It makes a Mama smile...

When we first began making plans to come to La Palma we had a lot of questions about the kids learning Spanish before we came. Ruth knew some already and seemed to be able to pick it up quickly. Besides that, two of the classes she's enrolled in online for her high school curriculum this year are Spanish I and II. Nathan was another story. We didn't want to be 'cramming it down his throat' so we decided to just wait and do it at his pace. (Besides, we figured that given a few days watching cartoons in Spanish he'll pick up a lot.) We offered a Spanish camp in July before we came but he didn't want to do it. I had plenty of Spanish children's books available but he showed no interest. The day before we flew to El Salvador he started looking through a children's Spanish dictionary and picking up phrases. His first few worship services here, he was bored but tolerated them and wasn't interested in trying to read the songbooks with us. Again, we let him go at his pace. Now that he has made friends here, things are beginning to change. He's started coming to me and asking for phrases to use with the kids. They have several games that they all play together that need few words--sometimes play transcends language barriers. :) Here's a picture of him Wednesday night at the home of Ana Gladys and Modesto, playing with their son in a hammock.
But now that he's started sitting with his friends at church and they sing the songs, he's started trying to read and sing along, too. Here's a photo I snapped tonight during services as he shared a songbook with Adonis. You'll notice that Nathan's hair is practically dripping with sweat--that's from him swinging and running with Gerardo and Azael before church started. But as I sat behind him tonight and watched him sharing a book and doing his best to sing along in Spanish, my heart smiled. I had to have a picture. (Luckily, Teresa was next to me with her camera.) Moments like this make a Mama smile.