The Wonder of Hope

                The soldiers had a holiday on Monday; we worked to create learning materials for them and then held a Family Home Evening for the soldiers from our church group. It was an institute night so we had the opportunity to explore the topic of personal revelation. It’s pretty amazing to know that knowledge comes directly from heaven in addition to the knowledge we are able to discern and glean in this physical world. There is a peace in knowing God is in charge and He will guide us as we ask in faith.

                I documented Wayne’s teaching a bit this week. Our day begins as he sets up the electronics, aerial acrobatics on the ladder included. I see that our handouts are copied and materials are ready for the students on their tables.

Wayne teaches math for an hour and we give them a break. I review vocabulary and reading comprehension for an hour; another break; and Wayne teaches a second hour of math.

                One thing I have come to appreciate about the soldiers is their respect for Wayne’s understanding of the math concepts they need to learn. One of the soldiers has gone from avoiding even simple multiplication problems to tackling more complex algebra and stopping Wayne so he can ask a question to clarify a concept. Another soldier feigned sleeping in his seat on the first days; he is now one of the first with the answer to the problem.

                Wayne is very patient as he works through the problem slowly, asking for their ideas as he moves forward, clarifying misunderstandings. Then he gives them a problem to work on their own and circulates to answer individual or group questions as they work. These are difficult problems that brought real fear to these tough soldiers who have seen multiple deployments to areas of the world where live rounds exploded around them. They have also begun to do more cooperative learning as they share their thinking with other soldiers in their table group seeking to discover the appropriate operations to use to arrive at the correct solution.

                The attitude in the class changed dramatically on Friday. Several of the soldiers took a BESEP predictor exam on Thursday and had scores that predicted how they will score on the actual test if they take it right now. They were excited about those scores and they still have another week to study and practice. Several soldiers wanted the lecture slides to practice with over the weekend. It’s amazing what a little hope will do to our motivation.

                We have had a bit of snow this week and lots of cold air and wind. The outer walls in the storage closets are black with frozen mold. Isn’t that an oxymoron?

                Our language study is now at 6 a.m. on Saturday mornings. No, you couldn’t pay me to keep this schedule, but the energy of the young people around us keeps us going. We love our soldiers, our Africans, the Koreans who meet with us, and the civilian employees who serve the soldiers with us. There is a joy in being on the Lord’s errand and knowing He will provide a way for us to do anything He needs us to do.