English classes in Germany are going great! I realize that I say that every time I talk about them...I'm not sure what it would take for a 'bad' English class. God works through all things, no?
Yesterday, there were five students for the beginner class. Two from last week didn't come (don't know why) and there was one new girl. One of my neighbors asked if it would be ok to bring another girl next week (yes, yes, yes! Bring ‘em all!). So I guess that's a good sign - that they want to bring more people. The boy, Christian (!), is 13, almost 14, and in Chemistry, so I might have something to offer there. And I got a chance to share a little more about myself and what I'm doing here in Chemnitz.
We (me and I think also the Brubakers) see the English classes as an opportunity to offer a service to the community, and to get to know people. However, we are not advertising them as having anything to do with church. We are honest, and explain at the beginning why we're here, and who we're 'employed' by, but it would almost be like tricking them if we used the classes as a way to lure them in, and then bop them on the head with Jesus. If we get together outside of class (like me and Ute), or if they ask more questions about why we're doing what we're doing - which they do; they don't understand why anyone would offer anything for free without a catch - THEN all bets are off.
So, the intermediate class is good, too. There were only three there today (Ute couldn't come, she had a guest, but we're going to get together on Friday), and they were all guys...could have been a little awkward, but it was fine. We got into some good discussions about emotions and friends - the German concept of friend is different than in America. A German does not take friendship lightly, so it was pretty thought-provoking for me to ask them what qualities a good friend would have. One of my students, is giving a speech in English in Slovenia on the October 10th on his job as a social worker. I'm going to help him go over his speech, and I'm glad that we're going to get to talk about things outside of class...but I'm still not so sure how I feel about the whole male/female interaction thing...especially since Germans and Americans have very different social norms (not that I'm afraid he'll try anything, but I feel more comfortable meeting with a woman).
So there you go. That's how the classes are going. On a different topic, I'm going to speak at the Landesjugendtag on Saturday. The Landesjugendtag is a state-youth-day (Christian thing). The theme of the day (sounds like it's a sort of youth conference - except they're probably going to be 17-19/20 years old) is "Who(ever) believes, stand up - being light and salt in our community." I'll be speaking about what I'm doing here for the year, why I'm doing it, etc. I will be speaking during the workshop times, and the theme of the workshops is "where and how can I stand up during my volunteer year for Jesus" (as I understand it, they have a year after graduation, or before their last year of high school, during which they volunteer their time, or do some sort of service project, or something (I'm not really sure I understand it!). SOOO...I'll be getting an opportunity to meet some of the youth in Chemnitz, a full day of German (woo hoo!), and a chance to share about what I'm doing! I'm excited and nervous. My German has been getting better - I think that the rust is finally coming off - but there's a difference between casually speaking, and speaking in front of a crowd. We'll see. I've been praying about it - would you, too? Thanks!
Well, I'll let you go. Tschussi!
Janine
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