Friday I went to observe at a school. I visited the elementary classes because as they are almost done with school, the high school kids are all taking tests. Watching the teachers and simply observing the students was interesting, and it all kind of made me miss teaching. However, when I went to the fifth grade English class, I didn't just observe. The English teacher had to get a few things done, so she basically gave me the book, showed me the right pages, and left for 20 minutes. Ha I just laughed. The material was pretty simple, and I think the kids didn't mind having a change of pace- I can tell they are ready to be done.
When Jorge and Cris came to pick me up, we went to a town called Guayllabamba. We stopped to eat lunch, where I tried a soup that had dried lamb's blood. Jorge told me it's a typical northern dish, so I ordered that-gotta try new stuff right? The flavor wasn't really strong, but I must admit that it wasn't my favorite. After lunch, we went to the zoo. The zoo here is pretty small, but it was still fun to go. This was Isaac's (2 years old) first time at the zoo. I took pictures of lots of signs in case I need visuals for teaching the Spanish words for animals. On the way home we stopped for ice cream, a nice treat after an interesting lunch!
Later that night Cris taught me how to make Bolones de Verdes, a typical costal dish that is made from plantains. I am so thankful for Cris; we had a really good talk that afternoon, and God has definitely used her as a big encouragement in my life.
Saturday morning was a little laid back- I had time to read God's word and talk a walk; I love the mornings I can take my time doing that. After, I helped Cris run to the store. Her son Isaac wasn't feeling the best, and he had thrown up that morning. He was feeling better, and so he came with us. However, just before our first stop, he threw up in the car too. I guess I am getting some lessons in the joys of motherhood too :) He felt much better after that. After that, Nicolas kept crying and wouldn't stop. Ha it was a blessing there were two of us! It all turned out just fine :)
The afternoon was a blast! We celebrated Ruth's birthday, so a group of us sat around talking for the afternoon, and then we had some cake and coffee. Ruth is a wonderful example of a woman who loves the Lord with all her heart. On her way to Cris's that day, she gave a ride to a lady in her neighborhood, shared the Gospel with that lady, and that lady accepted Christ! I love how God works.
I think the Lord is helping me become more comfortable talking in Spanish, however, I still have to think a lot before I speak. Sometimes I share the stories in my head, sometimes I don't because I don't know if I can explain things well enough. I should probably just go for it most of the time because it's not going to hurt me to mess up- oh how I need to not be a perfectionist.
Today was a full day too. At church, there was a group of 100 teens that came. Quite the group! Some of them were going to the jungle, but some of them stayed in Quito. The smaller group stayed to help us build a paint ball course today-something Jorge's working on for the youth group. We worked with a lot of tires today trying to stack them correctly-quite the feat.
That has been my weekend- wonderful, but I am now ready for some sleep. Thanks again for all your prayers.
P.S. If you want to see some pictures, I put some on facebook.
Wow!!!! It sounds like a blast down there. It also sounds like you are being challenged! I think you just need to go for it when it comes to speaking up in the groups!!! Practice makes PERFECT! Thanks for writing it's been fun to read.
ReplyDeleteTake care and take lots of pics
Grant