Akanjo or Akondro?

“Nividy akanjo kilo saseny aho,” I proudly announced to those around me. My attempt to use some new words and tell everyone I bought a half kilo of bananas immediately resulted in much laughter and shouts of, “no! no!” As I stopped to contemplate what went wrong I realized that I said akanjo, which is clothes instead of akondro which is bananas. Oh the joys of language learning! Currently I work with my language helper, Hoga, eight hours per week. Please pray that I will be able to get in another eight hours per week.

                On Sunday the children and youth group at church put on a performance. It was so much fun to watch them sing and dance! They are so cute and talented. For the last song they had the audience stand up, and everyone was clapping and dancing along. Before I knew what was happening, the pastor’s wife, who is a little older lady in her 70’s had grabbed my hand and started dancing with me. Imeadiately all eyes were on me and the pastor was motioning for me to come up on stage with everyone, thankfully his wife wasn’t about to let go of me. J While is was awkward, I found out that dancing along is a great way to make new friends!

                On Saturdays I teach a training class to about 16 of the teens here. I am going through the Christian Youth in Action training material with them to give it a trial run here in Madagascar before we actually do it with students who are unfamiliar with the wordless book and teaching children. They give me input after the lessons on what we could change to make it work better here. I am using interactive lessons that involve the teens in the learning process that Nancy Paulson put together for CYIA in WA. In WA they teach the teens the Gospel in Motion, which helps them remember the main points of the wordless book with hand motions put to the points. On Saturday I introduced it to the teens here. Now my project this week is to learn it in Malagasy so that on Saturday I can do it with them. J I made my poor language helper say is over and over again to me then listen to me butcher it over and over again yesterday…the practice is paying off though and I am pretty sure Hoga can say it in his sleep now.

                                

A group of the teens work together during class.

The Gospel in Motion

The teens practiced the first page of the wordless book with each other during class.