Flying Like a Child

I was on Jeff & Lindsay's roof and had an urge to jump over the side and fly through Carpina.

I am writing this post, so I obviously didn't try it.

But it reminded me of when Jonathan was about 3 and he tried to fly off the back of a chair. He ended up with two black teeth as a result. He told my dad that he knew why he couldn't fly. He needed a cape.

But as I resisted the urge to fly over Carpina, I thought of the fact that my little brother wasn't hesitant to fly. He just did it. Arms out, legs straight. Perfect flying pose. There were no hands in front of the face. No cringing.

And I thought, thats what makes a kid a kid. They don't fear. They think, they make a decision, and they do it. As we get older, we add more to that process. We think, we analyze, we discuss, we make a decision, we second guess that decision, we get padding in case that decision is wrong, and then we do it, often times hesitantly with our hands in front of our face.

Now, I'm not saying that this process is wrong. As adults we have developed a process designed to keep us from getting hurt.

We are used to the potential of getting hurt in every situation. Whether it's eating or loving, it could lead to enlongated stays in the bathroom or crying in a pillow. It's good to have that padding.

But the potential of hurt disappears when it comes to the Lord. Psalm 116:6 says "The Lord protects those of childlike faith" (NLT). God is not looking to take our attempts at relationship with him and stomp on our hearts. Jesus says "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14).

God is love...There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. 1 John 4:14 & 18

Educational Theory

I sat studying the affective side of learning and the effect that teachers' language has on it. I wondered how I could integrate more student-centered language in a classroom where the students are not able to actively participate in the target language...where a one word response for a question is looked upon as a victory. I looked up, pondering the thought, just in time to see the window filled with several kindergarten faces bouncing in and out of view.

"Teacher Emily!" I heard. "Teacher Emily esta aqui!" "Teacher Emily ta aqui!". Soon I saw a mini-crowd of hopping kindergarten students. I said hello but decided it was probably wise not to discuss educational theory with them, since there is a small but steep drop-off under my classroom window.

After a few more jumps, the kids got tired. But, of course, they couldn't give up that easily. As I tried to decide if I wanted to read, they decided to sit under the window. Every few seconds, I heard "Teacher Emily!" "Teacher Emily! ABC!" "Teacher Emily! ABCDEFG!" (Of course, they had to stop at 'G' because 'H' isn't worth the effort.) "Teacher Emily! Hello!" "Teacher Emily! Blue!" "Teacher Emily! Two!" "Teacher Emily! Baw!" I couldn't quite understand that one, so I looked at the window, just in time to see one of the little munchkins slowly push a ball into sight. I laughed and went to the window to talk to them. They were elated...until two of their little soccer-playing friends ran right into each other, giving one a goose egg the size of Kansas. The kids were rounded up and I returned to Anton and Vygotsky.

One word conversations may not be as thought provoking as a class' work on discovery of the appropriate uses of "would", "should", and "could" but it they sure do make me smile...and I bet in a few years these little rugrats will be debating the word recognition versus the sociopsycholinguistic views on language insturuction...well...maybe not. But I bet they will tell some great stories.

Acacias Community Church

Over the past several months, there have been some changes within the Acacias Community Church.

The first big addition was a prayer vigil. The meeting is held once a month and the participants spend the night praying at the church. The week after the first meeting, three people decided to follow Christ! We are experiencing how God moves, when His church prays.

Another big step for the church involved re-starting the English classes. Last semester Pat Hood began an English class for the women of the church & the school. It was a huge success, with the men asking for a class of their own. As we discussed Pat's class & saw the implementation of it, I began to see a fuller picture of the potential of English classes within the churches. Jeff, Lindsay, Ricardo, & I have been teaching English at the church in Lagao de Itaenga for some time now, but, as for me, I saw it much in the same way as I saw my English classes at the school. Through the new class, I began to see how powerful an English class within the church can be. Tele & Heather saw this as well. So, a few weeks after the prayer vigil started, they started English classes at the church. And what a turn out! The second week Tele had over 30 people in the beginners' class and Heather had around 10 in the more advanced class. A few of the Americans (Paul & Ruth) and an English-speaking Brazilian (Jaciel) are now helping with the load. There are four classes. People from the church, the school, and the community are coming an hour before church for English class. Many of them then stay for the church service. The Acacias Community church has always been very small but over the past several months it has grown dramatically. It has been fun to see.

Here's a video of Pastor Tele talking about Acacias.

Please pray for continued growth within the Community Church of Acacias and that the Lord would use this little church in a powerful way.

Also, the pastor of Guadalajara Community Church (Carlos), some of the other American missionaries, and I are planning to start a new English program at the church in Guadalajara next week. Please pray that the church would be empowered to form new relationships through this program and that the Lord will be glorified.