(What is that?)
For many years, I and my family were the foreigners, trying to learn the native language and customs in a very strange land. Our family of 5 were the only non-Indonesians in a wide area. We dealt with people pointing and laughing (later to learn this did not mean the same as it does in America); teenage girls cooing over our three blond and blue eyed children and pinching them on the cheeks, over and over; people standing at our open windows and doors, watching our every move. We were the best show in town.
We tried our best to have an American home in the midst of this very strange Indonesian culture, trying to balance both cultures and enjoy the best of both. But first, "Where can I buy eggs?" "How do you know which slab of meat hanging on the hooks in the market are the best?" "Where do they sell brooms?" "And how do you say are these things?"
Soon, we found the local people to be very patient and helpful to us, sharing all kinds of information with us, and being forgiving and gracious as we struggled to use the language as they did. In those early years, unless we made a trip to another town, the only people we had to speak English with were each other. Hence, we were forced to learn the language quickly.
I determined in the years that passed, as we moved from that country to another and then later to yet another country, struggling each time with a new language and a new culture, that if ever we ended up back in America, I would love to work with foreigners who had come to live in America. NOW I could relate. NOW I understood a little about how they felt, perhaps. And besides all that, I just love being with internationals!
As we settled into retirement and our new church home, finding places where we could plug in and serve, the Lord opened up a wonderful opportunity for me. I was asked to begin and English as a Second Language (ESL) ministry. Because I had never headed up such a program, or even worked in one, I was on a steep learning curve. I read, visited other programs, got trainings, asked questions everywhere. I made mistakes, I'm sure, but we learned as we went along. For each semester of classes, the Lord provided wonderful teachers from among our church membership. Our program is evolving and we are developing and improving as we go along. It is a wonderful ministry. Maybe you would like to find such a program near where you live. In your church or a sister church? Internationals are some of the most fun people around!
This blog was to show you pictures of our semester's closing party. Our first such event. But I found I needed to share a few things with you first. Check our our next blog for pictures of the party, our teachers, and our students.
