Hola Amigos! The title of this entry is Learning Preschool because that is what I have been doing! I’m not teaching at the escuelita so much as listening to the Lord show me how to pour life and love into the children in two 55 minute sessions a day. Even that sounds far more noble than what it boils down to in real life. Figuring out how to work my limited Spanish into directions like “Put the toy away”, “Where does this go?” has done wonders for my motivation to learn Spanish. We reference our dictionary several times a day, and the Lord reminds us of words we once knew from high school daily. We start and end each session with a hug, and that has done wonders for me and for the children. I had career highs and lows today. The Low was when a sweet girl threw a tantrum over putting the rompecabeza (puzzle) back on the right shelf and had to be carried to a time out (the first one I have enforced at the school). But we hugged afterward and did some special time together and all was well. The High was when one quiet boy laughed so hard with his friend about knocking down a tower of blocks that a line of drool cascaded down to the table and stayed hanging there for about 5 seconds before he recovered and wiped it off on his shirt. The Lord is using them to teach me far more than I’m teaching them. In the process, I am learning what kinds of things I can logistically work on with them, in a way that’s orderly and fun.

Today was our 7th day here, and it ocurred to me while we were praying with the kids before bed that if we were on a 10 day team trip, we would only have three days left. I was struck by how glad I am that we have three more weeks here. I’m not ready to think about home yet. The Lord is giving us special opportunities to have conversations with the people here. They are truly wonderful, and so patient with our imperfect Spanish. The Lord’s presence is sweet here at the Home of Life in the place and in the people.

I’ve tried a few batches of baking so far, with decent but less than perfect results. Some angel left an oven thermometer, so while baking a batch of scones I realized that the mathematical conversion of 375 degrees farenheit to 190 degrees Celcius enters an electrical Bermuda Triangle in the cabin’s oven. Now I know that 240 degrees Celcius is the right setting for that temp. I also tried making yeast rolls completely by hand yesterday, and learned some things to avoid for the next batch. They still turned out nice enough that there was a little jockeying for the last one at dinner tonight. It’s been fun, and I look forward to perfecting the baking process down here, making good tasting mistakes in the meantime. Have a delicious day!