First Class at the BI

The Bible Institute year started back on March 29th. My first class was on Thursday, April 1st (9-10:20 pm). Teaching this Hermeneutics (or Bible Study Methods) class will be a big stretch for me, since I am still learning Spanish. I am very grateful for the teaching curriculum I bought from EBI (the Spanish publishing wing of Baptist Mid-Missions). While I have full notes to work from, much preparation needs to go into extra handouts and tweaking Powerpoint slides to fit the objectives of my class.
I was (a good kind of) nervous my first class. First classes are always about meeting your students, going over the purpose of the class, the schedule for quizzes, exams, and homework projects.

My classes aren't without some funny language moments. Here are two examples:

*In my first class period, I was explaining the difference between Hermeneutics (Bible Study Methods) & Exegesis (the Practice of Hermeneutics in a particular text). While I do follow my written notes around 80% of the time, I decided to "go off script" for a time of discussion. This is a big challenge for me, not to mention a lot of spur of the moment pressure to make sense. Well, I was having a hard time pronouncing "Exegesis" (Exégesis in Spanish). One of my students took pity on me and anticipated when I was about to say that word and then he would just say it out loud like it was planned. Finally, I just decided to call "Exegesis" "the other one" since that was easier to say in Spanish (y el otro). After some laughs, one student asked me how to say Exegesis in English...and you know what?...my mind went blank! I couldn't remember how to pronounce it even in English. My mind was such a mess that night, due to the thinking in Spanish. It's the story of a new missionary learning a second language...they pretty much stink at both languages. ;)

*During my second class, I was going "off script" again (do you see a pattern here?) when I was trying to say something like "I want to ______" (Yo quiero _____)and for the life of me I couldn't remember the verb in Spanish. After what seemed like minutes, but more like a few seconds of me staring blankly, I just thought to myself, "Forget it", and said sarcastically (in Spanish) "Yo quiero morir" (I want to die!). Everyone laughed and I moved back to my notes.

I'm sure that there will be more funny blunders in the future. I will cherish the day when I will be able to say what I want to say, and not just what I know how to say (there is a big difference).

I have a total of 12 students in my class. Three of them are auditing the class, the rest are expected to do all of the work/exams.

Prayer Requests for my class:

*Pray for my weekly preparation time. It takes many hours to get everything ready for the next class period. (Handouts, quizzes, grading quizzes, powerpoint, and extra personal reading about my topic)

*Pray for faithfulness in my students. There is always the tendency to forget the overall reason why they are studying at the BI.

*Pray for my Spanish to continue to improve. Proficiency is NOT a word I would use to describe my current level...it would be more like pathetically adequate. Pray for humility, the ability to laugh at myself, and opportunities to learn more.

*Pray that my students will go into full time Gospel ministry. Many don't know what they want to do. There are many hurdles in front of them. Pray that they will seek to know God and His will for their lives today.

*Pray for my students by name: Mauren, Claudia, Miguel, Bernardo, Rodrigo, Adolfo, Alejandra, Mario, Juana, Pamela, Luis & Daniela (I will get a group picture this next week).