Welcome Fall

Hello, Friends:

Monday marked the first day of Fall or Autumn. We had equal hours of daylight and night. We also had a beautiful, full harvest moon. You may have noticed the leaves drifting off of the trees and some color appearing at the tops. From here on out you will notice the daylight hours getting shorter.

Football fans (and people just looking for conversational topics): The Colts won the game on Sunday! It looks like the quarterback Jacoby Brissett was a good choice when Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired after the first game of the season. Read more about this passing game from this article. The next game for the Colts is Sunday, September 29 at 1:00 pm.

Choice things to do:

• Oktoberfest at CLC: Friday at CLC from 4:00-10:00. Check the web pages for more information.
• Carmel Arts Festival: September 28. 10:00 am - 7:00 pm and September 29, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm, Main Street and Rangeline Road.
• Colt's Football: Home game against the Oakland Raiders. 1:00 pm Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium or watch with your friends at a sports bar.
• Check out October Indiana things to do with seasonal discounts.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark we read about Jesus calling the first of his disciples to follow him.  Andrew and his brother Simon (Peter) were fishermen who had learned about Jesus from John the Baptist. One day, as Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw the two brothers fishing. He called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark tells us that Andrew and Simon immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. As Jesus walked a little farther, he repeated this invitation to two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They, too, left their father and the hired men in the boat and went off to follow Jesus. This story led to some interesting discussion about what each of us might have done in that situation. No doubt the brothers were aware that Jesus was someone special. Perhaps they were convinced that he was the promised Messiah, as John the Baptist had proclaimed. Perhaps at Jesus’ baptism they had heard the voice from heaven declare, “This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased." Yet some of us still marveled that they would immediately drop their fishing nets, leave their homes and families and all other commitments behind, and follow Jesus. And yet, would the decision have been so difficult? Already many people were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God. If God were calling you, how would you answer?~Jan Heimann

October 1: Join us as we continue reading and discussing Mark 1.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, Room 100.
We had a great field trip to the apple farm. We enjoyed lunch and shopping at the farm store. Did you see the news on Thursday where someone stole apples from a farm in LaPorte, Indiana? Read the story from Fox News.

October 1: Don't miss this chance! Barry Bobb (the music director at CLC) is leading a session in
October 8: Let's Tailgate! Join us in the CLC parking lot to celebrate the great American pre-game party. Show your team spirit: wear your team colors.
October 15:
October 22:
October 29: Let's carve pumpkins. Come carve Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns. Bring a large pumpkin, a serrated knife and your design ideas.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, Upstairs Classrooms
We talked about the value of a conversation class: to practice the free flowing exchange of ideas. A good conversation meanders from one topic to another. Our hour and a half flew by! We talked about:

• Suicide: what to do and why it is important to talk about difficult topics.
• Poetry: rhyming is important in English poetry, but not in Japanese poetry
• Japanese written language is much expressive to convey ideas because the use of three syllabaries (characters that represent syllables that serve as alphabets) carries additional meaning that has to be thoroughly discussed in English.
• "You can't put it into words": difficult ideas; things that can't be translated from one language to another
•  Cool things that aren't what they appear to be...Like this puzzle box of Sarajevo....

October 2: We had a request to talk about politics. People have very strong opinions about this topic and finding a place to develop important ideas. This is a great year to talk about these things since elections in the United States are so interesting.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Upstairs Classrooms
It was nice to get around to all of the classes. There are so many interesting things going on in each class. Conversation was talking about helping neighbors. We sang in two classes: one to practice pronunciation and one because we were filling time while exploring technology. I covertly ran in and out of Accent class.

October 3: See you all Thursday!

English for Children: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Nurseries
We wrapped up our classes all about apples this week by concentrating on trees and counting. We decorated our pumpkin trees. Madison started teaching our class. She is in training to teach English to children in China.

October 3: October is famous for pumpkins. We will begin our pumpkin unit.

calling: asking, inviting
disciple: one of the 12 personal followers of Jesus Christ; a person who is a pupil or follows a specific teacher
proclaim: to announce or declare in an official or formal manner
declare: to make known or state clearly
marvel: to wonder or be curious about
commitment: obligation, engagement, involvement
thoroughly: completely
exchange of ideas: listening and sharing opinions
covertly: secretly

Fun and Festivals

Hello, Friends.

There are so many fun things to do in our neck of the woods during these wonderful weather days.

It is National Roundabout Week! Where else could this be better celebrated than in Carmel (there are more in Carmel than any other city in the U.S.)! Join the fun starting at 4:00 Friday, September 20 with a Roundabout Midnight Party Old Meridian and Carmel Drive for adults 21 and older.

Roundabouts are great because they improve air quality, keep traffic moving, reduce serious accidents and save lives.

If you should get in a fender bender on a roundabout:

• Call the police: Keep your local non-emergency number handy, but you can always dial 911 where you will be routed to the correct dispatcher.
• Stay at the scene of the accident.
• Pull to the side where it is safe.
• Exchange information with the other driver.
• When you get home notify your insurance company so they can file proof of insurance with the police.

Join us for Oktoberfest at CLC September 27, 4:00-10:00. Bring your family and join the fun dancing, eating, drinking and playing.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100.
In just three short verses (Mark 1: 9-11), Mark tells the story of the baptism of Jesus, who was at that time around 30 years old and was beginning his public ministry. He went to the Jordan river where John was preaching and practicing repentance-baptism.  As John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended on Him as a dove. The voice of God the Father was heard from heaven, saying “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” What an amazing affirmation of Jesus' work!

We had a long and lively discussion about how different denominations practice baptism. In the end, we agreed that baptism is a gift from God, one of the many ways He shows us how much He loves us.~Jan Heimann

September 24: Join us as we continue to read and discuss the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, Room 100
We had the famous swearing class. Don't expect for those words and actions to be written here! We talked about how words in different languages can sound very similar to swear words in other languages!

September 24: Let's go apple picking. Meet at the church to carpool/caravan. We will depart by 10:40. Or meet us at Tuttle Orchards: 5715 N 300 W, Greenfield, IN.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, Upstairs Classrooms
We had a nice time getting acquainted with each other. In true, conversational form, somehow we got on the subject of what words are used to describe different things in different areas of the United States. There is a test for that: Test to figure out what part of the USA you are from

September 25: Join us as we talk about everything under the sun.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Upstairs Classrooms
What a crazy day in our classes, for me. I had a new assistant. This Friend is under a year old. I discovered that classes pay more attention to my announcements when I have a baby! I had a great discussion with the Conversation class about straws, tap water, bags and more.

September 26: Join us as we continue our study.

English for Children: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Nurseries
Today our children learned about Johnnie Appleseed. He is a midwestern folk hero who is credited with planting apple trees. He walked through Indiana planting apple seeds to welcome settlers with apple trees. This short video tells his story. We tasted apples. Which taste better? Green? Red? Yellow?

September 26: We will wrap up our unit on apples by studying trees!

neck of the woods: our area or location, trees don't need to be included

roundabout: the first talks about the road; the second means approximate

fender bender: a minor motor vehicle accident
handy: close or easily accessible
scene of the accident: where the accident happens

pull to the side: move your car off the road

exchange information: trade phone numbers, addresses, information, etc.

baptism: a ceremonial immersion in water, or application of water, as an initiatory rite or sacrament of the Christian church
repentance-baptism: washing to show remorse
affirmation: agreeing with a statement
descended: come down
as a dove: in the form of
consecrate: set apart or dedicate to the service of God
substitute: a person or thing acting or serving in place of another
denomination: religious subgroup of a larger group (Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist are all Christian Churches because they all believe in the same God)
folk hero: a person greatly admired by people in a particular area
wrap up: activities that finish something

Friday the 13th AND a full moon.

Hello, Friends.

I hope that you made it through Friday the 13th and the full moon! This is a very rare occurrence...that this dreaded and unlucky day had a full harvest moon. The next full moon and Friday the 13th coincidence will not happen again for 30 years.

Housekeeping
I hope you enjoyed our second official of meetings and classes! These updates are designed to help you know what is going on at all our meetings. While you may not think the content is relevant (because you don't have small children in the nursery or in classes, for example), you can grow your vocabulary and your knowledge of American practices and language by reading over the content.

While we are at it: Please bring your empty toilet paper rolls for our children on Thursday.

Take some time to get familiar with our webpages. There is a wealth of information there. Find out about other classes and resources. Find out where to go for fun.

Fun things to do:

Indy Irish Fest is on this weekend! Enjoy food, beer and great music. Tickets are $5 for Friday and $17 for all day Saturday and Sunday. Check the page for specials.

Plan ahead: CLC hosts an Oktoberfest Friday, September 27, 4:00-7:00. The event is free to enter. Buy tickets for food and drinks.

Our Children
What a great number of moms and children this year! It is so fabulous to have so many children. We are still working out the kinks:

English for Children meets in the smaller nursery. Please drop your children there rather than in the larger nursery. 

The staff in the larger nursery can only handle so many little ones safely. You can take your children with you to class (or they can join me and help me with my visits). You are also welcome to sit in English for Children with your little one. 

Sometimes your little one is too sad to stay in the nursery without you. It is perfectly fine for him or her to learn English with you.

Do you have any suggestions or solutions? Please email me! Please talk to me.

Alumni...do you want to help? I know that some of you were looking for opportunities to work with children. We have paid positions available. Come an help! Email, call or text me!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100.
The Gospel of Mark begins with the announcement that it is the Good News about Jesus, the Son of God. Mark was a close associate of Peter, a man who was one of Jesus’s original twelve apostles. He was a cousin of Barnabas, one of the men who worked with St. Paul to spread the Gospel of Jesus throughout the world. Mark himself travelled with Paul and Barnabas on some of their missionary journeys. Later Mark served as a helper to Paul when he was in prison in Rome. Bible scholars believe that one of the primary audiences for this book of Mark was the believers in Rome.

Mark’s Roman readers would have understood that the word “gospel” was used in that era to announce the arrival of a king who would save his people. Immediately, Mark cites a passage from the Old Testament book of Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3) in which the prophet declares that God will send a messenger before the Messiah arrives, and that this messenger will cry out to the people from the wilderness to straighten up the paths for the coming Lord. We read this passage in Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and English, and discussed what was meant by the phrase “make straight paths for him.” All the translations indicate that repentance was necessary to prepare the people’s hearts to hear the message of God’s love that Jesus would bring. Repentance involves not only a regret for past actions but a resolve to change of behavior. John drew huge crowds to the desert with his preaching, but was quick to clarify his role to his audience. He saw himself as a humble, unworthy servant to the Messiah who would come. He told them that he was baptizing with water for repentance of sins, but that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Spirit.

The story of John the Baptizer and the Baptism of Jesus is written in much more detail in Matthew 3, Luke 3, and John 1. Yet these first few verses of Mark 1 are full of information about John’s purpose and Jesus’s mission.~Jan Heimann

September 17: Please join us for an in-depth discussion of the baptism of Jesus.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, Room 100
Our planning meeting went very well. We collect a great number of great ideas at the church and as field trips. Check our schedule. We are filling it in!

September 17: Swearing Class. Be sure not to miss this one of a kind class to teach you the words you should and should not use. Join us as we discuss how to react to this language in others. Bring words you are wondering about. Why learn these? Come and join the conversation and find out!

Conversation and Tutoring: Thursdays, 4:30-6:00, Upstairs Classrooms
We had a poor turn-out. Do you want to have some one-on-one practice? Do you want tutoring for yourself or your children? It looks like this is the place to be! Email me with your interest.

September 18: Join us! We are waiting for you! Come to the upstairs classroom.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Upstairs Classrooms
It was good to visit each class. Knowing the 1000 most frequent words will give you confidence to talk. There is a great book Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe that explains scientific concepts using the "ten hundred most common words". So fun and interesting. You can explain anything.

September 19: Classes continue. We are always open!

English for Kids: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Nurseries
This month our theme is apples!

This week we introduced apple colors and practiced apple counting. Watch a read of the fun Dr. Seuss book Ten Apples Up on Top. Dr. Seuss books are classic and teach basic concepts (counting, colors, etc.) and use rhyming which helps develop language skills and listening.

September 19: Please bring empty toilet paper rolls for our craft activity on September 26. We will be tasting apples (do the different colors taste different?) We will read about the famous American character, Johnnie Appleseed.

reading over: read carefully to learn more than content
very rare occurrence: does not happen often
dreaded: anticipated fear
while we are at it: since we are already talking about or doing something
relevant: connected or appropriate
gospel: a word from the Greek meaning "good news,” now used as the word to describe the story of Christ’s life and teachings, especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
associate: a companion or comrade
primary: first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal
era: period of time marked by distinctive character, events, etc.
cite: to quote (a passage, book, author, etc.), especially as an authority; referring to another source to confirm facts
repentance: deep sorrow or contrition for a past sin or wrongdoing
it looks like: appears, seems to be
classic: traditional

Wednesday September 11, 2019

Hello, Friends.

If you plan to come to our Wednesday Conversation meeting or our Wednesday Tutoring opportunity, please register online so we can plan to see you.

Join us Wednesday, September 11, 4:30-6:00 in the upstairs classroom for our introductory meeting.

Tutoring will be available for older children and adults. Bring your latest problem September 18.

Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

Back to School

Welcome to our new school year, Friends!

It was fantastic to get together. We had some great meetings and getting acquainted is always a wonderful thing.

WARNING: Back to school driving can get you into big trouble. Be sure to brush up on your school bus and school zone driving. Here is an Allstate pamphlet to help you remember. Pick up the tip cards from AAA on Tuesday or Thursday.

Nursery Notes:
Your children are welcome to bring snacks to the nursery. Please do not include snacks that include nuts or peanuts or peanut butter. Also, if you would like to contribute to our nursery, consider donating Goldfish.

Great English Question and Conundrum:
Which is correct?

• I have to pick my son up.
• I have to pick up my son.

The answer is both! There is a myth that says you shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition, but this is not true. This "rule" was created to set the "educated" apart. The great speaker and Englishman Winston Churchill flaunted this convention.

Great things to do:
There are always great things to do in Indiana, but there are two particularly great things this weekend:

Grissom Air Show: It has been 15 years since Grissom AFB has had its last air show. This one will be amazing with the Thunderbirds and the Golden Knights. This show is Free!
Check out the Kokomo Perspective Article for tips and history.
Or find out from the source: Grissom Air Show.
Bring your ear plugs: Jet Noise!

Brickyard 400 is running on Sunday. There are events on Saturday. Enjoy NASCAR in Indiana in the fall. This isn't free, but it is racing! This is another ear plug experience!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
We had a wonderful turnout for our first Bible Class meeting on Tuesday! It was good to be back to see old friends and to make some new friends. Our group talked about why a Bible Study class is a great place to improve our language skills.

• It's a book about love and caring for others.
• It talks about topics that have great relevance in our lives, things we all enjoy talking about.
• It reveals God’s nature and his plan for our lives.
• The culture and values of the U.S. are based on Judeo-Christian principles.
• It’s a best seller! 
• It has politics, religion, and great stories in it!
• It has been translated into many, many languages, and we can use those translations to learn more about language.
• It’s the library of God, the creator of everything.

The key message of the Bible is "God loves you!" This helps with understanding what and why in reading and discussing.

The group decided to begin our study this year by reading and discussing the book of Mark, the third book of the New Testament. If you have time, you might want to read the first chapter of Mark. ~ Jan Heimann

September 10: Please join us as we start this interesting journey through the Gospel of Mark.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, room 100.
Getting to know you was fun and delicious. An hour isn't long enough to get acquainted well. Debi's blueberry coffee cake helped break the ice. Did you know that the very best way to become proficient in a language is to practice your skill with friends when you are focusing on fun (and food, of course)? This is what International Friends is all about.

September 10: Let's plan for the year. Planning is an intensive activity, so please bring a snack to share. Working meetings that include food always seem to be more productive. Also, please bring ideas:

• what would you like to try?
• where would you like to go?
• what can you teach us?
• what speakers would you want to hear?

If you don't have an idea, you will be at my mercy! And let me tell you one thing: I have discovered the new board games! What could be better than playing Outbreak with an epidemiologist, dentist, linguist and computer scientist? Adding everyone else around the table!

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, upstairs classrooms
Welcome to our classes. For the next few weeks we will spend time getting to know each other. English (or any language, for that matter) is best learned by practicing listening and speaking. You can do this best in a community where you feel comfortable. Don't worry. You will get text books and more. Please get to know your teachers. We have a fabulous staff who are great teachers. Ask them their history and background...all have a great deal of experience. We all volunteer, so you are most important to us. We do this because we want you to have a great life! CLC provides the space and the childcare to us free of charge.

English for Children: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, nursery
We are very excited to provide something more for our older children. While playing in the nursery for hours is fun, hearing stories and learning skills is a great way to keep busy and have fun with our friends. Our lessons are crafted for us by an Indiana licensed teacher with a reading specialist license and years of experience in the nursery and preschool environment. These lessons are specifically written to expose our children to common American stories and activities to encourage English language learning. Please drop your children in the nursery, we will take it from there. Since there are many material supplies, we are charging a one time fee of $65 to cover these costs.

This week we talked about going to school and being a friend.We read two great books. One you can download and read with your children using Hoopla. This is a free streaming and download service that is used with a library card from any of our local libraries. Our streaming book was: We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins. You can read or you can read along. We also read Sea Monster's First Day by Kane Messner old school style from the book.

fantastic: extraordinarily good
getting acquainted: meeting and becoming friends
brush up: renew a skill or memory
school zone: streets around a school
flaunted: display something to provoke envy or defiance
turnout: the gathering of persons who come to a meeting, exhibition, party, etc.
relevance: the condition of being connected with the matter at hand
acquainted: get to know
coffee cake: a cake eaten with coffee!
working meetings: a gathering where the point is to get some work finished
at my mercy: under someone's control
board games: games that are played on a board...like Checkers, Chess, Risk, etc.
crafted: thoughtfully designed
read along: follow a reader
old school style: traditional, approved way of doing something