia

We spent a day at Lake Alpine, picnicking, reading, and taking a kayak around the lake.

After our mid-summer getaway, we spent our last several weeks with my (Susan's) family in California. A highlight of that time was a Schoolland Family Camping Trip to Pinecrest Lake. There are 18 of us now, with 8 under the age of 7... so it was quite the adventure.


Happy Campers


We spent lots of time by the lake

Uncle Hans taking on the nieces and nephews in a competitive game of Trouble


Our sweet foster nephew...

We took a family trip around the lake on a pontoon boat


Our amazing van

We spent lots of time around the fire