In my mind, I'd been planning to write blog posts once a week starting about a month ago... but then vacation hit! We went to the south Texas/Mexico border region to visit my husband's family at the end of June, and it's been a little hard getting back in the swing of things. :) I trust that you, as well, are enjoying a slower pace, lots of sunshine, and the company of family and friends this summer.
If you are, in fact, interested in thinking about the year ahead of us in Spanish Immersion, ¡adelante! Read on! If not, feel free to visit again in a few weeks. ;)
Today I thought I'd start a series of posts entitled "Por Qué? Why?" with some thoughts on why Spanish Immersion is so important. So here we go...
Today, I spent a few hours at school decorating the hallway. Yep, you heard that right...I still have LOTS of work to do in my classroom, but today was spent creating the ceiling display you see in the photo on the right.
The words say, "HERE Spanish is spoken... and ALSO in..." followed by flags of the 21 Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Each flag shows the country's name, and on the other side, you'll see the population of each country. On the other side of the United States flag, you'll also see that there are over 40 million Spanish speakers in the US alone.
I'm excited to display this message to our Spanish Immersion students, parents, and greater school community this year. Besides reminding us of the extraordinary creativity and diversity in God's creation, it also serves as a reminder of the impact that learning another language can have on nuestra comunidad--our community--and nuestro mundo--our world.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:10-15)
We don't know what God holds for the future of each of our children, but what if he will send one of them to a country displayed here? What if your child will be able to be the "feet of those who bring good news" to a group of people that, on the outside, may seem or appear to be different from you or I, just like the Jews and Gentiles during the time of Jesus? Or, what if your child is meant to do this, right here in the United States, or right here in West Michigan?
I hope you enjoy our flags when you come back to school in a few weeks, and that you will feel as excited and inspired as I do about the gift you are giving your child. I know you may still have some questions, and I will try to tackle a few of the most common ones over the next couple of weeks. I wanted to start out my answer to this big question, ¿Por Qué? Why?, with this "big picture" vision.
Looking forward to seeing you soon! You'll know where to find my classroom--just look for the flags. :)
¡Bendiciones! Blessings!
-Maestra Klipp Lopez
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