February into March

Basketball season got over a couple weeks ago. The boys' varsity won three games this year, which was a big improvement over last year (when they didn't win any games). They also went on to the tournament where they won two of three during pool play. However, going into the elimination rounds, there were too many teams whose record was 2-1 so they decided who got in based on number of points scored during the first three games. BFA missed the cut by two points! The guys were happy that they made it that far but were heartbroken that they were ousted by such a tiny margin. We felt the emotions along with them, but overall we were very proud of our guys. Here are a few pics from the final home basketball game of the year.

The student cheering section: they cheer just as loud no matter what the score is all the way to the end of the game.

The last home game of the year is "Senior Night," where the school honors the seniors who are on the basketball teams. Many of the students' parents traveled to be able to be at the game with their son or daughter. Will asked me if Lizzy and I would represent his parents since they weren't able to be there. I think part of him just thought it was funny to force the two of us into a role of being parents, but it meant a lot anyway!

This last weekend was our high school retreat. All of the high school students jumped on a rented bus, and we headed north to the town of Feldberg, up in the mountains. This is the same town where we took some of our HBR guys about a month ago. The kids were able to ski or snowboard if they wanted during their free time (I refrained). The speaker was named Greg Speck, and he did a great job speaking to the students and challenging them to be people of character and to put their hope in Jesus Christ.

There were many moments over the weekend when it seemed that a large portion of the student body were being convicted and were softening their hearts and embracing spiritual growth. If you have been on a weekend retreat or an event like this (and I'm guessing almost all of you if not all of you have), you know that there is a period of time following the event where you are still considering words spoken and desiring life change but before long... it seems like life is completely back to normal again. Please pray for the BFA students and especially our HBR guys that they would not settle for returning to spiritual dryness and a heart closed off to the Spirit's voice. I know there were thousands of people praying for these students over the weekend while they were at the retreat, but this is still a vital time for you to be praying for them as they are fresh off the weekend and are feeling the pull back to routine life.

I don't remember if I have mentioned this, but this year I am leading a small group at school. Each student has the opportunity to join a small group if he or she so desires, and the groups meet on Wednesdays. I am actually the only RA leading a small group (most are led by teachers), and I have a group of sophomores. So these are the same guys I was meeting with at the retreat for small group time. There was much evidence that God was working in them throughout this weekend, and I was blessed to be a part of it. Here is a picture of all of us together that we took this Wednesday: from left to right - Christopher, Josiah, Jean Claude, Kenneth, Noah, and Daniel. Pray for them, too!



Lastly, HBR is blessed this week to have a student visiting who graduated last year. It did my heart good to sit down with Sam and hear him talk about his growth and how college is going (he's a freshman at Notre Dame). He also displayed loads of generosity by bringing back a huge suitcase filled with American food to bestow on the dorm. On Tuesday night, we called all of the guys down and let them eat a bowl of cereal or a couple Pop Tarts. Now, I was raised on and absolutely love cereal. And he brought Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cookie Crisp, and Honey Bunches of Oats. I ate a couple bowls, and I don't think I've ever got so emotional over a bowl of cereal. It was delicious, it reminded me of home, and it just made my day. Sometimes it's the little things!


Thanks for reading, and thank you for your continued prayers. God bless!

Brandon