VBS and Graduations

Monday, February 4

Our class this morning was quickly interrupted with evaluations, and I was first.  I had to read a page and then use my own words to summarize it.  She allowed me to ask the meaning of the words I didn’t know, but then I had to speak on my own.  When I finished, she said I spoke fluidly and with out pause.  I make a lot of errors, but at least I can communicate my message.  Eddie said that he was told during his evaluation that he is able to come up with the right words but that he pauses a lot when he speaks.  If you mix us together, we would be pretty fluent!

I went back to class with the knowledge that I still need to work on reflexive verbs, spelling of words with “a” or “e” in them (I tend to use those vowels interchangeably in my writing), speaking and writing in “tú form,” and imperatives (or commands).  None of that is news to me.  I have learned the basics; now I need to refine my skills a bit more.

Katy, Michelle, and Amanda (from MI) decided to put on a VBS.  They are doing one hour for three days this week.  They had their first day today, and Amanda and I went to help out.   11 kids from the neighborhood showed up, so we were pleased with that.   The girls started with a game where everyone learned everyone else’s name.  After that, we sang “I’ve got the Joy Joy Joy Joy down in my heart” but in Spanish of course.  We also sang “Allelu-allelu-allelu Alleluia Praise ye the Lord.”  It was fun to see them having fun with the songs.  Katy did a lesson on “Love” and the kids did a very simple craft.  We finished with another game and snack time.  The hour went by quickly and we encouraged the kids to invite their friends and come back tomorrow. 

After VBS, I took a walk with Jaden.  We went to all the stores in walking distance to find a box cake mix, but we never found one.  It was Daniel’s birthday today, and I wanted to make him a cake.  No luck.  But… Jaden did find another friend to play with.  We stopped by the house where we went when Jaden was sick and he needed a massage.  The woman and her husband and her grandson were outside.  I got a chance to invite the little boy to VBS and the grandparents to church.  They are Catholic, but I can still hope that they come.  It was fun to talk with the little boy because he loved showing off the English words he knows.  When I went to leave, he asked me if I would help him when he has homework in his English class that is hard for him.  What a sweet boy!  I told him “Of course” and that I would be here for 2 more months.

This evening, Eddie and Amanda planned a worship night.  There were only 5 of us, but it was beautiful anyway.  We prayed, read scripture and sang in English.  It was quite refreshing and I was thankful for the opportunity to just bask in the beauty of worshiping God.  Thank you to Eddie and Amanda for organizing this worship night!

Tuesday, February 5

Today was just another regular day of class and we had VBS this afternoon.  There were about 14 kids this afternoon, and we decided to break them into two groups: ages 6-9 and 10-12.  Unfortunatley, everything took longer and we ran out of time to switch the groups so they could do both activities.  It was a little less smooth, but I think the kids still had fun.

A lot of the kids were interested in staying for Zumba, so we had a pretty full class.  In the end only 4 of the girls danced Zumba for the whole hour-long class. 

After class, the kids knew we were having a Bible study at our house after dinner and they wanted to come.  It is really for adults, but how could I tell them “no”?  I decided that if they wanted to come, I would do a separate Bible study with them so that they didn’t disturb the adults and so that they could maybe learn something about the Bible. 

I quickly showered, ate, and searched for Spanish kid’s bibles at CISA to prepare a basic lesson for the kids.  I was kind of nervous because my Spanish is still pretty weak (especially with Biblical topics).  Prepared a mini-lesson on Moses, and prayed for God to use me.

4 of the kids showed up.  They are all siblings and basically have no supervision.  I went over some basic rules of the evening and then we read the story of Moses out of one of the children’s Bibles.  Eventually, I felt like I was loosing their attention so I grabbed some paper and colored pencils and we drew pictures of the 10 Plagues.  At the end, I popped in a Spanish Veggie Tales DVD, and tried to understand it myself.

All in all, I am glad  for the opportunity to interact with them about the Bible, but I defiantly felt in adequtate.  I guess, kinda like Moses.  I will have to trust that God can use even me.

Wednesday, February 6

When se showed up for class today, we discovered that half of the students were not feeling well.  Amanda and Deidre stayed home.  Eddie spent much of the morning in the bathroom.  I wasn’t feeling that great, and Katy has a horrible cold.  Since many of us will not be here for class tomorrow, Culture class and Graduations were changed to today.

Culture class: I had to do my presentation without Diedre, but it was about pre-school so I guess that’s okay.  After all the presentations, we had the graduations.  Katy and Amanda (from MI) were first.  Deidre arrived just on time for her graduation.

This afternoon, my main responsibility was to pack for our trip tomorrow.  Eddie was still not feeling well, so he ended up staying in bed all afternoon and evening.  I am praying he will feel better tomorrow for our trip.

For VBS this afternoon, only 9 kids showed up (which is a good turn out because school started today for most of them).  We played Hot Potato, Over-Under, and Musical Chairs.  Then we did a craft where they had a chance to write a card to someone to show God’s love.

There was no Zumba class today because Deidre was not feeling well, so I made banana bread and then headed to Feddy and Samia’s house.

When I got there, no one was home.  I needed to return Ivoney’s clothes so I visited Karin’s house next door.  She was putting contact paper on the front and back covers of all of Kristy’s notebooks… all 18 of them.  She has 18 because there are 18 subjects at her school!!!  She is attending a bi-lingual high school that she had to pass a test to enter.  I guess that is why there are so many subjects.  Jaden got to play with Ivoney’s toys while I visited with Karin and Kristy

When Samia and Jimena got home, Jaden and I went over to visit them.  Freddy and José Pablo arrived home shortly.  They invited me to stay for dinner and Jaden ate a ton!  Then he got to play with Ivoney some more and show off his newly acquired iPhone-skills.  He finds games and opens and closes apps on my phone like a pro!

They gave us a ride home, and made a drink to help Eddie feel better.  Amanda and Katy came to visit and say their goodbyes.  They are leaving on Saturday, so we won’t see them.

Eddie is still feeling sick, and we are kind of worried about the 5-hour bus ride tomorrow.  Please pray that he will feel better when we wake up in the morning!