To The Very End Of The Age

English camp today went very well (moi bien!). For the first time, I felt like I really knew what I was doing, and the kids were really trying to understand me. The last couple days in class, I was just kind of winging it. It made a world of difference to come prepared!!
Also, today I had a helper/translator for the first time. His name is Edgar, and Luke lived with him last year. Everyone loves him! Today is his first day at English Camp, because he was in some kind of summer school. He was very helpful translating and doing the sound system stuff!

Yesterday, I went to church for adult conversation classes. Basically, I just sat and talked with 5 or 6 Spanish women at a time. There were two different groups, and each group was supposed to have 1 hour each. I got so involved in the conversations that both times we went way over by accident.
I wasn’t really sure where to start, but they asked about me, my family, and my life in the US. By the end, we’d talked about all kinds of things, everything from unemployment to the weather to our home lives to our cultures’ foods. It was very interesting. It was easier than English Camp with the kids because the adults understand more and also really want to learn. Most of the kids come because their parents want them to, not because they really care.

Tomorrow, we are starting rehearsals for the Lifehouse Everything Skit. I’m really excited. It has both Americans and Spaniards in it. Most everyone has done it before, so hopefully the language barrier won’t really be a problem. Of course, the skit itself has no words. We’re performing it for the Spanish church on Sunday, and again at parks later.
I’ve seen that skit a million times, but every time it hits me like new. I so feel that way in my life at times. I’m going great being with Jesus, and then suddenly something else steps in. This doesn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but then all the sudden, there is so much between me and God that I feel like he’s completely abandoned me, even though he’s promised never to do that**. Just when it seems all hope is lost, He sweeps in to save me and help me stand under the weight of the world.
When I mentioned this to Carla, our missionary, she said, “Isn’t the teacher always silent during a test?” Wow. It seems so simple, but this is a way that I can understand. All teachers give tests to see that we’ve grown, that we are learning. Tests are meant to be taken alone, but the teacher is always watching to make sure we can handle it. Sometimes, in my “tests,” I think I am all alone, panic, and fail. Anyways, I really enjoy this skit, and I hope the Spanish church does, too.
My family doesn’t attend church, but they are supposed to come for a special Sunday service this week. We are performing this skit and singing with the Spanish choir. I don‘t think my family wants to come, though they would never say so to me. It was a long time ago that Spain had religious oppression, but they have long memories. Catholicism was forced upon the people, and the priests were corrupt. The government would pay the priests to tattle after someone confessed to them. Now, no one trusts the church, and they rebel against it. There is so much hurt, but I can still see that my family has a longing for something more. Pray that their hearts might be opened to the message we’ll bring on Sunday. My heart breaks for them. I feel like I am not really making a difference here for them.

** Matthew 28:20 “… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I’ve posted this before, but I need reminders. I cling to this promise.


PS.... Happy Birthday, America! :)