Well, it has been entirely too long since I've posted. Rather than beg your forgiveness and give promises to never let so long of a lapse happen again, I'll just write. It's what I love to do!
Over the last few months, since my last post, I would often see things and think, "That would make a great blog post." Then I would be riddled with guilt that it's been so long since I've written, that I wouldn't even know where to start. So, I'll just write. There. I've said it twice now in two paragraphs.
About three weeks ago, I started teaching an adult English class to members of our team here. Now, lest you think that I'm teaching bad words to adults, let me clarify: I am teaching a beginning English class to adult members of our team. The response was so overwhelming that I divided the class into two groups of 6 each. These are members of our staff who speak no English. Sure, they may know a few words here and there, but that's about it. Wow! They are doing fantastic! Each one of them is so motivated to learn English. They know it's a skill that can help them advance in life. And they're very concerned about proper pronunciation.
A side benefit to teaching the English class seems to be that my Spanish is improving. I have to do a bit of explaining in Spanish, so I'm constantly looking up words and checking for proper usage of verbs. I also have a classroom full of folks who are as eager to help me with my Spanish as they are eager to learn English. To quote Dances with Wolves, "Good trade."
This first round of classes is only being offered to our staff. There are even a few people that were not able to sign up now and will take the class at a future time. We also see the opportunity to expand the circle to whom it is offered: spouses of team members, parents of school children, and, eventually, to those in the community. The desire to learn English runs deep here. Many people know it's a way to improve their lot in life, to get better jobs, and thus, to help break the cycle of poverty. More than just teaching them English, we're excited to be able to teach people more about God and His love for each of us. Teaching English just happens to be one vehicle we can use.
Well, I'd best end this post here. We have a group of 12 people coming from Michigan for a missions trip. They'll be here for almost two weeks. We still have a lot of little things to do around here to get ready for their arrival in a few hours.
Until next time...
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