What will you be doing in Germany?

We will be the Communications Coordinators at Black Forest Academy. We will oversee all of the school’s print, video and web media, ensuring that it is cohesive and effective. Much of our time will be spent improving and updating the website and video media.

What is the Black Forest Academy?

Black Forest Academy (BFA) is a boarding school for missionary kids (MKs). One of the main reason missionaries come back from the field is because there are no educational opportunities for their children where they serve. BFA allows MKs to get a high-quality education while their parents stay in the field. The school has 300 students in grades 2-12 and 145 boarding students in grades 7-12. BFA is an excellent school. It has very high standards and offers numerous opportunities to students. They can choose from AP classes, creative writing, technical drawing, language, art, music, theater, soccer, basketball, volleyball, track, ministry opportunities, chapel services, professional counseling, and much more.

What kind of students attend BFA?

Most BFA students serve in countries where there are few educational opportunities or where the education system does not allow students to prepare for attending a North American college. BFA families are missionaries to over 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. They come from many different missions organizations, including the International Missionary Board, Wycliffe, TEAM, ReachGlobal, Cross World, World Venture, Campus Crusade for Christ, Christian & Missionary Alliance, Greater Europe Mission, and OC International. Most BFA families are US or Canadian citizens, but many Asian students also attend. While the decision to attend boarding school is difficult, the benefits usually outweigh the negatives. BFA gives students the opportunity to focus on their academics, improve their social skills, grow sprititually, become more well-rounded, and connect with other Third Culture Kids.

Why do you need to raise support? Why do you need it so soon?

All staff members at BFA are missionaries. In order to keep costs low for student families, who are also missionaries, BFA does not pay any of their staff. All staff must raise financial support to cover their living expenses. Usually, missionaries spend a year raising support. Our journey to BFA was very fast. We discovered BFA, applied for a position, and were accepted as staff members in about one month. The 2009 school year began the same day that we became “official.” BFA has been without a communications staff person for a year, which hinders their ability to communicate with student families, recruit new students and staff, and keep in touch with alumni. BFA needs us there as soon as possible. Our goal is to leave for Germany in October. This will give us about six months to get to know the school, assess their communications needs, and get to work. It’s a big job, which is why we need to be there soon!

What experience do you have in media?

We both received Bachelors of Science in Digital Media from John Brown University. Israel’s focus was web and Dani’s was digital video production. After graduating from college, Israel spent three years doing web development. He specializes in making websites work. Dani spent a year and a half doing video editing and a year in portrait photography.

How long will you be at BFA?

We are committed to BFA for two years. But we can see ourselves there much longer. Most likely, we will know by the beginning of our second year whether we will stay for a third. Most summers, we will spend July in the US. About every fourth year, we will stay in the US to reconnect with the people we love and maintain our support.

What is TeachBeyond?

TeachBeyond is a missions organization that helps international Christian schools find staff and faculty members. TeachBeyond began as a part of Janz Team Ministries, which started BFA. TeachBeyond is our sending organization, which means that we are missionaries with TeachBeyond to the students at BFA. TeachBeyond oversees us, provides training and handles all of our support.

What’s the best way to contact you in Germany?

The internet. While we live in Germany, our blog will be our primary method of communicating with you. We want to keep our support team, friends and family involved in our lives, even though we’re an ocean apart. We also want to know what’s going on in your life. You can write us a letter, email or we can chat online through Skype. Skype is a free program that lets you talk or video chat with someone through the internet, regardless of their physical location. You can find all of our contact info on the Contact page.

What’s with your blog name?

BFA is located in the Black Forest of Germany, or Schwarzwald. The Black Forest is a beautiful, hilly, forested area that covers about 4,500 square miles of southwestern Germany. Many of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales were set there. Since we’ll be living in the Black Forest and will have many a tale to share, we thought it would be fun to play off fairy tales. Hence our blog name, Tales from the Black Forest.

Do you speak German?

At this point, we speak about 20 words of German. Most of them are numbers. If we have time before we leave, we’d love to learn more. It would be great to be able to ask where the toilet is. We may invest in Rosetta Stone or enroll in a German language program at a university near BFA. Fortunately, most people speak at least a little English. All of BFA’s classes are in English—what a relief.