Overcoming the One Major Hindrance to Our Connection
Randy and I are busy planning a return trip to San Felipe,
Mexico. The children at Sonshine Hacienda, the orphanage we visited in February,
captured our hearts. And each day we long to return.
As we think about going back, we are aware of one major hindrance to our connecting most deeply with the children, the staff, and the community of San Felipe: we don't speak the language.
Sure we got around Spain just fine. We had no trouble asking for the basic necessities: food, shelter, bathrooms, beer. But when you think about deepening relationships, a common language is so important.
Which is why we are taking Spanish classes this summer at our local community college!
We recognized that wanting to have a better grasp of the language was not actually going to give us a better grasp of the language, anymore than wanting to have more money is going to make you rich or wanting to exercise is going to make you thin. We must be intentional about the things we want to do, and take action, if we are going to improve ourselves.
Our Spanish class happens to be really fun! Twice a week we go to class, a refresher for the words we already know, help with the correct pronunciation, and learning new words and phrases every week. And in between we practice with each other.
Our home is covered in stickers -- labels that tell us the Spanish word for everything from dishes and silverware to our garage. Our teacher tells us: "Don't think; just speak." So, like three-year-olds who are learning new words every day, we repeat the same words over and over, getting excited every time we remember the correct names for colors and days of the week, and often times failing miserably in our pronunciation. Which makes us laugh and laugh. Who knew taking a class together would be so fun!
We know that we aren't going to come out of this class fluent in the language. But at least we are making progress! And by being intentional about improving our grasp of Spanish, we are demonstrating to the children of Sonshine Hacienda and the people of San Felipe that we are truly committed to deepening our relationships with them.
Our home is covered in stickers -- labels that tell us the Spanish word for everything from dishes and silverware to our garage. Our teacher tells us: "Don't think; just speak." So, like three-year-olds who are learning new words every day, we repeat the same words over and over, getting excited every time we remember the correct names for colors and days of the week, and often times failing miserably in our pronunciation. Which makes us laugh and laugh. Who knew taking a class together would be so fun!
We know that we aren't going to come out of this class fluent in the language. But at least we are making progress! And by being intentional about improving our grasp of Spanish, we are demonstrating to the children of Sonshine Hacienda and the people of San Felipe that we are truly committed to deepening our relationships with them.
Comments
Post a Comment