Always Learning

This week seemed like a quiet one with time for service and time for reflection. We learned:

Teach the way they learn. Teachers always learn the most. Reviewing the data available we know our soldiers improved the least in their language skills after taking our class. I’ve been experimenting with ways to get soldiers to review words multiple times and read critically. Since we have two soldiers who come for private tutoring twice each week, it has given me an opportunity to experiment with apps for the cell phone and repeated quizzes. We’ve learned that the expectation of the soldiers is seat time. They have other duty that makes doing outside homework and study challenging. If I want them to review the words and read, I need to do that with them during seat time.

The way to a changed heart and full conversion is through the simple righteous routines. Many of our soldiers are in church infrequently either because of extra duty or by choice. Those few who grow spiritually during their time here nurture themselves spiritually by following righteous routines. They never procrastinate their physical conditioning because it is tested every day and they know missing even one day of training will cause them to regress. Some of the soldiers have made the connection with their spiritual conditioning and focus time for righteous spiritual routines daily.

Koreans like American food. Our neighbor continues to give us boiled vegetables and various combinations of rice and beans, kimchi, and hot sauce. When she joined us for a light dinner and tasted raspberry vinaigrette on the greens instead of hot sauce she liked the American way. I also fed her some potato salad, ice cream and lemon pudding. They don’t make sweet desserts, but they love to eat them.

Remembering family stories helps us see our place in eternity. Wayne and I have enjoyed writing short stories about our ancestors for our grandchildren. It has given us the opportunity to go back into our records and read stories we haven’t read in years and become reacquainted with grandparents. We appreciate those who took time to record the stories we have. How our grandparents approached trials gives us insight into their attitudes and faith. We are a linking generation between the past and the present doing what we can to bond the two together.