A funny thing happened on my way to learning Spanish...

Well, actually, quite a few funny things have happened. And, since the blog gets a little heavy sometimes, I thought I’d share a few of the funny moments. Hope you enjoy!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Pray for my Spanish teacher, Claudia. She professes to be Catholic, but in name only. In reality, she is deeply lost and desperately in need of our Savior. As my language abilities grow, we have had in-depth spiritual conversations and are currently studying the book of Romans in class every day. Please pray that she would not continue to harden her heart against the Truth that she hears.

2. Please pray for the eight missionaries here in Guatemala as they prepare to travel to their respective countries of service in mid-January. (As an FYI, I leave here in mid-February bound for three months of training in Peru.) Their names are John, Christine, Ryan, Brittne, and Mindy (Peru); Aaron and Stacie (Argentina); and Jessica (Ecuador). Pray that they would remain close to the Lord and that He would use them to bring Himself much honor and glory.

3. Pray for the five new Xtreme Team members who will arrive here in Guatemala to begin Spanish language study on January 4. Lift them up to the Father as they leave behind family and friends to serve overseas. Their names are Misty, Lori, Amy, Adam, and Jess.

Inquring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

1.The Spanish word for “fortunately” is “afortunadamente.” But, in my head, it sounds like “UNfortunately.” During a conversation with a group of four Spanish teachers and three other students, one of the teachers asked me if adultery was common in the United States. My response? “Afortunadamente, sí.” (Fortunately, yes.) Needless to say, the response of the teachers was a variety of shocked expressions, followed by much laughter. :)

2. As many of you might know, Spanish nouns have genders. And, sometimes, they only differ by whether the last letter is an “o” or an “a.” For example, “hijo” is “son,” and “hija” is “daughter.” During the same conversation as previously mentioned, I was asked whether I was ready to have children. And I was trying to answer with, “I don’t have a husband.” But what I said was, “No tengo un esposa” (“I don’t have a wife”). Once again, the response was shock followed by laughter.

3. I had another conversation with various teachers and some other students. We were discussing some of the differences between Catholicism and evangelical Christianity, and we began to talk about the pope. In Spanish, “pope” is “el papa,” but we were saying “la papa.” No big deal, right? Well, we didn’t think so, either. But, after the second or third time we said it, our teachers broke down in laughter. When they finally explained why, we cracked up, too. “La papa” is “potato,” so we were just talking about the Catholic “Big Potato.” :)

4. And, finally, my personal favorite. The Spanish word for “German” is “alemán,” and the word for “pastor” is “pastor” (pronounced pa-STORE). Well, I come out of the supermarket one day and see a sign advertising an offer of an “alemán pastor.” And I had to look again because I thought, “What? A German pastor?” It was then that I remembered the Spanish word “pastor” also means “shepherd.” Makes a lot more sense for them to be selling a German shepherd, doesn’t it? :)

So stay tuned for more language blunders. I’m sure I’ll be able to keep you in stitches on my way to learning this crazy language!