My Next Endeavor

My next endeavor is to speak Spanish. I never dreamed at the ripe old age of 54 I would wish to learn another language. We had VBS 2018 last week at First Baptist Chatsworth. I had no idea the theme of VBS would "play out" in our Kindergarten Boys classroom. It truly was "Game On" when our class of three Latino boys; Jorge, Jake and Paschal, didn't speak a word of English! Sloane and I were dumbfounded but not defeated. My next endeavor was making Google translate our friend. We tried our best to teach them about Jesus leaving the 99 to find one lost sheep. This is harder than it sounds. Google translated the word sheep for us as orvejah. Thankfully, Google also speaks the word through their translator. I learned animal sounds are the same in any language. Have you ever thought about that? I find it quite interesting! So, in a manner of minutes through body language and an iphone, Jorge was crawling around the floor acting as if eating grass repeating the phrase "orvejah baaaaaaa"! Sloane and I giggled as the sheep imitation caught on and all of us were being sheepishly silly. Our little guys came to VBS on night three of five. The boys were giddy after crafts the second night. My next endeavor was to communicate Jesus loves you. I taught class alone. I left wondering if anything I said stuck. I didn't even attempt to use Google without Sloane. I spoke to them from pictures nodding my head up and down looking for a knowing nod back. Not happening! No knowing nods just dancing brown eyes. After about five minutes, I said "orvejah, baaaaaa". We laughed. The boys finished their crafts. Jorge The next night a surprising and welcome event happened that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws. I consider it the work of a divine agency. In other words, a miracle from God happened right there in our classroom. Sloane used Translate again to ask our three amigos a question. "quien ta ama?" The artificial intelligence repeated. The boys finally understood Sloane when she asked them to listen to what her phone was saying. "quien ta ama?" Who loves you? As quickly as Paschal understood the phrase, he immediately raised his small arm and pointed straight at ME! I almost burst into tears. YES! Yes! I do love you, I squealed! I'm not sure what happened during our three days with those darling boys that made Paschal feel loved. I'm just so happy it did! How amazing our God who loves us is. For people who say it's not nice to point, they've never overcome a language barrier through the holy spirit of God. Paschal's pointed finger is a blessing I will remember forever. I pray my next endeavor is half as successful as these three nights of Vacation Bible School. Paschal Jake Thanks to Benny Huggins for use of the photos. Endeavoring 365,