Today we had our first one-on-one reading sessions. I didn't have any in the morning, but that gave me time to do some team errands and prepare for my busy afternoon.
One thing you need to know if you're planning on coming to Brazil this time of year: it's the rainy season! It rained off and on all day, but it's a different kind of rain than we're used to in the southern US. It doesn't really storm; it's more of a heavy drizzle, even when it's really coming down. Even the weather here is more relaxed than the States!
I had four readers today: Christiane (a young woman), Giovanni, Gilmar, and Andelson (all men). I think I had every level of English speaking skill today, from practically fluent to just learning. I even added a reader (another Gilmar) who spoke so little English that it took me 10 minutes to figure out that he hadn't already signed up to read! I'll be meeting with him tomorrow.
Everyone is very eager to learn English. They all wanted to sign up for as many sessions as possible, but I had to limit them to make sure I have time for my other readers. I've still got about 12 more people to begin reading with! Even though some of them don't understand the language very well, they are willing to struggle through as long as we are patient. But it's so fun helping them learn, I don't think we could get impatient if we tried! They're awesome to read with.
Some are Christians, some are not, some aren't sure. The great thing about the LST program is that they want to keep coming and talking to us even if they don't agree with us. For example, Giovanni is trying to improve his English for a job. He doesn't believe everything in the bible. He mostly likes the parts about being a good person, but isn't so sure about some other parts. But he's very interested in psychology; we had a discussion today about how Jesus thought. How cool is that?
God is doing a lot of work in His people in Recife. We don't even have to do the hard part. I was so nervous before my first session. I had no idea what to say or how it would go. But God makes it easy for us. All we have to do is be open to allowing Him to work through us, and He does the rest!
Thanks for your prayers! Please pray for my readers. And leave your comments! :)
PS - Please especially pray for me and my morning readers. I've never been much of an A.M. guy, but I hope their sessions won't suffer because of it. :P
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
You sound happy! Keep up the good work. I will be praying for you and your readers-especially the morning sessions. I understand not being a morning person. Love you. Mom
i called william and he had to hang up on me because he was "pulling bags" and then he never called me back, so i never got to say this to you:
"bye."
i'll see you in August when I get back from Italy.
Just posting to let you know I'm reading! You sound like you're having fun, even when you're working. That's good!
Ugh -- now I have to go work. And it's NOT fun!
Keep updating us. It's cool to know what's going on down there. The futebol thing has got to be the most awesome cultural comment I've ever seen.
Post a Comment