Been a Big Week!

Feb 1
I'll try to summarize!
Last Friday was my first Girl's Nite, and allow me correct a previous error-- I think I said there was no one in church over 15, and I have no idea where I came up with that. I don't know if there's anyone over 30, but there are lots of 20-somethings, and some teens, and some younger kids. It's a nice mix, and Nancy is the fearless leader of them all, working towards discipleship with them so they can take leadership roles.
Saturday was a day of down time, and I had entirely too much time to think about things because I wasn't doing homework (which I'm proud to say I'm actually keeping up on fairly well!). It was a bit of a homesick day, but that dissipated when the week picked up again on Sunday and just kept right on charging along.
Sunday was my first time at Deaf church. First I went with Nancy for the 3hr extravaganza of picking people up and meeting their families. It was great to have an idea about where the church members live, and I liked meeting their siblings and parents. I also met one of the older boys that attends the service, Sherwin. Three hearing siblings of Hipolito came to church too, so interpreted for them in Spanish while Nancy told the story of Paul and Silas' time in prison.
Sunday night, after dropping everyone back off at home, Nancy and I went to the Spanish-speaking Mennonite church that sponsors her Deaf ministry. I interpreted the service from Spanish to ASL, but there was an American couple there who may not have spoken fluent Spanish, so Pastor Chon translated for himself, going back and forth from Span/Eng. This means the sermon was twice as long:). After a while, it was probably a little boring for both of us to get the same message twice (altho my interpreting might have been better the 2nd time), so we ended up joking around mostly, and occasionally tuning back in to the message. It was a fun evening, and an example for me of the difference between interpreting in a strict "client-interpreter" relationship, versus interpreting/conversing with a friend. It seemed like a more natural relationship than interpreting assignments where both parties don't know each other.