LOVE IN THE MOUNTAINS

We went to the mountains to work with the missionaries there.   Three hours of winding roads, but, the place is beautiful.  And, the weather is cool and in fact cold, which means, no cockroaches and no Mosquitos.    So, this is what we do.   Kathy, as we have said before, is responsible for the Latino English program.    This is a church sponsored program to teach the Latinos some English before they go home so that the have a better chance of improving their employment and church service.  Kathy has made a really cute little video that we play on our laptop.   She gathers five or six Latino missionaries and shows them the video and encourages them to work on their English.  (They have study books) however, what Kathy really does is she shows them her love for them and her true concern for their personal improvement.  So, with really bad Spanish and her giant heart she really gets these kids to know that she cares about them and, as a result, most are working On their English.

Gary is responsible for the in-field training of new missionaries.   He meets with each training companionship, a trainer and a student.  (A seasoned missionary and a new missionary) They have a book that outlines how to do the training.   The training is really important since the MTC training has been shortened due to the tremendous amount of new missionaries,  however, the training is hard and takes time, so, many tend to not do too much training.   This is Gary's job, to get them to do the training.  So Gary mets with each training companionship.   He reviews the progress they have done in their book.  Then, he asks them to show him how they study.  Then, he does this little test.  He tells them that we are going to have an exam.  This is where they get a very worried look.  He says let's pretend I am an investigator, a Guatemala Indian that only know basic Spanish.  (This is to compensate for Gary's lack of Spanish),  and the new missionary is the teaching missionary.  Well all this ends up in lots of laughs and fun.  Gary tells them he loves them and he is very proud of them and will visit them again and then gives them a piece of candy.

So, after being here for a few months we are doing what we all understand.  The way to get your teaching understood is to prove to your students that you really love and care for them.