Last Week and Closing Activities in Cartagena

The fourth and final week of Intensive English Classes in Cartagena was crazy busy, but lots of fun! We were learning about the world, so by the end of the week the students were able to talk about colors, weather, and seasons. We also spent a good amount of time preparing for the final presentation for the parents. I was a little nervous about how everything would come together, but the kids impressed me with their performance!

On Saturday evening, all the parents came to the church to watch their children’s presentation. It was also a special occasion because Pastor Gustavo Lavia and his family came all the way from Madrid to be present for our show and to have a Divine Service on Sunday.

We started the program with a prayer read by one of the students thanking God for the day, for the friends we made, and for Jesus. The students then sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Father Abraham, and Jesus Loves Me (with Sign Language). They sang loudly and didn’t even need my help!

After singing, the kids were broken up into pairs and each pair had a conversation about something we had learned. Most of the kids memorized their conversation and talked about favorite foods, colors, family, weather, and future career goals naturally. The kids then performed a dance to the song Every Move I Make that I had choreographed and it was excellent!! I’m not planning on pursuing a career in dance choreography anytime soon, but they looked good.

Pastor Gustavo then delivered a short reflection about the investment we make in our children and how Christian values need to be taught to them and shown to our neighbors. Then students then received diplomas for completing the course. The diploma also carried the verse Deuteronomy 6:5-7:

                “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your                                strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Important to think about that these ideas and values we learn are things that we carry with us at all times.

After the performance, we had a small reception for the parents that gave them a chance to have some snacks, look at the work their children did, and talk with us. This was a great opportunity to connect with the parents more and explain once again more about the work that is being done in Spain with the Lutheran Church and why it is being done.

On Sunday evening, we had the Divine Service. After not attending a real church service for five weeks, it felt nice for me. And once again, it made me realize how blessed I am to be able to go to church every week. 18 people attended the service! There were three families who had children that had participated in the English classes as well as another woman from the community and another family from the local school. Gustavo began the service by explaining that the Lutheran Church is a liturgical church and he explained why we do things the way we do. For each part of the service he gave an explanation and I think that helped a lot. I kind of think that should be done in the United States in Lutheran Churches too, so that people can be reminded of what we do and why.

The children who had attended the English Classes also sang Jesus Loves Me in the middle of the service, and it was really cool to see them participate and share what they learned.

At the end of the service, one couple who had a son in my classes expressed interest in having their son baptized in the Lutheran Church!!! This made me very happy that I was able to actually see God working in the lives of these people. Now I hope and pray that God will continue the good work He has begun and keep growing the seeds of faith that were planted. I know Cartagena is a part of God’s plan and I feel blessed to have been a part of it. 

Resumen de Cartagena

 El 17 de mayo, abordé un avión para venir a España y enseñar inglés a niños con la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de España. Estaba muy nerviosa y no sabía qué esperar de los niños ni de la experiencia de vivir con una familia desconocida. Estuve en España el año pasado para estudiar en Asturias, pero sabía que este viaje sería muy diferente porque tenía una misión diferente. Después de conocer a unos jóvenes españoles y ver la situación de la iglesia cristiana en España durante el tiempo que estudiaba aquí, me di cuenta que poca gente tiene fe en Jesucristo. Yo quería participar y ayudar a difundir la verdad del Evangelio a través de la Iglesia Luterana.

Cuando llegué a Cartagena, conocí a una familia de Venezuela que es miembro de la Iglesia Luterana. Me abrieron su casa y me adoptaron como la hija mayor. Durante mi tiempo allí, me enseñaron mucho de la ciudad de Cartagena y la vida española, pero también me enseñaron mucho sobre la fuerza de la fe y el amor. Son los únicos luteranos en Cartagena, pero no están desanimados porque, como me dijeron, no estamos solos. Cristo está con nosotros siempre. En una ciudad dónde se cuestionan sus creencias cada día y existen muchas creencias diferentes, este conocimiento es muy poderoso.

¡Disfruté mucho la oportunidad de trabajar con los niños y de enseñar inglés! Al final, había 16 niños de las edades de 5 hasta 12 años. Algunos tenían niveles diferentes, pero creo que todos lo pasaron bien en las clases jugando y practicando inglés. Cada semana había un tema diferente. Aprendieron sobre la vida, la familia, la amistad y el mundo a través de historias de la Biblia, canciones, actividades y juegos. Siempre me gustó cuando los niños hablaban en inglés y participaban en conversaciones.

También, tuve la oportunidad de conocer a los padres y otras personas de la comunidad de Cartagena. Hay mucho interés en aprender inglés y por eso muchas personas me recibieron muy bien. También me hicieron sentir aceptada y muy cómoda. Hicimos muchas excursiones a las montañas, a la playa, al polideportivo, al centro de Cartagena y a un submarino. También nos reunimos para tomar un café o caminar por las calles. Podía practicar mi español y explicar mi razón de estar aquí y lo que estaba haciendo. Tuve muchas conversaciones interesantes que pusieron a prueba mi español y mi habilidad de defender mi fe. Espero haberme expresado bien y que el Espíritu Santo haya sembrado la semilla de la Fe.   

Para terminar las clases de inglés tuvimos un acto final. Los niños cantaron, tuvieron conversaciones sobre los temas que habían aprendido, bailaron y recibieron diplomas. Hicieron todo bien y yo estaba muy contenta con todo lo que habíamos logrado. El pastor Gustavo también pronunció una reflexión sobre los valores cristianos que tenemos y que necesitamos mostrar y enseñar a nuestros hijos y prójimo. Muchos padres se quedaron después del acto para conversar con nosotros y creo que recibieron un mensaje positivo y verdadero de lo que estamos trabajando y por qué.

El día siguiente tuvimos un Oficio Divino y 18 personas asistieron. Hubo tres familias de niños de las clases y otros contactos, una mujer y una familia. Los niños cantaron una canción que habían aprendido durante las clases de inglés (Jesús Me Ama). La cantaron con su voz en inglés y con sus manos en el lenguaje americano de signos. Fue muy bonito. Después del Oficio, ¡uno de los padres expresó interés en bautizar a su hijo! Esta noticia me alegró muchísimo.       

Al final, tuve una experiencia increíble en Cartagena. Nunca olvidaré la gente que conocí y las lecciones que aprendí. Mis pensamientos y oraciones estarán con la gente de allí. Espero que hayan aprendido mucho de inglés, pero más sobre el amor de Cristo por ellos. Confío que Dios seguirá trabajando en Cartagena y en España y me siento bendecida de haber sido una parte de su historia aquí.  

Tercera Semana: Friendship

Hola amigos!

This week we learned about la amistad (friendship) through the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus Calling His Disciples, The Last Supper, and the Golden Rule. My favorite part was probably when the kids played Human Bingo and had to go around asking questions to learn more about each other (age, school, favorite movie, color, food, etc.). It was during this activity that the older kids really helped out the younger ones to complete their Bingo card. I was glad to see that the kids were feeling more comfortable speaking and seemed to really enjoy sharing about themselves!

It was also really fun on the day when we read the story of Jesus Calling the Disciples, because we learned about jobs and occupations. We went around the circle and each person said, “When I grow up, I want to be ______.” Spain is going to have a few more dancers, singers, artists, cooks, architects, veterinarians (that was a hard word, haha), athletes, and teachers in the future. All English speaking of course!

After making friendship bracelets for each other, having a “last supper” together of grape juice and bread, and a good week of learning, I think we all have a better understanding of  friendship and how to love our neighbors.

I’ve also been making friends in Cartagena that I know I will be sad to leave. I have had some great conversations with people that have challenged my language abilities as well as my ability to defend my faith. In particular, I have one friend who claims to be an atheist. After talking to him more, I think he just has issues with his experience in the Catholic Church and the institution of religion. I was shocked to find out that he had never even heard of Martin Luther (different from Martin Luther King Jr.! J) or the Reformation. I thought he would have at least learned about it in a history class! But after talking to Loisys and Tony, they told me that in Spain the topic of the Reformation isn’t taught very well. It was interesting too because many of the troubles that my friend had were similar to Luther’s.

This experience really made me realize again how important it is to have missionaries here in Spain. I wasn’t expecting my friend to change immediately, but hopefully a seed was planted and God will make it grow.  

Now I will be beginning my last week of English classes that will conclude with a performance by the students and the Lutheran Divine Service. I’m praying we will have many interested people in attendance!

Segunda Semana: Family!

Time is going by so fast here. We are already halfway through the English classes in Cartagena!

This week was fun because we learned about family and the home. To be able to talk about their own families, the kids each made their own family tree. Complete with creative family portraits and English labels of course. We also learned various adjectives and actions to describe the family, which involved games of memory matching, charades, and Bingo with Golden Grahams. It turns out that Spanish Golden Grahams are just as tasty and motivational as American Golden Grahams. 

We also had a special week because it was Sebastián’s 5^th birthday! Loisys made an amazing cake and the kids got to sing Happy Birthday in English and drink decaffeinated pop (we’re not crazy enough to give them sugar AND caffeine). It was interesting for me to learn that there are so many different versions of Happy Birthday in Spanish that they usually just sing in English to avoid confusion.

The amount of students in the class has been growing and there are now about 15 kids that come! I think the word is spreading and now that the school year is winding down here, people have more time. So now there is an age range from 5 years old to 10 years old in our class. Some of the students are at different levels, but the activities have been pretty easy to adapt for each of them. Some kids just need a little more help. But what’s very encouraging is when the older kids begin to help the younger ones! Especially yesterday, when we were learning about being good neighbors to each other, we were doing a speaking activity that some of the younger kids were struggling with. A couple of the older girls stepped up to help and explain things so that the younger ones could complete the activity.

I’ll have to write more about this week later!

God Bless!

La Primera Semana de Clases de Inglés! (The First Week of English Classes!)

I am now officially an English teacher! We completed the first week of English classes following the theme of La Vida (life). Using the stories of Adam and Eve, Jesus’ Resurrection, the Feeding of the 5,000, and God’s promise to provide our needs, we learned about body parts, feelings, food, and clothing. The kids seemed to really enjoy the games, activities, and songs I had. I guess when kids get to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, make fruit salad, and construct outfits out of toilet paper, it’s always a fun time. By the end of the week, they were able to practice having conversations with each other and I was really proud of how much they remembered!   

The kids have been friendly and fun to work with, but the parents and adults I’ve met have also been great! Many of them ask me why I’m here in Cartagena to teach English for free during my summer vacation. This has given me some great opportunities to talk about my faith and belief in Christ and the Lutheran Church. It’s not always easy to express myself in that way, but I’ve been told that what I say makes sense.  :)  The people seem to be open to the idea too.

One thing I really like about Cartagena is the sense of community among the people. The parents, neighbors, café workers, all seem to know and care about each other. One of the neighbor ladies is named Noemi, who is from Venezuela too. To use a favorite GRE word, she is a loquacious woman who kindly offered to assist me in the English classes. She’s been a valuable resource in the classroom and a very interesting conversation partner outside of the class. Noemi took me to the old part of Cartagena and I was able to see the port, the university, the cathedral, and enjoy a café con leche. Between talking to her and Loisys, I’ve been learning many Venezuelan words. We joked that I’m going to be “venelozana” after these four weeks! Sometimes it seems like each Spanish speaking country has its own vocabulary! Kind of crazy, but it makes sense. Between finding the right word and the right accent, learning Spanish has become even harder…

Yesterday, Loisys and Tony took me to a Protestant Evangelical church. Although it had a big room, speakers, a band, and lots of people, Tony and I decided it was very empty. The sermon focused on James 1:22-23 (it turns out James translates to Santiago…I was so confused!), which talks about not just hearing the word, but actually doing good works and studying the word. During the 40 minutes we sat listening to the sermon (he still wasn’t finished when we left), the pastor didn’t mention Jesus once. It seriously made me so sad. He was throwing all this Law at people about how we need to do good works and always want to study the Bible or we are lying to ourselves. The people had two options: to feel bad about not studying the Bible enough and believe that they need to work harder on their own, or to feel good that they did study the Bible enough and that they were doing well on their own. Both of these thoughts focus on what we do and not on what Christ has done for us on the cross. I recognize it’s crucial to hear the Law, yet I felt bad that these people were being left without the joy and hope of the Gospel.

I don’t deny that doing good things for others and studying the Bible are important, but I believe the desire to do those things comes from the faith that God has given us. And it becomes inevitable! By opening your home to a girl from the United States, directing a children’s choir, volunteering, praying for a friend, traveling to Spain to teach English or whatever, we’re all doing good things. Not because we are good, perfect people on our own, but because of how Christ works through us.    

I pray that He continues to use each and every one of you!

Wish me luck on Week 2: Family and Home!

Cartagena

Hola a todos!

I am now in Cartagena and getting ready to begin English classes on Monday! I’m discovering that this experience in Spain is very different from when I was in Oviedo last year. I have already had to speak so much Spanish! Last night I had a headache, and I’m not sure if it was from travel and lack of sleep, or from having to think and speak in Spanish. It’s getting easier though! And everyone has been very patient and understanding, so I appreciate that a lot. And last night I slept almost 10 hours, so I think I’m back on track now!

The family I’m staying with has been so kind and welcoming! Antonio and Loisys are from Venezuela and they have two adorable children, Thiany and Sebastian. I’ve gotten to play with the kids a little and it’s funny how easy it can be to communicate with children. Kids don’t really ask questions, they just start playing with you. It’s also funny that having dance parties and listening to the Black-Eyed Peas has become an international activity. I’ve always thought music was the universal language…

I’ve been walking to the school with Loisys so we can meet the students and their families and tell them more about the English program that’s going to start on Monday! The people seem friendly and enthusiastic about it. I think it’s going to be a great way to expose people to the Lutheran Church! The lessons I’ve planned all focus on a story from the Bible, so hopefully they’ll learn English and some good stories to remember.

I’ve also learned a prayer! Instead of our “Come Lord Jesus”:

Gracias Señor por estos alimentos,

Bendícenos en el nombre de Jesús.

Amen

I’ll write more once the classes start! Hasta luego!

Un beso grande!

Spain Trip II Eve

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow at 5:00 pm, I will begin my journey to Spain. Last year around this time I was in the same situation, preparing for a long trip, trying to fit as many items into one suitcase without going over 50 lbs., nervous about forgetting something, sad to leave, and filled with excitement about what lay ahead. Then, I was coming home from Spain after spending a semester studying abroad and tomorrow I am returning to this country, but this time in a very different context.

Last year I had the opportunity to improve my Spanish skills, travel around Spain, and interact with native Spanish speakers. It was an amazing experience I will never forget! However, in my talks with my conversation partner, host family, and others during my travels, I realized that although Spain is filled with some of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world and is the destination for thousands of Christian pilgrims, very few of its citizens actually enter a church.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod World Missions has partnered with the Lutheran Church in Argentina to create The Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Española (The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Spain). They have been working in Spain for over 10 years spreading the Gospel and offering Divine Services. Part of how they interact with the community is through education, and practicing English has become a big part of their outreach. Since I was lucky enough to be born in the United States, watch Sesame Street, and learn English as my first language, I have been blessed with skills that can help further their mission. I will be working in Cartagena and Madrid for 4 weeks each, teaching English to children and practicing speaking English with adults in the community.   

There are about 46 million people living in Spain and 100 of them are confirmed members of the Lutheran Church. By May 18 at 4:30 pm (9:30 am in Iowa), there will be 101. I’m praying that God will use me to create some fun for the kids in Spain, teach them some English, and share the knowledge of the Good News of the love and forgiveness that is ours through Christ.

Please keep me in your prayers as I go! If you are interested in finding out more about this mission, there are two websites that describe a little more:

http://www.wix.com/luteranos/decada (in Spanish, but has lots of pictures!)

http://www.wix.com/luteranos/ieleproject (in English)

Thank you so much to everyone who has already supported me with donations, prayers, and love!