Ending 2017-2018 Year

Dear Friends,

I am always sad when this day comes: our last official meetings of the school year. I have enjoyed meeting new Friends and greeting old Friends. I hope that you learned a lot this year. I hope that you made friendships that will last your lifetime. I hope that you were as blessed by meeting with us as I have been blessed by meeting with you. Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.

Thank you for my lovely end of year gifts. I am looking forward to some quality shopping (unless my daughters find my

We are very grateful to Cornerstone Lutheran Church for hosting our meetings: Cornerstone Lutheran donates the space and the childcare as well as provides us with a financial donation we use for our social events, International Bibles, teacher training and more. Why would CLC give us this good gift? Today's devotion from the Portals of Prayer explains this:

Please help me:
If you haven't already done so, please complete the end of year survey from Survey Monkey that was e-mailed to your earlier this week. It helps with our planning and improvements for next year. Your feedback and ideas are important to me and to all of our future Friends.

Keep in touch! Come to our Meet Ups, Summer Games and Friend me on Facebook! Send me e-mails. You are an important to me.

International Bible Study
Our study this week began with Matthew 8:18-22, the cost of following Jesus. Jesus invites people to "follow Him" and helps them to clear their life and schedule to make that a top priority. Dealing with the challenges of taking care of our families, our jobs, and our homes can easily become an excuse to delay this journey. He invites us to follow Him and to let Him carry our burdens.

We also discussed how exhausted Jesus must have been at the end of long days spent teaching and healing so many people. Our next story in Matthew 8: 23-27 (this story is also in Mark 4:35-40) tells about how Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly a furious storm came up with high winds and waves. The disciples feared they would die. But where was Jesus? Sound asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat! They woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and the weather turned completely calm. The disciples were once again amazed by what Jesus could do.

We finished with a story about Jesus healing two demon-possessed men. This took place in a region southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God. They begged Jesus to send them into a nearby herd of pigs rather than condemn them. Jesus told them, “Go!” and the whole herd rushed down a steep bank into the lake and died. Upset about the loss of their pigs, those tending the herd ran into town to tell everyone what had happened. The townspeople begged Jesus to leave their region.

We have enjoyed our Bible Study time so much that we decided to continue during the summer, beginning June 5 and continuing our meetings in Room 100. Join us 9:30-10:30. Please contact Carolyn Willard to learn more about this opportunity to read in your home languages and discuss in English.

International Friends
We met to share delicious dishes and our recipes. It is always challenging to try to explain how to make something familiar in a new language, especially since many dishes can't be translated...there just may not be a name in the new language. This is how a language grows! You teach us the most delicious words. Check our recipe page for instructions and to learn some new gastronomical vocabulary.

Conversation
We wrapped up the year with a little party at the Local. We enjoyed delicious burgers, tater tots and pork tenderloin. Conversation around the dinner table is so enjoyable. Eating together makes you a great family.

English Classes

Wrapping up the year was bittersweet. There were so many delicious foods and conversations outside of the usual lesson talk. I loved hearing the laughter and fun at the end of the year. Don't forget to practice over the summer!

devotion: short study

financial donation: given us money

if you haven't already done so: please do something

feedback: give your opinion

priority: a thing that is considered more important than another
burden: a load, especially a heavy one
exhausted: worn out; greatly fatigued
stern: the back part of a boat
rebuke: reprimand; scold
gastronomical: related to the practice of cooking and eating
over the summer: during the summer