What Will We Eat or Drink?

Tonight a small face was wedged between the bars of our gate peering in through the open front door.  We were sitting at the table eating dinner and I knew we were being watched.  I (Michelle) looked up from my homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich to connect with the little face outside only to see him jump out of view. My attempt to make eye contact had been evaded.  The next time I looked up, I could only see the back of his head...a personal weakness when it comes to my own children.  Something so sweet about that cute little hairline.  I know it's weird.  Our 11 year old neighbor was sitting on the ground outside our gate with his head leaned against it.  Adam asked if we could invite him in for dinner.  He didn't hesitate to accept the invitation and gobbled the meal right up.

Every week we have at least one person bang on our gate and request something.  Sometimes it's money, sometimes it's dry uncooked rice and beans, sometimes it's a hot meal, other times it's a diaper or a shirt or some shoes for their child.  This was peculiar in the first month or so we were here.  So unusal in comparision to our experiences in the United States.  I also struggled in the beginning because it seemed to me like we had just given everything up...all our belongings now fit in 10 duffle bags...what could I possible have to give that I didn't need myself.  At any rate, over the last 9 months the Lord has continually humbled me and brought His truths to mind whenever someone shows up at our gate and we can provide a very basic need for them.

Truth # 1: God loves us. (1 John 4:7-12)

Truth #2: The Lord provides exactly what we need every day. (Exodus 16: Manna)

Truth #3: I need not worry about anything. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Truth #4: When I serve others, I am serving Jesus. (Matthew 25:31-46)

How's Your Spanish?

For the last 8 months we have been attending the Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. Since The Institute is Biblically focused, missionaries from various denominations from around the world attend. Classes are small, approximately 10 students per grammar class and 5 per language class.

Our typical school-day runs from 7:30am – 12:10pm. Afternoons are filled with tutoring appointments and conversation practice with neighbors while we take turns caring for the boys. In the evenings we have plenty of homework and studying.

The big question is, with two trimesters completed and just one left to go, What Have We Learned?  This can be a difficult question to answer as language learning is a process but we think we’ve found some practical examples of our progress.

	When we first arrived	Now	We Have Yet to Achieve
Conversation	We could converse in broken sentences using some verbs but only in the present tense.	We can converse in complete sentences using many verbs in present tense, both past tenses, and future tense among a few others tenses.	The ability to tailor our vocabulary and style to our audience as we do in English.
Translation	We consulted the Spanish/English dictionary multiple times each class.	We are ready to start using a Spanish/Spanish dictionary for new words.	The ability to serve as an oral translator at a social or professional function.
Reading	We would read the newspaper headline, understanding some words and maybe the main idea.	We can understand every word in the newspaper headline, read the article and understand 95% of what we read.	The language level where we can read in Spanish for pleasure.
Music	We would hear songs in Spanish and occasionally catch a few words that we recognized.	We hear songs we recognize in the grocery store…and can sing along!	A broad vocabulary.
Church	In church we had to listen intently to catch the book of the bible being preached on or risk being completely lost the rest of the service. We often had to look at the Bible of the person next to us to find out which verse was being read.	We understand the book, chapter, and verse as it is announced. Sometimes the old lady who sits next to us misses it and asks us which verse.  We are able to respond to her in Spanish with the correct answer.  We can also understand the majority of the sermon.	The ability to discuss the sermon at length as we are still learning to express opinions and back them up.
Spiritual Life	We could pray memorized prayers.	We can pray briefly, tell simple Bible stories, and tell how we became Christians.	The language level that would allow us to counsel another person.