Today was the last day of our seventh year of Community Bible Study. CBS was our first successful attempt at finding real community in California, and it’s been the most constant spiritual presence in our lives out here, as it took us only 3 months to find CBS but 3 or 4 years to find Pacific Crossroads Church! Over the years of CBS, I’ve studied John, Exodus through Ruth, and with Tommy, Mark, Romans, and Philippians. Elizabeth joined the study of Hebrews, Job, Ezra, Nehemiah, Lamentations, Esther, and the minor prophets, while Susie joined for Daniel, Revelation and 1&2 Corinthians. Susie prayed to ask Jesus into her heart last year as we did our Revelation homework together. Janie has been in CBS her whole life. Lizzie’s best homeschool friends were the other little girls in her CBS group. Our old CBS homeschooler park days were some of Tommy’s happiest afternoons of childhood. Some of the wonderful children’s ministry teachers have had 2 or even 3 of the kids in their classes over the years! They know and love my children and are so faithful to pray for them.
But we’re not going back this fall, as Tommy’s middle school online classes next semester happen the same time as CBS, most of our homeschool friends have moved on (or are not coming back next year), and the half hour drive will be more burdensome if/when we’re back in baby mode with a foster child. We’re going to try to work on community here in Malibu and with church friends down toward the city. So as we gave all our teachers extra-big hugs goodbye, I remembered to pull out my phone and take pictures!
Sandy and Maureen have had Tommy in Juniors Homeschool class for two years!
Patricia taught Janie and Susie back in the 2’s and 3’s and was Elizabeth’s core leader in primary homeschool this year!
Sharon is the quintessential kindergarten teacher–sweet, affirming, endlessly patient. This was Susie’s third year in a row with her, as Sharon chose to shepherd her preschoolers up into primary homeschool, and she taught Elizabeth before that!
Karen has taught all three of the girls in preK CBS! They always loved to go back for hugs when we picked Janie up from class.
Our sweet Julie stepped in as children’s director our second year in CBS and knows all of my kids so well. She’s so creative and purposeful in guiding their spiritual instruction, even in the baby nursery. In addition to the really excellent children’s curriculum, Julie is always thinking of new ways to bless the kids. Notice the little fleece blanket in Janie’s hand? That’s her prayer square–every year, each kid in downstairs CBS gets a little blanket that she can rest on while a teacher lays her hand and prays for her by name every week, all year long. At the end of the year, they bring home their prayer square! I loved that the kids were getting so much more than just daycare while I was doing my adult study.