Getting Ready...

Happy Thanksgiving Friends.

We had a great beginning to the holiday season and I hope that you have a very happy Thanksgiving. We reflect on why we are thankful, and I am thankful for all of you and our time together.

I am happy to hear that many of you are trying to roast a turkey. You can contact me with questions, or you can check the Butterball Turkey Hotline for a number of ways to get your questions answered. Black Friday kicks off the Christmas shopping season. Don't forget about cyber Monday, either! Safe travels for all of you who are going on the road.

People tend to rush this season. Take time to enjoy all the Thanksgiving season has to offer before diving into the Christmas season and all of its sparkle.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
We read and talked about Mark 3:31-34. Jesus is teaching and His family arrives to take Him home (because they heard that people were accusing Jesus of being crazy). The crowd tell Jesus that His mother and brothers are waiting for him. He answers them, "Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother, sister and mother." What a wonderful thing to be called a relative of Jesus. We talked about how we are family to each other when we take care of each other. We sang a hymn that parents often sing to their children called Jesus Loves Me.

Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus love me. For the Bible tells me so.

And here are they lyrics to Jesus Loves Me in 30 languages including Japanese and Portuguese!
And here is the tune to sing along in English.

December 3: Join us as we read and talk about Mark 4:1-20. Jesus teaches a parable how people hear his message.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, room 100.
We learned and practiced yoga with Selina. It was great to stretch out, work out and focus our minds. We discovered we were a little wobbly. This is a great word to say, but not a great way to feel when you are practicing Yoga.

We agreed that it would be nice to have a yoga meeting once in a while. We set December 2 at 10:00 for our first meeting date. If you would like to join us please email me (indyintlfriends@gmail.com) for directions.

December 3: Let's make a Christmas ornament. Details will follow.

Collect greeting cards, playing cards, or whatever cards to cut up. Scissors, glue, glue dots, or hot glue gun. Ribbon to match. or try a pomander (you will need an orange and a box of whole cloves from the

Or try a pomander (you will need an orange, a large needle and a box of whole cloves from the spice section in the grocery store).

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 100.
We met and talked and talked and talked about night shopping in Korea, restaurants in Indy and Carmel, where to get the best pancakes, and where we would like to eat. We decided it would be nice to eat out one of these days.

December 4: Come and join the conversation. Who knows which way it will go!

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, upstairs classrooms.
It was great to touch base with everyone in the classes today. The challenge is on! You know that the feasting season has begun. Thursday is a great day for feasting, but Black Friday means you have to doubly feast on Thanksgiving leftovers and then begin on the Christmas favorites!

December 5: Welcome back. We only have three more classes this year!

English for Kids: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Bride's Room/Nursery
We had a great time making Thanksgiving crafts and playing with home made play dough. This is the best kind!

December 5: Welcome back! We will start our season of winter fun.

reflect on: think about something, ponder
Black Friday: the shopping day after Thanksgiving; think great bargains; the beginning of the Christmas shopping season
cyber Monday: the Monday after Thanksgiving when internet sales are on
on the road: traveling
number of: many
wobbly: not steady
eat out: go to a restaurant

Wintery Mix

Hello, Friends.

Monday we experienced a wintery mix and that led to a wintery mix up! The cold weather threw a wrench in my planning. I suffered party panic and didn't remember on the old adage: never try to predict the weather in Indiana! We prepped the turkeys on Tuesday. My husband smoked an unprepped turkey on Wednesday, which led me to roast our unstuffed turkey. The bottom line: all these incidents became happy accidents! We had two delicious parties. Our first feast on Thursday went really well. Do we have a new tradition?

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
We read Mark 3:20-30. This reading can be a conundrum. Jesus is accused of being crazy and of coming from the devil. Review Mark to see what Jesus taught and how He cared for people. He says the famous: "a house divided against itself can not stand." We read that Jesus says all sins will be forgiven; and discovered that in other languages the word used implies pardon from a ruler: a permanent state of forgiveness without consequences. Jesus goes on to warn that "whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." Jesus is defining justice.

November 19: Join us as we finish up Mark 3. See what happens when Jesus meets with his family. Then we will begin Mark 4.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, room 100.
We prepared two turkeys for our feast and had a great party with the delicious food that people brought to share. This ended up being a great event. I have the recipes and will post them in the Recipe section of our webpages. You can find International Friends Traditional Instructions for cooking a turkey there along with our Christmas cookie recipes.

November 19: Bring your yoga mat or beach towel and dress in comfy clothes. We will have a yoga lesson with Selina!

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs.
We had great conversations that spun from one topic to another. It is s nice to have talk, discuss ideas, express our thoughts.

November 20: Join us as we catch up with each other and talk freely.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, upstairs classroom.
It was so good to share food with you on Thursday. I know that you got so much work done during your classes with full stomachs.

November 21: Join us to learn English.

English for Kids: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, bride's room nursery.
What a great day. We tossed dice to match shapes. We read and talked about using "please" and "thank you". Kind words are so important to share with each other. Practice shapes words both in your home language and in English. Encourage your children to use both languages. This is a great time in their lives where adding words to their vocabulary is "easier" because they are building their language skills and the volume of words. Practicing with your children helps both you and them. Studies show that children can be fluent in two and more languages without hurting their studies in either language.

November 21: Join us as we learn about Thanksgiving and celebrate fun in the United States.

wintery mix: rain, sleet, snow all at once
wintery mix up: haha. a mix up is confusion
threw a wrench: caused problems
party panic: worry before having a party
old adage: a saying
led: caused
bottom line: in the end
happy accidents: great results without planning
conundrum: confusing; difficult problem
blasphemes: insults, shows a lack of respect or contempt to a deity (god) or sacred object
talk freely: chat without worry about what others think

Further Clarification

English Classes will be conducted normally beginning at 9:30 Thursday.

Classes are invited to enjoy turkey and sides.

You can bring a dish to share.

Thanksgiving Turkey Eating at English Classes

Hello, Friends:

A big thank you to everyone who braved the cold and came to help prepare the turkeys for Thursday.

A bigger thank you to everyone who turned a work and learning day into a party! What delicious food!

For Thursday, November 14:

If  you wish to bring a dish to share, please bring it to the classroom at the end of the hall. We will set up a buffet there.

Dining will open at 10:30.

If you do not regularly come on Thursday, you are welcome to come and eat and socialize.



braved the cold: leave the warmth of your home and go out in the cold
some confusion: a mix up
regularly: as a practice

Schedule Change

Hello, Friends. 

We are having our first snow, and it's a doozy! 

International Friends meetings and classes are cancelled if Carmel Clay Schools are cancelled or have a two hour delay. 

With the possibility of a cancellation.

Please join us for our Thanksgiving Feast

on

Thursday, November 14.

Bring a dish to share if you wish.

Turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, etc. will be provided.

If there is no delay or cancellation on Tuesday, November 12.

International Bible Study: 9:30-10:30, room 100

Join us as we continue to read Mark. Carolyn will be leading the discussion. 

International Friends, 10:30-11:30 in the small kitchen

Join us as we prepare the turkey and sides for the feast,

it's a doozy: it is big and eventful

Record cold! Stay warm.

Hello, Friends.

November and December in Indiana offers so many fun and festive opportunities to get out. Don't let the chilly air dissuade you from enjoying the season of Thanksgiving. Getting out in the cold can be fun! It looks like the next week will be a cold one.

I'm excited for our Feast on Tuesday. The food is always so good! I love this event because you teach me so many new dishes to add to my Thanksgiving table tradition.

Get ready for holiday season with the Carmel Christkindlmarkt which opens November 16.

Keep warm!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
Our focus this past week was Mark 3:13-19: the story of Jesus appointing his 12 apostles. Their role was for them to be with him, he could send them out to preach (read the note on this one! So interesting!) and he gave them the authority to cast out demons. Who were the apostles? Some of the names are familiar. They were Simon (whom Jesus gave the name Peter), James and John (who were the sons of Zebedee, and whom Jesus called “Sons of Thunder”), Andrew (who was Simon’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (also known as Levi, the tax collector), Thomas (later known as Doubting Thomas), James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot (who belonged to a group of religious and political zealots who were passionate about getting rid of the Romans who were governing Israel), and Judas Iscariot (who - Spoiler Alert! - later betrayed Jesus to his enemies).

November 12: Join us as we read and talk about Mark 3: 20-35. What a cool story!

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, room 100.
We created whimsical turkeys out of things we had on hand at home. These little guys will be our centerpieces for our feast tables next Tuesday!

November 12: Join us for our annual Thanksgiving Feast. We will begin by learning to prepare a stuffed turkey with all the fixings and some traditional sides. Bring your favorite feasting dish to share (and don't forget the recipe!).

November 19: Join us as Selina leads us in relaxing and refreshing yoga. Bring a mat and dress in comfortable, loose clothing.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs
We didn't meet.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, upstairs
It was good to visit all the classes this week. Please come for our Feast on November 12. It is a great time and great training.

November 14: Join us as we continue our classes.

English for Children: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, Bride's Room/Nursery
We studied corn. We made corn shakers, we made corn art, we read Bob and Rob and Corn on the Cob and ate popcorn.

November 14: Next week we will learn about "please" and "thank you" to get ready for Thanksgiving.

dissuade: persuade someone not to do something
to appoint: to name or assign to a position
apostle: messenger; one who is sent
preach: traditionally, preaching is deliver a religious message; the Chinese pictographs for this word are "lucky words". All preachers need to know this!
Spoiler Alert: (In a discussion or review of a book, film, television show, etc.) a warning that an important detail of the plot development is about to be revealed
whimsical: playfully quaint, fanciful
centerpieces: decorations in the middle of a table

You are Invited

Join us for our annual Thanksgiving Feast:

Tuesday, November 12

We will begin cooking at 10:30 with a demonstration of how to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing, gravy, cranberries and mashed potatoes in the small kitchen by door six.

Feasting will begin at 11:00 and end when we are stuffed!

Bring your favorite feasting dish to share.

Bring your family and friends.

Tuesday’s Turkeys

Hi Friends,

Here are some sample pictures of the 🦃 to get your creative juices flowing. This is a "kitchen craft" or a repurpose craft. Look around your house to see what you have on hand before running to the store.

Bring your crafting tools: scissors, glue, pins, toothpicks, paperclips, skewers, magazines, etc. We can pool resources.

I’m bringing two inch styrofoam balls and the felt for everyone. If you want to make your turkey larger or work ahead,

Here is the OG turkey. He is made with yarn, felt, googly eyes, pins, skewers, yarn and cards.

Here is my sample. He is made with magazine paper, twine (head), yarn, coffee beans, toothpicks, pins.

We brainstormed using paper, cup cake papers, coffee filters, plarn, fall leaves

Creative juices flowing: generating ideas
Recycle: dispose of things in a way that they can be broken down and reused (for example, turning newspaper into paper for greeting cards)
Repurpose: use something in another way rather than dispose of it (for example, turning plastic bags into plarn)
Reuse: use something again rather than dispose of it (for example, use a plastic container that held yogurt to hold leftovers)
Have on hand: things already in your home
Pool resources: share
OG: current slang for original, classic, old school
plarn: plastic yarn made from shopping bags

Snow in October and Welcome November!

Hello Friends,

I hope you are well rested as we Fall Back (set your clocks back one hour)! These days it is so easy with all of the smart phones and smart appliances. Don't forget to reset your old school clocks otherwise you will be in for a surprise!

What a wild end to October! We had our first snow. This reminds me about winterizing and winter tips for your home and car:

• Clean your gutters and downspouts of leaves.
• Shut down lawn sprinkler systems.
• Remove hoses and turn off the water to outdoor faucets and drain the water out of them.
• Change furnace filters.
• Have your fireplace chimney flu checked.
• Buy a bag of kitty litter to sprinkle on icy sidewalks and driveways.
• Fill a spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol, water and a few drips of dish detergent to spray on icy windshields and melt ice.
• Buy a snow shovel.
• Buy or find your a windshield brush/scraper and put it in your car.
• Run your lawnmower over the leaves on your lawn to create the perfect mulch feed your grass.
• Run your lawnmower over the leaves on  your lawn with the bag on to collect the chipped up leaves and put them on your gardens to protect them and feed them.
• Your car locks freeze with the sudden weather change. A quick fix is to cover your key with hand sanitizer and insert the key. Gently wiggle the key. The sanitizer will melt the ice.

Winter can be fun (like on Halloween) when your are prepared!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.

We picked up our study of Mark in the third chapter, verses 7-12. When Mark wrote this Gospel, the people of Rome were one of his primary audiences, people who were used to military strategy and military maneuvering. We discussed the idea that Mark’s bibliography has many militaristic characteristics. Mark explains that after Jesus’ “clash” with the Scribes and Pharisees, he withdrew or retreated. In the meantime, people from all over the nation of Israel and also people from neighboring countries were hearing the news about Jesus and the miraculous healings that he had performed. These people rushed to be near Jesus, to see him, to hear him, and to be healed. They pushed forward (troops advancing).

It is interesting that Jesus commanded the unclean spirits, who were crying out, “You are the Son of God,” to be quiet! Although they knew exactly who Jesus was, they had no desire to submit to him. Their commander in this battle was Satan! ~ Jan Heimann

November 5: Join us as we continue to study Mark.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30, room 100
We carved our Jack-o-Lanterns. It was so fun to see all the amazing and artistic designs.

November 5: Join us as we talk about our annual Thanksgiving Feast (November 12) and make turkeys. Bring skewers, toothpicks, yarn or other materials to cover a Styrofoam ball make the body and head, dried beans or coffee beans for eyes, colored magazine pages or leaves for the tail, scissors, glue, etc. etc.

November 12: Join us for our annual feast! Learn how to prepare and roast a turkey and make traditional fixings. Bring your favorite feasting dish to share.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs classroom
We visited the Carmel Clay Public Library. With your card you can check out books, dvds, cds, books on tape and so much more. Additionally, your card give you access to online materials including e-books, audio books, movies, magazines and so much more using Libby, Hoopla, RBDigital, Tumblebooks, and Kanopy. Check out books from other local libraries (Westfield, Sheridan, Noblesville, etc.). Check out books and materials from the mobile library. Store your library card on your Smartphone using the Key Ring or mobile-pocket apps. Carmel also has a Digital Media Lab on Main Street in Carmel where cardholders can use iMac Computers, a WhisperRoom sound-isolation booth, audio recording hardware and software, a 3D printer and more! Learn how to use the labs or get one-on-one training and project support.

November 6: Text Carolyn by Wednesday you plan to come.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, upstairs classrooms.
We had so much fun visiting as Trick or Treaters. Wow! What spirit our classes have! I posted pictures on our private Facebook page.

November 7: If you haven't paid for your classes, please see me (Carolyn) after classes on Thursday. I will be in the small classroom at the end of the hall. We take cash or checks. The church donates the space and babysitting and our teachers donate their time. Your fees cover textbooks, copies, materials and technology costs.

English for Kids: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30, nursery/Bride's Room
We celebrated Halloween with fine and gross motor games. We enjoyed the story of Pete the Cat: Trick or Pete. Thank you for helping us learn our Halloween manners as we Trick or Treated and said, "Thank you" and "Happy Halloween!"

November 7: We will read Bob & Rob & (and) Corn on the Cob by Todd McQueen and learn all about corn!

reset: change or start over
will be in for a ...: something that will happen in the future
winterizing: taking steps to protect yourself and your property from cold weather
shut down: close, end, stop
consequent: following as an effect or result
run-in: quarrel; argument
withdraw: to draw back, away or aside; retire; retreat
military strategy: planning of, for, or pertaining to an army
military maneuver: a planned movement of soldiers, equipment, etc.
clash: battle, skirmish, conflict
posted: placed