Summer in Kansas usually greets us with humid 80 – 90 degree sunny days.  Büsingen summer has been marked by lots of clouds and rain interspersed with a few mild, sunny days averaging in the 60s.  So, while it doesn't "feel" much like summer yet, this week begins the Summer 1 session of classes and we are definitely keeping busy!

Regan just finished teaching a two-week class called Language and Written Expression on campus.  The course focused on grammar and composition and proved to be very practical for students preparing for ministry.  She will teach it again this session in a directed study format.  She has also continued to provide support for the process of quality assurance by participating in follow-up meetings with lecturers after a course has been taught.  In these meetings, important feedback from faculty and students is recorded and made available for the purpose of refining the courses.

The beginning of June has also brought a week long series of faculty meetings designed to address issues of curriculum development.  The meetings include campus administrators, full and part-time faculty from the campus in Büsingen, and faculty from the 15 Learning Centers around Europe.  Amazingly, through video conferencing, we are able to connect everyone and make important decisions regarding curriculum.

Jason will begin a semi-directed study course in Worship with a campus student this week.  He has also kept busy working with the Spiritual Life Team providing guidance for the campus chapel program and pastoral care to the student body.  He preached in chapel on Wednesday, May 19th and working with a team of creative students, designed a chapel focused on Pentecost, which celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.  It was a powerful experience to hear the story from Acts chapter 2 read in nine different languages!  The reading climaxed with the beautiful words of Acts 2:21, "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Truly Christ’s Church is not bound by barriers of race, class, language, or nationality.  Thanks be to God!

Carter continues to grow and change.  His new mission on our daily walks is to search for snails, slugs, worms, and shells.  Since it is often rainy here, these creatures come out in full force.  He is fairly open to holding an empty shell, but is still a bit leery about holding a live snail or worm.  We have a common understanding that we just leave the slugs alone.  Yuck!  His skills in reading and writing are developing as well as he consistently sounds out and spells words even up to four and five letters long.  He has greatly benefited from educational workbooks sent to him by his grandparents and when working on them, he says he is doing his “homework.”  You can tell he has been living on a college campus!

Finally, we have had to say goodbye to three campus students who have finished their studies for the year.  This has not been easy, but has reminded us how much we have grown to love the students here.  Each one of them is incredibly gifted by God.  Each of them has a unique story to tell of how God is transforming them and equipping them to engage in his mission in the world. 

As we close in on our final weeks of volunteer service here at EuNC, we want to say a huge thank you for your prayers and support.  This ministry would not be possible without you.  We are not yet sure where our journey will lead us next, so we appreciate your prayers during these next few weeks. Grace and peace to you all!

The Veach Family