September 2026

Further Developments

Hello dear friends and family,

Today we hit our 7-month mark living in Germany. God has provided us with a home we love, a church family, close friends, terrific neighbors, a rich ministry life, a rewarding job, all our financial needs met, and great hope for our future here. Thank you for being a part of this meaningful faith journey.

Headed into the month of October, we pulled out our flannels and puffy jackets. The crazy summer heat finally subsided, and to kick off the autumn season in Kandern, we went for a ride on the Kandertalbahn (the seasonal passenger train). It was our favorite family outing yet! We enjoyed an hour and a half ride through the German countryside surrounding our home, and we enjoyed munching on soft pretzels, sipping coffee, and making new friends on the train.

Orientation

Thank you for your prayers during the month of August as we underwent 3 weeks split between new-staff orientation and all-staff orientation. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience! Addy participated in childcare while we dove deep into the life and culture of BFA, German life tips and tricks, and community building activities amongst our teammates. It was refreshing for us to participate having already lived here for 6 months…it meant we weren’t jet lagged or setting up a new home while also undergoing trainings.

Above, Zach and I shared our “coming to BFA story” for about 5 minutes in front of the entire staff. It is a tradition that every new staff member participates in, and we loved being able to hear the beautiful stories of God’s provision.

Start of a New School Year

Shortly after all-staff training the students returned to campus for the new school year! As a family, we went to opening ceremonies and watched as the senior class entered the auditorium carrying the flags that represent the entire student body. There were nearly 50 Country flags present. It was a unique and rather emotional experience to witness. Also in the room were the parents of dorm students about to say their goodbyes after the ceremony (another reason emotions were high). Community members and staff members were also there. We heard from our Head of School, the campus chaplain, and a group of students led us in worship.

During the ceremony, the theme for chapel was announced: The Kingdom of God. All year the speakers will hone in on this theme and weekly small groups will continue the dialogue. I am very excited about this theme, because I started my senior girls’ small group in the middle of September! (I was planning to lead freshman girls, but there was a need for a senior group, and I volunteered to fill it). I love my group of girls already, and we will be talking about a component of the “Upside down Kingdom” each week. Please pray that this is rich time!

Here are some more photos of just how packed the room was during opening ceremonies!

Now we are about a month into the school year and all sorts of activities are underway. We are eager to see the fall musical production of Les Mes (4 of my 6 small group girls are in the musical), and Zach often participates in Volleyball scrimages with the JV or Varsity boys teams. It is amazing to see how Kandern comes alive with the presence of BFA students! Pray that our German city will be drawn to the school because of what Jesus is doing amongst the staff and students.

We began dorm subbing in August! As a family we wanted to get involved with dorm life. We chose Sonne dorm (an all-boys dorm) located one block from our house. Our commitment is to serve every other Sunday afternoon and evening to help with dinner prep and dinner clean up while getting to know the boys.

Zach was asked to be an extra adult on the annual first week of school campout! He and the Sonne boys, the RA’s, and the dorm parents hiked to an abandoned castle and stretched out in sleeping bags on the ground. This was a cool opportunity because the tradition is for senior students to share their testimonies.

Above, Zach took this photo at the top of the castle wall. The boys explored in the woods, played music, and then circled up for a time of testimony sharing. Below is a typical Sunday evening dinner in the dormitory. As you can see, Addy is seated at the head of the table. She loves running through the common space of the dorm and playing with balls. The boys are quietly amused by her.

Zach, as always, is hard at work in the maintenance department. One of his big projects in August and September was to fully renovate an RA kitchen. Most of the RAs live in the dorms and have a small, private kitchen attached to their bedrooms. Zach and his team installed all new appliances and cupboards. It started with the demolition of the old kitchen; that’s when Zach felt most like an HGTV star! This was a huge blessing for this particular RA. “I’m really excited for this kitchen reveal to the RA. I hope this blesses her.” - Zach.

Adelaide's Addition

Addy is 19-months old and loving life! Now that school is underway, I watch a 4-year-old girl once or twice a week so that her mom can teach middle school math.

Because of this sweet commitment, Addy has a playmate over frequently. The two girls have become close friends, and their time together consists of hugging, dancing, jumping on the couch, twirling in their princess dresses, eating snacks, and putting stickers all over the house and each other. I typically sit back with my cup of hot tea and watch with the utmost satisfaction and amusement. They are adorable!

Most of the time this is Addy’s craft table, but on occasion it becomes space for the chessboard! Addy loves to play with board game pieces or decks of cards. She also loves to help us do chores: like taking paper towels and “cleaning” the floors or helping me hang out laundry to dry on our balcony. She also LOVES Zach’s tool kit and is always up for helping Dadda put something together (with supervision and safety of course). She is quite fascinated by the screwdriver! Her whole world revolves around baby dolls and real babies, but she also loves tractors, airplanes, and trains.

Story Time

On September 23rd we celebrated our 3rd anniversary! We asked a babysitter to watch Addy, and we went out to dinner. When we returned home, we found that Addy had just run into a piece of furniture while running and her entire top tooth came out in the process. Unable to really see inside her mouth, we decided to take her to the doctor that evening and have it checked. Thankfully, her gums will heal, but our little girl will have a missing front tooth until the adult one comes in. As my brother likes to say, “she will be the cutest little Pirate you’ve ever seen!”

Prayer Requests

There are several prayer requests embedded into the newsletter, but here we would like to request specific prayer for our landlord, Hermann. As you know, we moved into our current apartment at the end of July. Our home has been an answer to many prayers, and we have enjoyed the past two months getting to know our neighbors and our landlords. Our landlords are an elderly couple who have lived in this house for 50+ years. They live on the ground floor, and we live on the second floor. We share an indoor stairwell with them, so we often hear their stereo and TV, and we see them daily.

A few weeks ago, our landlady, Esther was taken to the hospital after a fall. And very sadly, she passed away the last week of September.

Although we did not know her well, we found her to be a sweet, kind presence. Please pray for her husband, Hermann, as he navigates this deep loss. And please pray for us as we love Hermann. Even though we are learning to speak German, he does not understand us because he speaks a dialect called Alemannic. So, communication is difficult. However, we know that love transcends language, and we trust that God put us in this home at this time for a reason. Addy absolutely loves Hermann, so she is a ray of sunshine for all of us. In the picture above, these are the flowers meticulously cared for by our landlord.

Partner with Us

Feel free to pass on our link OneChallenge.org/partner/110405 or our contact information to any interested family or friends that desire to learn more about our ministry at Black Forest Academy.

We also would love to hear from you! Are there ways we can pray for you? Please let us know at emmasanford@oci.org or zacharysanford@oci.org

With much love and gratitude,

Zachary & Emma

If you would prayerfully consider joining us by supporting the mission please hit this link: www.OneChallenge.org/partner/110405.