This week has been probably the most challenging since being in Spain. My team and I went to a pueblos called Navalmoral which is very small where everything is within walking distance. (yay, more walking) We had the opportunity to stay with a missionary family who are ministering to the Morrocan Muslims as well as the Spaniards. Their ministry of building trust and relationships with the Morrocans through teaching Spanish and incorporating the Gospel is amazing. When we arrived on Saturday, Samuel introduced us to his family and we had lunch together. As an ice breaker, or more like a skip to the heart, Samuel posed a question to us and our answer had to be in Spanish. My outward reqponse was great bring it on but my inward response was shear panic. My thought was please give me grace because I don´t know Spanish. I was able to give my answer in Spanish by asking how to say certain words in Spanish. My answer was very broken and slow and probably not pronounced perfectly but it was acceptable. Whew. Samuel gave us the run down of what we were going to do and all I could think of was how can I accomplish all that he asked of us. Our schedule of teaching English was packed and felt daunting. As a team, we had to come up with a lesson plan for Sunday school for both the morning and evening timeframes and English activities to teach twice on Monday and Tuesday. We felt like we were ready with nervousness.
The teaching of the lesson went well but Nica and I had to replan our lesson for Sunday evening. We had no idea what to do but we trust God to show us a plan. We learned that the leader for the kids´ club had an idea for us. Her son was going through a difficult time knowing where he belongs and who he is. As a M. K. (missionary kid) he feels out of place. This was a God send as an oppportunity to teach about our identity in Christ and that no matter where we go in life, we are meant to be set apart but at the end of the day, our identity is in Christ. We, as the body of Christ, can understand each other because we are not of the world. The kids were very open to share their experiences, ideas, and concerns.
On Monday and Tuesday, we taught English in a public school. We had no idea how to plan because we did not know what age groups we would be teaching. So, we felt like most of the time we were winging it and trusting on God´s help to communicate English to the kids. I had the opportunity to teach 6 year olds, 5th grade, and 3-5 year olds. The 3 year olds were the most difficult group to teach because they were just speaking Spanish as well as trying to learn English. This truly stretched me to be out of my comfort zone and just act silly with them. To get to their level of comprehension is not easy. The 5th graders were easy because they were able to comprehend Simon says, charades, and complete the story all in English. I should have mention this in the beginning of this paragraph but I was told that the schools have a shame-base approach when teaching children. They will divide the children from startest to dumbest. They will even point each person who is either smart or dumb. The smart kids have the opportunity to go to universities and as for the so called dumb, are not noticed. Knowing this before hand, walking in a class to teach, I could feel the strict atmosphere. In a sense, a fear. As if breathing would be too much. Yet I had to think that not all of the teachers were harsh but rather it was the way of the system.
During the late morning, we experienced the Morrocan Muslim women receive their diplomas for Spanish learning. This event was hard for me because they did not know English and I did not know Spanish. So, the language barrier was definitely evident, however, nonverbals came in use. They were sweet women and very interactive to learn. We taught them how to make American cookies and it was neat to see them participate.I know they really enjoyed it and they had huge smiles. Words can´t convey the feelings and emotions that happened but all I can say is that God was in the midst of it all. I believe they enjoyed our company and felt at ease to express themselves.
I must add that in between our activities, we met a guy named Josiah, who has been living in Navalmoral for nearly a year. His passion for God and connecting with the Spaniards was evident. We had a chance to just hang out because he has been living alone and seeing and hearing English from U.S.´people was a blessing to him.
Our last scheduled event was adult conversations which went amazing. It was great to see and talk with the teachers of the school come and feel like they could practice English as well as be themselves. We went out for drinks with the teachers after the session which was great because we just had good conversations about life.
On Wednesday, plans had changed and so it was a wake-up call to be asked to lead in one of the classes of the school. It was nerve racking and I was frantic to think of ideas but none came. This was a point of just trusting God that it will go well. And truly it did. It may have not been structured but I embraced flexibility. It was so sad to leave the teachers whom we got to know. They were wonderful women (Rebecca and Palet- I think that´s her name-) and it felt like we were friends forever. They will be on my heart and prayers because they are not Christians. Saying good-bye to Samuel and his family was definitely not easy. They prayer over each of us and gave words of encouragement that brought tears to my eyes. Their kindness was beyond I could ask or imagine.
At the end pf this week, we have been prepping for the basketball and English camp. And today, we welcomed the basketball team from LBC (whoot whoot).
Some prayer request:
- For the LBC basketball team to have energy and jetlag will not last long
- Engery for the whole team as next week will be crazy busy
- For the 100+ kids to be save, excited, open to the Gospel through our actions as Christians, and the virtues we will be teaching them to penetrate their life and their families will see the transformation and be effected by it
- Pray for the Navalmoral teachers in the schools, the kids, and for the Gospel to saurate their lives through Samuel´s and his family´s life and Josiah´s life too
- Good health as it will be very hot
- Patience, clarity, open hearts, and God´s spirit to work wonders in the Spaniards of Caceres
Thank you for your prayer support. God is doing amazing things. His Kingdom will reign.
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