Recently we met some missionaries who studied Spanish in Colombia. Turns out they studied in the school in Bogota that we were planning to attend had our visas been approved last summer. But they only studied there for a couple of months because, according to them, it was not a good school. They ended up quitting their language learning at that school and hiring a private tutor to help them learn their Spanish. Now, they are here in Arequipa serving as missionaries. All that to share with you something we have learned from God over and over throughout our lives, that although we cannot see or comprehend what He is doing, He has a plan and is working all things out. Our visas for Colombia were denied, so instead of going there for language school, we came here to this language institute in Arequipa, Peru.
Romans 8:28-"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Jeremiah 29:11-"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."
Here in Arequipa, we are studying Spanish at an excellent language school, one that many people say is one of the best in all of South America, ABC Espanol (http://www.abcperu.org/). Their method of teaching is great, they have lots of experience, and it is a Christian language institute. We feel so blessed to be getting our language foundation here. We have learned a lot of vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, and verb conjugations; we have completed our language learning books; and we are now in the practice stage, practicing, being corrected, and perfecting what we've been taught with the help of our instructors. Chris and I have had a grammatica class together with one other student, fellow SAM missionary, Lisa Speyers. For our practica class, we have been in classes by ourselves where we've been blessed to get one-on-one practice time and instruction. We still need to increase our vocabulary and practice all the grammar and conjugations, but we had a great start and have a good foundation. We are thinking more and more in Spanish and are able to have conversations in all tenses, though they are often slow conversations, :). Chris has better understanding with hearing, but Cristi is speaking pretty well. It's definitely been a challenge to learn a new language, while also having the responsibilities of raising a family, but little by little it is all falling into place. Arequipa has been a great place to learn and to practice Spanish and to learn a lot of culture of Peru and of all of South America. And it's been awesome to get to study Spanish and do life with missionaries from many places in Europe and the United States. What a blessing to experience so many cultures in this city of Peru and to share two amazing things in common - a common faith in Jesus Christ and a common calling to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of South America.
The city of Arequipa is a beautiful city to learn in. We love the scenery and the people. We have enjoyed the culture while we've lived here the past 7 months. Here is a video that someone from Arequipa posted on facebook. This shows the city that we are living in while we study Spanish. https://vimeo.com/114032268
Crystal, Ashlynn, and Andrew got to study Spanish for a few weeks in the language institute and got a basic foundation. They have tried to take opportunities to practice and have actually learned quite a bit. And we found a great little preschool for Knyanna, Trinity, and James to attend while we are at language school. They are learning Spanish vocabulary and commands there. Trinity likes to pray in Spanish, Knyanna likes to use Spanish to speak to people as best she can, though half the time it's a bit of Spanish mixed in with a bit of Knyanna-ese :), and James likes to say some words and phrases. All the kids can count in Spanish and know basic vocabulary.
Our timeline is still a little uncertain. Please pray for wisdom for us as we decide when to complete our Spanish studies here and head to Riohacha, where of course we will continue to learn Spanish. We are practicing a lot now, which is very helpful. So we need to decide how much more practice we should do here before heading to Riohacha where we will be completely immersed. Here there are Peruvians, Europeans, and Americans. We have lots of opportunity to speak English and Spanish, but are trying to speak Spanish more and more. In Riohacha, there will be no English speakers, so we'll have plenty of opportunities to practice and perfect our Spanish out of necessity to communicate. Right now, we are considering heading to Colombia at the end of June or the beginning of July, but that is still uncertain, so again just please pray for wisdom.
Thank you for your prayers for our studies and for our family here in Peru. We have most definitely felt and appreciated your prayers. Please continue to pray for good health, for us to improve more and more in our ability to speak the Spanish language, and for increased ability to understand the Spanish language when we hear it. Also, please pray for our son, Andrew as he will be leaving Arequipa on May 27th. He is heading to Washington state where he is going to be serving as a camp counselor for the summer at the Christian camp where we lived and served for a few months before leaving for South America. Again, even in Andrew getting a summer job at the camp we just happened to live at during our final support raising stage, we see God's hand in everything He has done on this journey, everywhere He took us, everywhere He placed us for a season. God's plan is perfect, even when we don't see or understand it. Blessed be His name!! And please pray for us too as we say goodbye to Andrew for an unknown period of time. After his summer job, he will be going to Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. His momma, especially, is finding this time to be a little tough, as we say goodbye to Andrew, our second son to leave home, and send him off far away from "home". We know God goes with him and are excited for him, but we are sure gonna miss him.
No comments:
Post a Comment