Sunday School

I have been taking Eve to Sunday School since the beginning of the year. Simon and Benjy have never wanted to go. It is all in Monkolé, which they don't understand, and despite being assured that their friends could translate for them, they are on the shy side and don't want to stand out. So they stay for the sermon in church, which they can at least understand since there is an interpreter translating into French.

Eve, however, understands a bit more Monkolé than them, and is incapable of sitting through a sermon without distracting me so much that I can't concentrate on it. She won't go to Sunday School on her own, but if I go with her then she will.

I just sit at the side and watch, and Eve will now go and sit with the other children. The Sunday School desperately needs help - there is just one leader for the 40-50 children between the ages of 2 and 10 ... but that is precisely what puts me off! At the moment I find the idea of trying to teach that many children (or even half of that) in Monkolé with no materials very daunting!

It seems that traditionally it has been the youth who teach the kids - except for the church elder who heads up the work - and that no one has thought that parents could also get stuck in. Maybe with time I'll feel I could offer some suggestions and help out, but at the moment I just observe (and have taught them one action song in English for fun).

It's hard to take photos, as it is so dark inside the room where they meet in contrast to the sunlight outside, but here is one:



Please do pray for these children, and for their Sunday School teachers.

Context

I remember writing about how in language learning context can make
things difficult. Sometimes you feel you understand all the individual
words, but the meaning still eludes you. (If I were an organised blogger
I would be able to give you a link back to that post...)

Context can also be our friend. Last Saturday I was at a shop in Kandi
with Eve. The usual shopkeeper, who I know, wasn't there, and she had
left a young woman and a teenager looking after the shop. The young
woman said something to Eve in French, and as usual when Eve is tired of
attention, she ignored her. The teenager said something to the young
woman with the word "anglais" (English) in it, and I replied in French,
"No, she understands French too, her father is French."

The young woman looked at me and said, also in French, "It sounds like
you understand Dendi perfectly!" so I admitted that I had just guessed
what she'd said based on the word "anglais". It hadn't exactly been too
difficult!

But I know from experience that when you don't know a language, or are
struggling to learn it, it can be tempting to shut down your ears and
eyes, and just resign yourself to not understanding. It is always worth
making the effort!

One shouldn't go too far the other way, though, and just assume one is
understanding things. Then you get the phenomenon of the foreigner who
just smiles and says "yes" to whatever is said to them! Highly risky!
Better to always check your understanding and admit when you don't
understand. (Swallow your pride - pride doesn't get you anywhere in
language learning!)