Thursday, October 2, 2008

Humility

That is what I think that I have been learning this week.

I guess I haven’t really thought about all the ways that you can be humbled before, but this week I have lived a number of them.

I was humbled to learn that the woman who came to teach Ben’s class for the first semester. Miss Campbell is 84 years old! She came out of retirement to fill a need at Sahel, braving a rough climate as an act of faith and service to her Lord. I’m not sure that I will be able to do something so courageous when I am that age. Please pray for her health and strength, especially as the mini hot season is starting.

Language learning is an incredibly humbling experience and this week was no exception. I was told this week by a friend that Dave has a much better French accent than I do (probably because I try to use English words that don’t exist in French on occasion). I sometimes have difficulty speaking French or Zarma when Dave is around too because he is continually correcting me or trying to “help” by giving me words that have nothing to do with what I am trying to really say, another humbling experience.

One of our sons took forgetfulness to a whole new level today. He has worked for three days straight on a project for school (including the Ramadan holiday, Eid al-fitr, when he didn’t have classes) which he finished last night and printed off in colour, only to come home with the project tonight. He forgot that he had finished it and so he printed off another at school! Please pray that this isn't contagious!

1 comment:

Beth said...

Hmmmm....I don't know anyone else who tries to put a French accent on english words....except for me, of course! :) There is nothing like language learning to keep one humble. Hang in there, Jenn! There's plenty of other people in the same boat...and hey, many of them are only attempting to learn one language while you've got two on the go!