This evening I had one of the best meals I've ever eaten, possibly. I took ground beef and made burgers with breadcrumbs, milk, Worchestershire sauce, and various seasonings and grilled them along with green and orange peppers. I boiled quinoa, which is a little grain kind of like a cross between millet and rice and is scrumptious. I mixed olive oil with rosemary and other spices and mixed it in with the quinoa. Then I had ice water in a crystal goblet and ate supper out on the deck under a Denver sunset, reading a book. It was so delightful. And yes, I did just use that word. :)
Tuesday I met with Betty, who is in charge of the ESL classes. We went over the curriculum and talked about the classes. I'll be in charge of the intermediate level of English classes at the church! Wow. I didn't expect that much responsibility, but it makes me super excited. Another lady will help me some, at least in the mornings. On Thursday morning we began registration for the classes. That included testing each person who came in so we could evaluate their level. That was good. About 10 ladies and one man came in. It is a challenge, discerning where people should fit into the program. For instance, one lady is very fluent speaking, but since she speaks Arabic as her primary language, her reading and writing are very weak (different alphabet). So do you put her at a level of speaking that is lower than she is? I am hoping that she can be in my class because I'd like to give her special help, perhaps by assigning special reading and writing assignments. That's my favorite part about English anyway. :) Then there are people who come in and want to learn English but are really too advanced for the classes we offer. They know that they are not as comfortable in English as they'd like to be, so they want to keep studying, but it would be useless for them to take classes that are below their level. However, I talked with Betty and she loved my idea. To these people I've been offering to tutor them on the side, outside of our classes. The Lord has given me two women already who want this, and both want to pay me. So I'll be meeting with a lovely older Brazilian woman who has an incredibly thick accent and wants to become a citizen, and a younger South Korean woman who is a dentist in Korea but doesn't work here yet because her English isn't good enough. With the second lady I'll just be meeting to talk for an hour every week so she can practice her English. What an opportunity for good relationships with these ladies. I'm excited.
Today the only place I went was to the grocery store, and the only thing I planned were my meals. And those I planned right before I ate. :) I was able to read, write, pray, watch Little House on the Prairie, walk, talk to friends long distance, play piano, etc. It has been lovely and relaxing. When I finish here I plan to spend a bit of time in Bible study and maybe Greek, and maybe talk to a couple more people on the phone. And tomorrow I'll be helping with more registration for the classes.
People kept telling me that I'm going to have a wonderful summer. So far it HAS been amazing. I laugh thinking of Ms. Brooke in Anne of Avonlea: And what is to be the pill in all of this jam, Ms. Shirley? I have no promise that the days ahead will or won't be as lovely as the past few have been, but I am so thankful for God's grace and provision this week. He's pretty amazing. My heart's longing is to just love these people who He is giving me to teach and do my best with that, and to keep up with my personal goals in reading and praying and studying. If I can look back on this summer and know I have done my best with those responsibilities, I will be thankful. God's grace is sufficient for all I desire and all He gives me to do.
Press on with joy!
PS funny fact...there are more local TV stations here in Spanish than in English. It's funny to me because there aren't a lot more evidences of a large Latino population, other than seeing many Hispanics around at the parks and stores. I guess I mean, it's not like north Broadway in Wichita, which actually reminds me of the Latin countries I've been to. Oh, I love people, and cultural differences. :) I can't wait to learn from all my English students. It's going to be quite a stretching, growing experience.
PS 2 I went hiking on Wednesday and was so ridiculously happy...kind of giddy, you might even say. :) Here are a couple of pictures. On my way back down through the mountains toward town I stopped at an art gallery tucked away in the mountains and a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I bought an expresso-flavored ice cream cone. It was happiness in a jar. I can't believe I'm really in Colorado and can DO things like this. :)
