Poco a Poco.......with a little humor thrown in :)

Yes, it’s me….I’m finally writing a blog…..but it’s going to be short…..cause I kind of need to get some sleep…..

This week, one of our teachers said that we’re suppose to note our progress, as we journey through these months of language learning, because we can use all the encouragement that we can get….( lol :)

Okay, that’s not exactly how she said it….What she was getting at was the importance of taking notice of the moments when things click and we remember how to conjugate a certain verb in the right tense, or when that word we couldn’t think of miraculously comes to mind at the right time, or that day when we go to a restaurant and are able to make ourselves understood and can order the item on the menu that we want…..and actually get what we want because we used the right words to order it…....you get the idea…..

She was encouraging us to mark our milestones in this language learning journey, to note our progress, to celebrate those small victories as ways of encouraging ourselves and our classmates to NOT. GIVE. UP. EVER.…...All the while, remembering that language learning is a labour of love.

So, today I’m marking a milestone! :) When I arrived here in Mexico in January, I knew all of one word in Spanish - the universal Hola! When people would ask me if I knew, spoke or understood Spanish, my go to answer was an emphatic shaking of my head followed by a very clear, “No. No Español.” But I have been faithfully attending classes for 3 months (even though the temptation to play hooky has crossed my mind once or twice...there’s a really great ice cream place not to far from our house…..;) and so I had to answer honestly today when someone asked me if I knew Español. 

I smiled (and this time nodded, rather then shook my head) and answered with these words.

“Un poco.” (Which means a little).

As I reflected on this later, I became excited that my “no” answer had changed to “a little” answer and I realized this was a “take note and mark it as a milestone occasion”!!!! 

YAY!!!! And now that you are all celebrating with me…….maybe it’s not a good time to tell you that after I gave my “un poco” answer, the man started to talk to me in Spanish and although I smiled and nodded my head and said “gracias”, I understood absolutely NOTHING that he said to me.

Sigh…...talk about taking the wind out of my sails and the joy out of my “take note and mark it as a milestone occasion.”

Oh well, as my husband’s sister so kindly told me, “It takes 7 years to become a proficient speaker of another language.” 

Great...I have 3 months down and 81 to go…….

So I will keep plugging away at language school reminding myself daily that this is a labour of love and that 

word by word, 

        verb by verb, 

       phrase by phrase…and...

…poco a poco (little by little)...my Spanish will come...eventually ;)

~Karlene

Practicing Spanish While defending my Faith

Just wrote a blog a few days ago, and was struggling a little on what to write about. Then I had an experience yesterday that was quite, well I will let you judge...
I had just got home from school, Karlene had gone for a bike ride, so I was going to try and get ahead on some homework, make lunch and read. I had just pulled out my materials when the doorbell rang. That is unusual, as people generally won't come past the gate - they bang the metal and hope for someone to come out - so I thought it was Karlene needing to be let in. So I was surprised to see a young man outside, white shirt, and holding some bottles.
He spoke to me in Spanish, then quickly switched to English. I always responded in Spanish as I thought that this was a chance to practice. He explained he was selling his homemade salve for muscle pain to help him go to technical school. I asked a few more questions, then he asked where I was from. He was very surprised when I told him I was Canadian, as well as why we were learning Spanish. He told me his desire was to move to Canada or the USA. Why would I come here?
He then mentioned that he attended a church that has the biggest temple in the world. My attennae went up, and I asked for some detail. He belongs to La Luz del Mundo, The Light of the World. He then started to ask me questions about my faith and how I was baptized. He told me that I was baptized wrong.
Why? See if this makes sense - What is the name of God, he asked. I told him he has many titles, but to  Moses he replied that He is I Am, and the Old Testament called Him Jehovah most of the time. He asked what is He called in the New Testament, and I said, mostly Father. He said, but what is His name? Eventually he said that the Father's name is Jesus Christ as well.
I asked if he believed in the Trinity, he said no. He said it wasn't in the Bible, so I mentioned the verses that name all 3 persons, he responded that he believed in the 3 persons, that they were equal and work together, but the word trinity isn't in the Bible. Sure, true, but that doesn't mean that we can't call the 3 that title, there are many doctrines and teachings that are given a title that isn't in the Bible.
He then went back to the question, what is God's name in the New Testament. After going round and round for a good while, I finally told him I had to go. He wanted me to go to church with him, and he promoised he would go with me. I haven't made any promises. I will be praying about it.
Research on the internet tells me this group started in 1926 I believe, and that it considers itself a restoration of the early church, they have the true apostle in their church, and all who have been baptized in any name other than Jesus Christ have been baptized invalidly. This means we are all lost in there eyes. It is a movement that originated right here in Guadalajara, and is now spreading internationally. I found out from our Spanish teacher that the temple is huge, a big tourist attraction, and they even have a zoo.
Besides being a great time of Spanish practice, this has spurred me of the importance of reaching the lost with the Truth that can set us free. John 8:32
I did buy the balm, as we seem to have more sore muscles than we used to:) Karlene could have used it after her bike ride...

Back to School

Today was the first day back to school for both the kids and us. The week before this last we had the kids with us at our school for 4 days, which was an adjustment for us all. Trying to help them with school work while we were in class ourselves, was a challenge, so we are so thankful for the Colegio Jose that Keyana and Josiah are attending. That said, today when they needed to get up, they were not excited. As parents, you hope your children will be eager to get back to school, and if they constantly dread it, the antennaes go up. So I was very relieved when they announced when I picked them up that it was a good day at school.
"What was good?" I asked.
Keyana responded, "We only did 2 pages of work!"
Josiah, "We got to play starwars lego!"
Typical kid responses! Well, that is OK, I guess. They were singing a song in Spanish as we walked home that talked about greeting your friends. That was encouraging, and I was reminded of some CD's I bought with songs in Spanish by Sara Jordan that are specifically written to help children learn Spanish.
Karlene and I had a good time visiting with the others at our school, catching up what everyone did during their Easter 1 week break. We met family, my parents, sister and her family in Puerta Vallarta, a 4.5 hour drive from Guadalajara. It was a crazy drive in parts, traffic lined up on narrow twisting roads moving as slow as 20 km/h for 30 minutes on each end of the drive. But the visit was worth it, as well as the time relaxing, refreshing and renewing. We didn't practice Spanish as much as I thought we would, but it was still very worthwhile. We did enjoy a Easter service with a translater, a rare treat as usually we try to understand as much as we can in Spanish only. That can be very tiring mentally.
Now back in Guadalajara, we had a good visit with our next door neighbour who helped us avoid embarassment. We did not know that there was a time change as seasons change. We are moving into longer daylight, as well as the hot season of April and May. Then the rains start and it is hot and humid. So we made it to church on time.
Almost everyday we are reminded we are in a struggle, not of flesh and blood, but a spiritual battle. Eph. 6:10-20. Whether we are struggling with health issues that won't go away, personality conflicts that seem to get blown out of proportion, discouraging thoughts amidst difficulty learning, or things not working properly, the enemy is active and trying to discourage. Our encouragement continues to come from the Lord, His word, and the prayers of the saints behind us. Thanks for your part in helping us continue strong!

2 Corinthians 4:16-18  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.