We're Baaaaaaaaaack
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| the staff (left to right)...Roz, Scott, Tom, Todd, Cheryl Anne |
Subscribe in a readerToday the ESBS began its 6th year as the staff returned for the first day of staff training. With just two weeks now before classes start, we're all pretty excited to meet the students and start the journey through the Bible. It's hard to believe that this is our 6th year...and it' going to be a great one. We have 13 students preparing to come, an amazing list of guest lecturers lined up, and Julia and Roz are going on Friday to buy a cow (frozen...:)..
Anyway, God is good to let us be a part of this for another year...look for lots of exciting things happening soon. We'll be opening up our classroom for some amazing special lectures throughout the year. As usual, all our audio lectures will be going on our website...we have a world class biblical archaeologist coming for a week...and the pontoon boat is fixed now...awesome...I love my job.
Tom
Welcoming Rozalyn Hays
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The ESBS is growing again: We now have our 5th full-time staff member on board for 2011-12!...Rozlalyn Hays...We are fired up to have her join the team..!
Rozalyn Hays did her DTS in Kona, Hawaii in 2002 and graduated from her SBS in Montana in 2004. She also graduated with a degree in Sociology and Psychology from Black Hills State in 2008. Rozalyn has spent the last 2 years living in Hawaii working with students with special needs. She is married to Evan who will be an ESBS student this year. Rozalyn has a desire to see people's lives change through the truths of the Bible. She enjoys surfing, camping, and traveling and longs for the day when cold weather will be non-existent.
Saying goodbye to Katie
Subscribe in a readerWhat a sad blog title...sounds like she died or something. Don't worry...its not that bad...but almost. After an amazing year together the ESBS is saying a sad goodbye to Katie and John Francis. Katie was one leg of our three legged staffing stool this year, and she was a HUGE part of the success of the program. She has an amazing heart for discipleship, and she brought a ton of professionalism and solid Biblical knowledge to the mix...not to mention that her office was a model of cleanliness and orderliness...a real example for us all.
Katie and John are moving to Richmond Virginia to be close to family as they prepare for the birth of their first child (I think they said they would name it Tom Phillips Francis..?..even if its a girl.). We're going to miss them both a ton, and we are so thankful to have spent a year with such an amazing couple.
Tom
class of 2011
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| Laura, Brent, Cheryl Anne, Dave, Katie, John, Daniel, Todd, Nathanael, Abby, Shelby, Grace, Carla, Luke Julia, Tom, Scott (left to right) |
Subscribe in a readerLast Saturday we celebrated with the class of 2011 as they finished their marathon through the Bible. We changed the schedule up this year and gave the students three days at the end to just hang out and unwind...good decision...we had a great week just being together. This year has been amazing in so many ways, and the students finished well. Hard to believe that year 5 is over! When we started the school the Lurecrest leadership asked me for a 5 year commitment...so I guess its time for me to buy a sailboat and move to the Bahamas: my work here is done. ( kidding...this job pays way too well...Im holding out a little longer...:)
Tom
the ESBS...a God story
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| phillips and students at the Walled Off |
Subscribe in a reader12 years ago while I was working at Lurecrest as a summer camp counselor Ken Helser, then the camp pastor, came up to me one night at chapel and said that he had a picture in his mind of me walking out of the Walled Off at Lurerest with my wife and two children. Being 19 at the time, and not having any idea what the future held, I tucked the word away in my heart and though "I wonder if that's ever going to come to pass."
When Ken spoke those words the Walled Off was more than a little run down, and it was used to house the camp speaker for the summer camping season. The other 40 or so weeks of the year it sat empty...so naturally I thought "well that probably means that one day I'll be the summer camp pastor at Lurecrest, and my wife and two kids will come to camp for a week with me."
Little did I know that 12 years later, God would have Julia and I living in Lake Lure full-time, and that the Walled-Off would become the ESBS dining area and student lounge.
Just three weeks ago we welcomed our second child into the world, and now, as a family of 4 we walk out of the Walled Off together daily.
Ken Helser's vision was from the Lord, and no one really knew what it meant at the time . Not me, not him...but God knew, and for the past 12 years God has guarded his plans for this program, and in his grace he has brought it to where it is today. Im so thankful for His hand in my life, and for having the opportunity to see this dream of the school come to pass, and flourish as it has. It confirms in my heart that this school is God's school. It is in His hands, and He is in our midst.