Next Week is our Spring Break

Welcome spring, dear Friends.

I hope that you have great plans for our Spring Break next week (no meetings or classes April 5, 6 or 7). A lot of people plan to get out of Dodge for the week. I think that the community stages these school breaks to keep the pressure off of our airports. Travel can be hectic between the people leaving and the Spring weather.

This is no April Fool! Don't forget this important holiday on April 1. Play fun practical jokes on your friends and family. Classic jokes: switch out sugar for salt and vice versa, set wake up alarms an hour early and then adjust the clocks to an hour late, use food dye to color food strange colors. Is this mean? Well, since people are expecting the practical jokes it is just for fun.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:30, room 100
We read the famous story of Jesus feeding the 5000 (men, there were really more people than 5000!). This story takes place after Jesus' apostles went out on a "training mission" to teach and heal people (Luke 9:1-9) and they met to debrief. Many people followed Jesus. Instead of turning them away, Jesus "welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God." He healed those people who needed healing. People stayed and the Twelve (the men who were appointed as teachers and leaders) apostles say to Jesus, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging because we are in a remote place here." (Luke 9:14) Jesus answers them, "You give them something to eat." They counter with the argument that they don't have enough food or money to take care of the people. Jesus then performs a miracle: he feeds all of the people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus the crowd to sit down in groups of about 50 and then He gives thanks for the food and broke it and gave it to the disciples to "set before the people." Everyone ate until they were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. What an amazing miracle: When God provides for us and there are even leftovers for later; God doesn't send people away to fend for themselves, God has us participate in the wonder caring for each other. In the kingdom of God, we are well cared for and well loved.
April 5: No meetings for Spring Break
April 12: Let's read Luke 9:18-27

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100
We talked about severe weather and what to do. A watch means that conditions are favorable for severe storms/tornados. A warning means that a tornado has been sighted. Watch the weather channel or local TV channels for details.

Some important tips:

• Take shelter in the lowest level of a building an area where there are no windows (usually a bathroom). If you are in a public building, there will be signs by the door directing you where to shelter.
• Stock the area with emergency supplies: a blanket to protect you from flying debris and glass.
• Remember the triangle rule: falling debris will make a triangle shelter beside a large object.
• Don't forget to grab a pair of shoes: when you leave your shelter, there could be broken glass and other objects to cut your feet.
• Have a family plan for taking shelter and practice it.
• Have a family plan for meeting.
• Your kids will be safe at school. Wait until the storm is over.
• If you are driving, pull over. If there is a tornado warning, hide in a low-lying area or ditch.
• Don't drive through floods on roadways (unless instructed by a police officer).

April 5: No meetings for Spring Break
April 12: Let's talk about spring gardening and then take a field trip to the garden center
Conversaton: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00, room 100
We enjoyed chocolate chip, banana pancakes with whipped coconut cream. Everyone carefully avoided talking about their careers.
April 6: No meetings for Spring Break
April 13: No units to read! Woo hoo!

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms
It was nice to stop in and say hello to everyone. I hope that you had a chance to stop by and pick up some safety goodies. Have a relaxing break and be sure to practice your English so you don't lose it!
April 7: No meetings for Spring Break
April 14: Class as usual

get out of Dodge: leave town, this comes from old American Western or cowboy movies where people left town quickly
keep the pressure off: relieve
practical jokes: a trick played on someone to embarrass them or to make them feel foolish
vice versa: each way around
well: using well at the beginning of a sentence is a conversational stall that lets the speaker give a little more thought to their answer...like um or uh. You usually don't see "well" in written correspondence
debrief: meet to talk about what happened; share experience and thoughts
Twelve: the number here is capitalized because it is a name
fish: one fish, two fish, three fish (When they are all the same kind the plural is fish. When there are multiple species or groups, the plural is fishes)
fend for themselves: care for yourself without any help
goodies: treats, small gifts
stop by and pick up: visit somewhere for a short time to get something
don't lose it: forget
class as usual: we will follow our regular schedule

Hello Friends,

This coming Sunday is Easter Sunday which ends Holy Week. Today is Good Friday, when Jesus was hung on a cross and put to death (oddly enough, it is usually dark and rainy on this day). The Bible teaches that Jesus had no sins, but he was condemned to death. Christians celebrate Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday. For Christians, this holiday is God's triumph over death and cements the relationship between God and humankind. This Sunday is the fulfillment of John 3:16-17

 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The fasting of Lent is over. This is a reason to celebrate!

Easter comes with secular traditions: You can now wear white shoes. Celebrate the beginning of spring with Easter egg hunts. Dye eggs in bright colors. Hunt for candy and small gifts. Shop for a new dress; buy a new hat. It's time to spruce up in bright colors. 

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:30, room 100.
We read some great stories in Luke 8:26-56. Jesus casts a legion of demons from a man and raises a girl from the dead and heals a woman from 12 years of bleeding (menstrual bleeding-women were seen as "unclean" and had to stay in seclusion during this time). Jesus restores these people. We also read Luke 9:1-9. Jesus gives power and authority to the Twelve apostles to drive out demons and cure diseases. He sends them out to tell people about the kingdom of God (the gospel). He tells them that if they are not welcomed, they are to leave. The disciples went out on this training mission. There is so much excitement and rumor that Herod now wants to see Jesus.

March 29: Let's read Luke 9 beginning with verse 10...

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100.
We dyed Easter eggs and talked about spring traditions.

March 29: Let's prepare for spring severe weather! 

Join us as we talk about severe weather in Indiana and the midwest. What do the different announcements mean? What should we do to prepare? What actions can we take to keep safe?

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs classrooms.
We enjoyed simple loaded nachos, Carolyn style. Spread corn tortillas on a foil covered baking sheet and top with taco meat, a can of kidney beans and shredded cheese. Broil until the cheese melts and the nachos are hot. Top with salsa, sour cream, sliced black olives, jalapeno peppers, lettuce. You can use chicken, pork, beef, seafood. You can substitute black beans for the kidney beans. Put your toppings in a bag of Fritos and eat with a fork and you have "walking tacos." Put everything on a bed of lettuce and you have taco salad! How versatile!

We talked about taichi as a self defense tactic and as exercise. We held a pose for 5 minutes. That was hard: not the pose itself, but the being still for five minutes!

We shared past jobs we held.

March 30: Let's continue our talk about our careers

We will review Units 20 and 21.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms.
It was great to visit all of the classes this week. I enjoyed having individual conversation with so many of you. Level 2 showed their crafts. What a talented group of people! There is so much improvement in English! 

Please remember that you can ask your teachers or me or for help with English and understanding life in the United States. We are here to help you talk and express yourselves. Don't be worried about offending us in expressing your views or in your conversation.

oddly enough: strangely
resurrection: come back to life after dying
holiday: can be a vacation, in this case it means Holy Day
cements: seals, finalize, completes
fulfullment: compeletion
believe in: have a firm conviction as to the goodness of something
perish: to die; there are disagreements as to the severity of death. We also talk about "perishable" foods which mean foods that decay
condemn: find someone guilty and sentence them to death
secular: not related to religion
spruce up: decorate
broil: cook under high heat
versatile: flexible
pose: hold a particular position
being still: not moving, being quiet
review: go over, talk about the main points of something
shy away: avoid

Hello Friends,

Apparently winter isn't finished with us, yet! They are predicting snow for Sunday. Since my magnolia is blooming, I am not surprised. We always have one more snow after it blooms, then we are done for the year. This tree is very reliable. Enjoy this one, last snow!

I hope that you are enjoying the first week of March Madness. There have been plenty of upsets! Purdue crashed and burned in the first round and that upset so many brackets.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:30, room 100.
We read a great story where Jesus is asleep on a boat as they cross the Sea of Galilee. A storm blows up and the disciples on the boat fear for their life. They wake Jesus. He tells the wind to "be still." Then, Jesus tells the disciples that they have little faith. This story shows us so much about Jesus:

• He is human: He is exhausted and a little cranky when they wake Him (who wouldn't be)
• He is creator God: He tells the wind to be still; it stops blowing.

It shows us so much about the disciples:

• They don't realize who Jesus really is: creator God; savior.
• They don't understand Jesus' capacity to overcome all things of this world (what is more of a miracle: healing people and raising them from the dead or calming the wind?

We can rely on Him to be there for us and to save us.

March 22: Let's read Luke 8:26-39

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, room 100.
I hope that you enjoyed St. Patrick's Day and tried cooking corned beef and cabbage.

March 22: Let's dye Easter Eggs.
Bring some hard boiled eggs to dye and join in this fun art/craft.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-5:00, upstairs.
We talked about using technology and used our phones to make our brackets for March Madness. Elizabeth brought delicious green borscht. She made it using rainbow kale. This is a great vegetable with a strong flavor that goes well in many dishes.

March 23: Units
We will dine on loaded nachos and talk about paid jobs.

upsets: expected outcomes do not occur
crashed and burned: lost, performed poorly
so many: more than many
finished with us: over
cranky: irritable
be there for us: listen and help
art/craft: / between two words means that those two things are true or one or the other is true. Easter egg dying is an art. Easter egg dying is a craft. Easter egg dying is both an art and a craft. / is so much simpler.
loaded: something that has "the works" or all the ingredients

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Be sure you enjoy your Corned Beef and Cabbage tomorrow in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Remember to wear your green. St. Patrick's Day is a big day in the United States. It isn't one in Ireland! And, the Irish don't usually serve corned beef, this delicious treat comes to us from Middle Eastern origins! The British used Irish beef preserved this way for export!

Be sure to serve your corned beef and cabbage with yellow mustard and horseradish! You can substitute a good rye bread alongside. Our family would enjoy Beefsteak Rye or a Jewish Rye. Remember that St. Pat's is an American holiday and reflects the melting pot that is our society! If you have leftovers, you can make Ruben sandwiches (a grilled sandwich made with corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, thousand island dressing).


1 Package of Corned Beef (you can find it at all the grocery stores in the meat section for a limited time)
Put the corned beef in a pot along with the spice package that comes with it. Cover with water (and a bottle of beer, if you wish). Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. This is where your crock pot comes in handy.

Add to the pot two hours into the cooking (unless you are using the crock pot, then throw it all in together):
1 cabbage washed and quartered (be sure to cut along the stem to hold the leaves together)
1 onion cut in eighth
a hand full of baby carrots, or one big carrot (not too many because the color orange reminds the Irish Catholics of the Orangemen (the Protestant order in Northern Ireland, not to be confused with the Syracuse basketball team) and we wouldn't want to do that! We are talking about a saint's day, here.

Serve with Irish Soda Bread:

Heat oven to 375
Cut together (I use my food processor for this) until the mixture resembles fine crumbs
3T butter softened
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
2T sugar
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Stir in until the dough leaves the side of the bowl:
1/3 C raisins (optional)
3/4 C buttermilk (or one cup milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or substitute yogurt watered down with milk)

Knead 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Shape into a round loaf and cut an "X" in the top. Bake 35-40 minutes.

And a delicious, green accompaniment: Taiwanese Avocado Milk

Blend together:
1/2 gallon milk
4T Honey
4T Maple Syrup
1 Avocado peeled and seeded

your green: to show that you are Irish, everyone is Irish in America on St. Patrick's Day
melting pot: a saying from the 1780s meaning a fusion of nationalities, cultures and ethnicities that become a new society
for a limited time: not available always, this is a seasonal item so be sure to buy a few for your freezer for when you get the crave
comes with it: is included
comes in handy: is convenient
quartered: cut into four pieces
Protestant: Christians who aren't Catholic
order: a society (like a club) who take a vow
here: now
accompaniment: something that goes well with
watered down: diluted, thinned

A taste of spring

Hello, Friends,

I know that all of you must be enjoying this taste of spring. The warmer weather and the spring showers have many people out. Next week is spring break for many local college students. You can see their migration south as the snow birds and actual birds begin their migrations north!

And speaking of migrations, this is that sad time of year when some of our friends prepare to return to their home countries. As you go on your way, please know that you are in my thoughts and in my heart. I will miss your faces at our meetings! Please be sure to keep in touch. Let me know how you are doing; I love to hear from all of our Friends. I am looking forward to seeing you again!

And speaking of Spring...this Sunday we spring forward. Don't forget to set you clocks forward one hour and be prepared to wake up in the dark once again.

And speaking of March; Tuesday begins the madness! All of Hoosierdom celebrates this time of year with one word: basketball! It doesn't take any skill and how you make your picks is up to you. I created a bracket board for us called International Friends. You can join me from my Facebook page or from here: http://bracketchallenge.ncaa.com or you can load the app for your iPhone. Join the fun! Brackets open March 13 after the final game.

Tibbs Drive In Theater opens this weekend! This is a true sign of spring!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays 9:00-10:30, Room 100

Welcome back to so many people. It was great to see all of you this Tuesday! We backed up to talk about Luke 8:16-18 again. These three verses are often seen as a very confusing lesson, but when we read them and talk about them we find that like most things in our lives things become clear with a little attention. We moved on to read Luke 8: 19-21. We are reminded that there was a crowd of people with Jesus. The crowd was so big that they spilled out of the house where He was staying. Jesus' mother and brothers cam to see Him. Jesus answers with a surprising answer: My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice (Luke 8:21). When we know that God loves and cares for us and we in turn love and care for others, we are Jesus' mother and brothers! We are Jesus' family.

March 15: Let's read Luke 8:22-25 and then, let's finish the chapter!

International Friends: Tuesdays 10:30-12:00, Room 100

We relaxed and enjoyed some delicious conversation. What was our topic? Anything and everything!

March 15: Let's taste corned beef and cabbage and green milk, Come and dance a jig!

Join us to learn to cook this traditional "Irish" dish and dance a traditional Irish dance! as we prepare to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Learn about this fun holiday when everyone is Irish!

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs classrooms

Elizabeth wasn't with us to chat. We got on the topic of sports what with March Madness.

March 16: Let's talk about Unit 19
Bring your picks for basketball. 

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms

I had a great time visiting in your classrooms today. What interesting conversations! We talked of marriage, politics, grandmother advice and so many other things! We talked about the fact that so much of our elections this year is a media circus. One thing is sure, we haven't had debates or a competition like this in generations!

taste of ____: this phrase is used when there is an opportunity to enjoy a sample or
madness: group excitement over an event
makes your picks: choose the winners
up to you: you decide
things become clear: things are understandable
spilled out: in this case the building was too small to accommocate all of the the people. They stood outside just to hear.
delicious: something doesn't have to be tasted to be delicious! We can use this word to describe anything that we enjoy and is satisfying.
anything and everything: when we include a wide range of topics in our conversation, chatting and following the flow
media circus: where there is excessive involvement, input and presence of reporters

March Madness

Woo Hoo, Hoosiers (and we are all Hoosiers in March!),

It's that wonderful time of year for hoops! It's time to make your bracket and cheer your favorite ballers. You can easily pick your teams using the NCAA March Madness bracket. It's fun, it's cool, you'll like it!

International Bible Study: Tuesdays 9:00-10:30, Room 100

Wow. We spent the whole meeting talking about three verses: Luke 8:16-18! In this parable Jesus tells us that we don't hide a light but we set set it up to benefit everyone. He also pointed out that all our dark deeds will come to light. Another way of looking at this second verse is that everything that doesn't seem to make sense in this world and current situation will be made clear in the future for everyone to see and understand. Jesus finally warns us that we should carefully listen. He tells us that whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken away from them. We can trust God, we can count on His blessings. He will never withhold His peace, grace, love. Jesus warns that when people look to themselves or to something other than God, they may think they have support, they will find they have nothing.

March 8: see how Jesus' family is reacting to His work.

International Friends: Tuesdays 10:30-12:00, Room 100

We tried adult coloring. Boy, did that take me back to my school days! Everyone tried their hand at coloring and enjoyed conversation. Many of us tasted durian for the first time in delicious or not so delicious cookies. Some people love this king of fruit, others hate it. There is no middle ground. A number of us headed to Koto and enjoyed the show at this new hibachi "Japanese." It was a very nice to catch up with old friends and welcome new friends.

March 8: Let's cook a Jordanian dish!

Join us to learn to cook and to taste a wonderful food from Jordan.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs classrooms

We finally touched on Unit 17. We talked about so many other things. Thank you for a delicious, hearty Spanish soup, Elizabeth!

March 9: Let's read Unit 19

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms

hoops: basketball season
bracket: picking the teams that you think will win the championship on a game by game basis
ballers: an especially talented basketball player
dark deeds: bad behavior
come to light: become known to everyone
middle ground: neutral or no strong opinion