Looking back on my first semester of language school

My first semester of language school is complete!  The last few weeks of the semester were busy ones, finally concluding with a very busy week of final exams.  Now that these first months of study are finished, I can look back on it and be reminded of where the Lord has brought me since my classes began at the end of January.

As I entered my first French class at the university, I wondered what to expect.  Would I be able to understand what my professors were saying as I sat in class for more than fifteen hours a week?  I had been studying French on my own for several years, but as I hadn't often been able to use it, I knew my comprehension and conversational skills were weak.  What would the French teachers be like?  What would my fellow students be like? ... and so the questions went on.  New experiences can be both exciting and scary at the same time!

Many people had encouraged me before I came that my comprehension and conversational skills would improve with more regular exposure to the language, and I was thankful to find that they were right.  While the first few weeks of classes were a struggle, I found pretty soon that I was able to understand my teachers enough to follow most of what was going on and to do the work that was required.  And conversation?  Well, mistakes and misunderstandings are still around every corner, but little by little, conversations are getting longer and more in-depth.  I guess you could say that I can now make mistakes in French in many more topics than before! 

But in all seriousness, I am thankful for the additional opportunities that the Lord has provided as my French has progressed: witnessing opportunities as well as richer fellowship with my fellow believers.  At the beginning of the semester, my attempt to share the gospel with some fellow students consisted of several stumbling, awkward sentences ... I pray the Lord used it anyway! 

Near the end of the semester, a conversation about the gospel with another classmate was much longer and more detailed.  However, I quickly found myself wishing I could show the classmate what God's Word said in his own language (Spanish) so he could understand it better ... and then I realized I could!  I had brought my computer that day, and one of my Bible software program includes some Spanish translations.  Quickly I pulled up the program and navigated to several key verses that related to our discussion and let him read them for himself in Spanish, right off the screen.  It was fascinating to see how much better he seemed to grasp what I was telling him, as soon as he read the verses for himself in his own language!  Praise the Lord that he speaks a language that does have the Bible available!  However, it is clear he doesn't entirely understand or accept the gospel as yet.  He said that he has a Bible in Spanish and plans to read it and consider these matters over the summer.  Please pray for Walter, that he will indeed read his Spanish Bible this summer and that the Lord will use His Word to bring him to salvation.

Coming back to my French studies, I now have about six weeks before my summer class begins.  In June I'll do some studying on my own while waiting for the summer class to start, but for the rest of this month of May I'm officially on vacation.  I plan to see more of the sights around Bordeaux, and also take a short trip to Paris along with two short-term missionaries who will be here in France for a few weeks.  Unfortunately, Murphy's Law has kicked in again, and the weather has suddenly turned cool and rainy again just as classes are done.  But I'll do my best to enjoy my vacation anyway, and hopefully the sun will peek out at least a few times over the next week or two!