Hitting the Wall

It took me longer than most, but I have finally hit the proverbial wall in trying to learn Spanish. Thankfully, I feel like I have busted through the wall for the most part. It was a tough week for me in my studies because I was glued to the World Series every night. The Phillies just couldn't get a big hit. Oh well. However, this has allowed April to pull ahead in our classes, much to my dismay. This week we learned direct and indirect objects and their pronoun substitutes. These are a little difficult to use when speaking because they come before the verb instead of after. For example: "Jeff gives the book to April" using pronouns becomes "I give it to her." In Spanish you would say "I her it give." Of course, this makes absolutely no sense to me. So, to actually use them I have to speak slower than a 2 year old which makes me feel about as smart as one, too. I want to go back to just butchering the language yet getting my point across. It was better for me not to know how incredibly wrong I was. Believe it or not, this actually has reinforced the topics from Spiritual Emphasis week. Most days, we don't have a clue as to how sinful we really are. When you realize how sinful you really are, it is quite humbling to know that God loves you anyways. It is easier to walk around in a bubble of "I'm doing pretty good" than to repent of our sin and try to walk in obedience.

It is 72 degrees and Maria is huddled on the couch under a blanket.

Camden and I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters perform a day after his birthday. They really put on a great show! The basketball wasn't that great, but the ball handling and the showmanship were really fun. One guy could spin the ball on his finger, transfer it to his bald head, and have the ball stop and balance on his head. That was pretty cool. The whole basketball team went so now they want to do the three man weave during a game. We had a junior high game on Thursday and we actually played pretty well. We lost 24-18, but that is a big improvement over our first game in which we lost by 41. It's hard to improve much only practicing 3 hours a week.

On Friday night, April and I got together with Pastor Eric and his wife Iris for dinner. We went to a Cantonese restaurant and it literally tasted like we were in Macau again. It was awesome! We had a great time practicing Spanish with Eric and Iris while enjoying some of the best food on earth. We rarely eat out (except for PriceSmart pizza once a week) so this was a real treat for us!

We are excited about things going on in Clare! We are praying for the FMSC event that is happening even as I write this blog! We are also excited about the baptism service! God is still at work in the lives of people!

Until next time...