Week 61: Storytime at English

Every week, we teach English.  This last week, we had more students than usual, so we had to split into two classes.  That meant that I had to teach all by myself.  Uh oh!  In my group, I had three old ladies and a high school student.  

After introductions, I shared a grammar principle.  So far, so good.  Then we moved into storytime; but instead of just my telling the story, I thought we could all take turns adding sentences.  I think that's where I went wrong.  

I started us off: There was a boy living in Slovakia.  

Okay, now it's lady 1's turn.

Lady #1: I live in a village outside of Banská Bystrica.  

Oh.  The idea was to connect it with the last sentence.  Then ladies 1 and 2 started arguing about whether the first sentence even made sense in Slovak.  We moved on.

Lady 2: The boy had a sister.

All right, not bad.

Lady 3: His sister's name was Anna.

This is some story.  I asked the high school student to spice things up, maybe add a twist.  

Teenager: His sister died.

Holy cow!  Now we're getting somewhere.  

Me: So the boy went on an adventure to bring his sister back to life.  Nice, we've come full circle back to lady 1.  I wonder what she'll say?

Lady 1: I have a brother who lives in Australia.  Okay, so the boy goes to Australia to find a magic potion for his sister.

Lady 2: Anna goes to the meadow to pick flowers.  I asked her how that was possible, seeing as Anna's dead.  Her response: "It doesn't matter."  The teenager was almost dying from laughter.

Lady 3: The boy goes to town to meet a friend.  All right, teenager, bring it back for us.

Teenager: His friend helps him find a magic potion for Anna.  Thank you.  Well, time to wrap up the story.

Me: But they couldn't find Anna because she was busy picking flowers.

Week 60: huh.

Some time ago, I met a kid on the bus.  He was excited when he found out that I was from America.  We become as good of friends as you can become with someone in the time of a short bus ride.  Before you know it, he has to get off!  Uh oh.  I still didn't have his #.  

"We'll meet again," I said, which is weird because usually, people say that to me, and that means they don't want to see me again.

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I'll let you in on a secret: I don't sound like a native Slovak.  I don't think I ever will.  BUT.  At least I don't sound American.  One lady told me I have a Hungarian accent, and she's from Hungary.  

Recently, we stopped two teenagers on the street.  Instantly one greeted me like we've met before.  He said he was so happy to see me.  This usually isn't the reaction I get upon greeting people on the street.  I recognized his face, but I didn't know from where exactly.  Then I remembered: the kid on the bus!  Wow.  We're have a meeting in order for this week.

I thought this ad was funny.

Former missionary Brad Earl came to visit with his family on Sunday and ended up joining us for church. He was among the first missionaries (second group) to be called specifically to Slovakia. His Slovak is amazing for having not spoken it for 10 years. He served in Banská Bystrica for a whole year. He gave cool advice. He said if we're feeling miserable or stressed in this work, something is wrong. We're teaching people about God's plan of happiness, so we should be happy, even when it feels like the entire work is resting on our shoulders. Also, none of his family likes Kofola. I guess you have to live here for some time to acquire such a taste.

58: This is not a role-play

The church has recently emphasized privacy in the missionary program.  That includes being sensitive in what we send home in emails to family and friends as it relates to information about people.  Makes sense, privacy is important.

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At zone conference, we have a segment for role-playing; one missionary pair is selected to teach a fake investigator in front of the whole zone, and then we can talk about what we can improve.  Elder Papenfuss and his greenie [a "greenie" is a new missionary] were selected, only this time, it wasn't a fake investigator.  You might remember Leo from some pictures during my time in Trenčín.  He's been an investigator for "quite some time,"  so he knew what questions would trip up the missionaries.  

The lesson started quite normally but soon became a conversation about deep doctrine.  Leo knew what he was doing.  President Pohořelický was sitting right behind me and was on the edge of his seat, almost as if we were at a football game.  All of the sudden, Leo asked a question that was sure to stump Elder Papenfuss and Anderson.  I had no idea what I would have said.  President was behind me, repeatedly whispering the word "repentance."  Elder Papenfuss replied: "There's something that comes before baptism, and that's repentance."  President probably wanted to jump out of his seat.  It was fun to watch him have a quiet but enthusiastic celebration.

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There has recently been a number of old men telling me that the worst things come from America.  That's right after I tell them I'm from America.  Thanks.