Saturday, February 11, 2012

Phil.4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Wow! Yesterday the sun shined ALL day! What a blessing. It has been chilly and rainy ever since I returned. Ugh! And today it is shining. I am so thankful. It is really cold in IL and KS, brrrrr!

So the last couple of weeks has been spent at the school enrolling students. As of now, we have 40 in the 7th-9th grades. I will be teaching 5th and 6th grades also, but I'm not sure of the numbers. I received a blessing yesterday from two former students and one is now attending elsewhere. The English that he is receiving is malo(bad)according to him. Nothing is translated for him, and he fills in the blanks on the pages after listening to the lesson on tape. (I have been told by different people that I should only speak in English when I teach. That may be okay for little ones who still have the God given ability to speak any language when they are born, but as they get older and don't use those specifics, those not used go by the wayside. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to learn and speak correctly in another language as the child gets older. Granted, there are people that God has given linguistic ability/talent, and they pick up languages very quickly, but most of us don't have that talent. And during some of the conferences I attended on how the brain works, the brain has to have some kind of info(schema)to attach incoming information in order to use it. Therefore, I believe the kids will learn quicker if that schema is provided, hence, translations). So one of the students asked if he could come back to my class. I said absolutely. I was pleased that he remembered English so well. I learned when I was teaching children with disabilities that students can fill in blanks correctly and not have a clue to understanding what they just wrote. I want these students to be able to carry on a conversation in English, and to be able to read and write with understanding. I want the kind of quality where the students will remember how to use the language after they finish the classes. I believe God for the grace and help for both me and the students.

So what else has happened? The dryer is now fixed, thank you Lord. And we learned that there was nothing wrong with the land line. It was the phone that was bad! Calling long distance is better on my land line. It sounds like the person is standing next to me, whereas on the cell, they are in a tunnel with a lot of static and difficult to hear and understand what is being said.

We need two more teachers desperately. Our first grade class has 46 students. Way too many for one teacher, if quality is the goal. And of course, we always need sponsors for our kids. And the need is now. I have to stand on God's word that says he will meet our every need according to the riches in Christ Jesus.