Enjoy our Spring Break and see you April 11-13!

Hello, Friends.

Spring Break! Yay! I don't know if you are going out of town or if you will enjoy a staycation. I guess that depends on whether your family also is on break.

I hope that you have a great week and look forward to hearing about your adventures beginning April 10.

Happy Easter!

Happy restful Spring Break!

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

Today our Bible Study group tackled a difficult and often misused passage from Matthew 7 verse 1: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." It might be one of the most widely quoted of Jesus' sayings, although it is often quoted out of context as a way for people to silence their critics. They interpret it as, "You don't have the right to tell me that I'm wrong."

What did Jesus really mean? By reading verses 2-6 we get a much clearer picture. First of all, Jesus warns that we will be judged by the same standards to which we hold others. Then he points out that many people like to criticize small faults in others (the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye) even while defending large faults in their own behavior (the plank in your own eye). Can you imagine trying to remove a tiny piece of sawdust from a friend's eye when you yourself have a plank protruding from your own eye? Why is it that we can see others' faults so much more clearly than we can see our own?

In John Jesus commands his followers to "stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." We discussed what makes a personal judgment right. It must not be superficial, hypocritical, harsh, unforgiving, untrue, or self-righteous. On a personal level, people we love need correction. As one of our participants pointed out, the Bible is my rule book because it is God's rule book, and he knows the long-term outcome of every action that occurs. Another participant shared a story about going to a party with friends. Everyone noticed that one of the women there was being unusually quiet all evening. When asked why, she said, "I gave up criticizing others for Lent, and it's a lot harder than you might think to find things to talk about without being critical!" So funny - but so true!

April 11: We will be off for Spring Break next week, but please join us on April 11th as we continue to read and discuss what Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount.~Jan Heimann

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, upstairs classroom.

We dyed Easter eggs. There are some really fun options 

April 11: Join us as we talk about spring blooms and blossoms and celebrations in the U.S. and in your home countries. Bring a branch and scissors and we will make our own spring flowers.

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

We always have an interesting conversation. We picked apart judging and judgmental which was a pretty handy conversation to have since we have a lawyer/judge in our class. We expressed opinions about the difference between pronunciation and accent. What is the difference when we have "regional pronunciations" in all languages.

April 12: Join us for engaging and interesting conversations.

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

Thank you Officer James Grose for coming to visit and talk to us about being a police officer and what we can do to keep safe. We Officer Grose for his information and for his service to our community. To see notes from our conversations with him, please visit our Living in Indy page on our webpages.

April 13: Welcome back to classes. We only have six more classes this year!

going out of town: leaving your home area

staycation: vacationing in your home town

I guess: I suppose; I presume

packed week: busy, full of activity and events

sawdust: small particles of wood produced in sawing

plank: a long thin cut of wood used for building

protruding: sticking out from

superficial: being at, on, or near the surface

long-term: covering a relatively long period of time
criticizing: expressing faults in a disapproving manner

on a personal level: regarding something as a private individual

picked apart: dissected, thoroughly examine

pretty handy: convenient

Hello, Friends:

As one very good Friend said on Wednesday, "March is still a lion!" This is so true. Hang on! We are in for a bumpy ride Saturday! Our next pool will be for how much snow will we get. My magnolia has buds, yet it hasn't bloomed. It has been my experience in living with this old tree for more than 10 years that when it blooms we have our last snow. My bet is that trees will explode after this snow.

This coming week is full of fun and activities before our spring break. In case you decide not to read to the end (and miss all the good jokes and movie clips) here is what you will ask about:

March 27: International Friends will dye Easter eggs.
March 29: English classes will have a Carmel Police Officer visit to answer our questions.

April 2-6: NO CLASS. SPRING BREAK

Since so many people keep asking about break, I think that everyone must have Spring Fever! I know I do. Never fear! Weather forecasters are predicting temperatures in the 50s all next week (at least this morning they are) and we know that time and the seasons march on!

CLC will be a busy place this coming week. Holy Week or the week before Easter can be an active time at many churches. Since CLC is a Lutheran Church, every possible Holy Day will be celebrated (because we love our celebrations). So, a little explanation for the religious activity: Ash Wednesday kicked off the Lenten season (40 days of reflection) back in February (we celebrated Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday: the feast day before Lent; a secular or non-religious event). There have been mid-week services over the past few weeks.

Sunday, May 25 is Palm Sunday: Jesus rode into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (a Jewish holy holiday). 

Thursday, March 29 is Maundy Thursday: This celebrates the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples. This supper is when Jesus instituted the Christian practice of communion or ceremonial eating of bread and drinking wine. During the service these words (or something similar depending on the church) are said:

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said: Take; eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he also took the cup after the supper, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you. This cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."


Friday, March 30 is known as Good Friday. This is the day Jesus was put to death on the cross when he hadn't broken any laws. This is an important day because Christians believe that Jesus died so that all people could live in peace with God because Jesus took that punishment for all people.

Sunday, April 1 is Easter Sunday. Jesus rose from the dead after three days. Christians believe that Jesus lives and so will they and all who trust that Jesus' gift of life is theirs. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection all people can live in peace with God now and after they die. You can visit any Christian church any time, but Easter Sunday is always filled with spectacular music and joyous celebration.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100.
Worry. Anxiety. Stress. These are feelings we struggle with on a regular basis as we go about our daily activities. Turn on the television news, and you will find plenty more things to worry about! But what does Jesus say about it in His Sermon on the Mount? He says, "Don't worry!"

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear." (Matthew 6:31)

Jesus goes on to point out that the birds don't plant seeds and bring in crops to store in barns, and yet they have plenty to eat. The beautiful flowers that grow in the fields never work at looking good, and yet they look even more fabulous than King Solomon. God supplies all their needs, and He places even more value on you and your needs than theirs.

How do we stop worrying? Let go, and let God! In other words, let go of your worries and let God handle things. Seek God's righteousness, and He will give you everything else that you need. Take time to appreciate the many blessings we've been given, including the beauty of the stars at night or the majesty of a gorgeous sunset. And remember that God is in control, He loves you, and He will never leave you or forsake you.~Jan Heimann

March 27: Please join us for what should be a very interesting study. We will read Matthew 7 and what Jesus says about judging others. 

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, Room 100.
We went on our field trip to Butler University to visit the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and eat at Scotty's Dawghouse. We learned that coach Tony Hinkle introduced the orange basketball (they were leather brown up until then) to make the ball more visible for the players, officials and the fans. Did you know that the coaches waved to us while we were eating? We are famous!

March 27: Join us as we dye Easter eggs and talk about American secular traditions surrounding Easter. Bring hard boiled white eggs (white ones color better than brown, but you can make do in a pinch).

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, upstairs classroom.

Like the weather, we can never tell which way our conversations will turn. We opened with opinions (and, maybe, not judgments) about the meeting between President Trump and the prince of Saudi Arabia's visit. We talked about food taboos and habits and delicious foods around the world. Apparently everyone enjoys eating rabbit as a common food except in the United States. Our understanding and conclusion is that it is a plentiful (obviously this time of year) and delicious meat. We talked about how rabbits can infest and be a nuisance, but because rabbits are plentiful they make a good source of food. I was tickled to discover that Spain's name in the original language means "land of rabbits." You can read more about this lexiconical evolution here: Spain - the Land of Rabbits?

March 28: Join us for a lively conversation.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00
What a great day to visit around the classes. I always learn something new or see our language a new way when I visit. I hope that you find our classes as interesting as I do!

March 29: This Thursday we will have a police officer from the Carmel Police Department come to talk to us. Bring your questions for him to answer. You can write the down and give them to your teacher or ask them in person. Don't be afraid. Any question you might have the rest of us will also have!

Spring Fever: longing and hoping for Spring or an excuse for feeling unsettled and restless in the spring. Teachers say their classes have spring fever when students are active and can't study because of the weather during these months toward the end of the school year.

never fear: don't worry

march on: time marches on=time passes and we can't do anything to stop it! 

put to death: killed for committing a crime

punishment: consequence for doing wrong

known as: called,

in for a bumpy ride: a time filled with trouble or inconvenience

bet: guess; although it is a gambling term I would never put my money on a weather guess in Indiana. No one knows which way the weather will turn here. Anyones's guess is a good bet.

explode: usually this means to blow up in destruction, but in this case it means "bloom like crazy" or as anyone under thirty years old would say, "bloom like none other." 

instituted: made official

practice: action that is part of the official behavior or activity of an organized group of people; practices are not necessarily laws or rules that must be followed a certain way

spectacular: amazing, wonderful

joyous: happy

struggle: a forceful effort to get free of restraint or resist attack

let go: give up

appreciate: recognize the full worth of; be grateful for

forsake: abandon someone or something

judging: form an opinion or conclusion about someone or something

dawghouse: this is a pun name for this business...most of the Scotty's restaurants are brewhouses (beer and food). This is the Dawghouse: Dawg is for dog as in Bulldog the Butler mascot. So of course the Scotty's on the Butler campus would be a Dawghouse not a brewhouse!

infest: over run

nuisance: annoyance, irritation, bothersome
lexiconical: is this really a word? You can't find it in the dictionary but is will become one...It comes from the Greek word lexicon  meaning the vocabulary of a person or an entire language. Lexiconic means pertaining to language and vocabulary in general (adding the suffix of -ic).  Adding the -al to the end of a word (a suffix) means related to or the process of becoming something. So, there you go!

March fun continues....

Dear Friends,

I am rushing the Update this week because there is so much you need to know before the middle or even the end of the week!

Don't forget to make your March Madness picks! You have to have your bracket finished and submitted before Thursday. We have our very own competition for the International Friends. I promise that March will fly by and be so much more fun as a Hoosier if you join in the competition! You might want to try a Sports Bar over this great season because they show numerous games and events at the same time as well as offer delicious game day foods.

Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, but this fun holiday begins on Friday with events in downtown Indy.
Check out the event schedule here. Be sure to enjoy the fun at the local pubs: Claddagh, Brockway, Danny Boy, and Muldoons are all on the North side in Carmel, but any pub will be having a celebration! Remember to wear your green and that anyone under 21 may not be allowed in the beer tents.

Speaking of fun and too much fun: Because of the tournaments and St. Patrick's Day, Indiana State Police and the local police authorities are increasing patrols to watch for alcohol impaired and dangerous drivers. Hamilton County will conduct sobriety checkpoints Saturday, March 17 through early in the morning of March 18 to detect, prevent and arrest drivers who choose to drive impaired. At a sobriety checkpoint officers stop cars to evaluate drivers for signs of alcohol or drug intoxication at a specific point on the road. Vehicles are stopped based on a process (maybe several cars will be stopped at once, or maybe every three or four cars will be stopped). Officers will advise drivers that they have been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint and ask for the driver's license and vehicle's registration. If the officer detects that alcohol may be involved and that the driver may be impaired or some other issue arises the vehicle is directed to pull off for further investigation which may involve Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. If everything looks alright when the officer meets the driver when the vehicle is first stopped, the driver is sent on their way in less than two minutes.

Spring is here on March 20! Who could believe it with all the snow. Yet, the daffodils are well up and some are even budding! I saw something I had never seen before: a flock of buzzards migrating. There were more than 25 of these amazing birds cruising high above Carmel last Sunday. When the buzzards come North, it is a true sign of warmer weather. Fair warning, my magnolia hasn't even started to bud. Usually we have one more snow when my tree blooms!

There is so much happening this weekend

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, Room 100.
Today we read in Matthew 6 what Jesus says about the topic of fasting. Fasting is defined in Wikipedia as "a willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." In Jesus' day, many Jews fasted for religious reasons, and when they did, it was customary to put ashes on their heads to show that they were fasting. Ashes were also used as a sign of repentance and sorrow. But in verses 17 and 18, Jesus turns that idea upside down when he encourages people who fast to put oil on their heads and to wash their faces, activities that were reserved for joyous occasions! As in previous passages from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling people to do good works, not to gain the approval of other people, but out of love for God. It's all about what is in your heart, where your focus is, and what your priorities are.

Jesus also warns people not to store up treasures here on earth, where things can rust, rot, quit working, break, or be stolen. His advice is to store up treasures in heaven, which will last forever. He wants us to use our eyes (and our hearts and minds) to focus on the important things in life that bring us true wisdom, goodness, and eternal salvation. People in our study group shared how violated they have felt when they have had things stolen, but how much more important their safety and security were than the "stuff" they lost.

March 20: The final passages of chapter 6 find Jesus telling his audience, "Do not worry about your life." Now that's a topic we can all relate to! We will discuss it more when we gather again.  Join us!


International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, Room 100.
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day and talked about our March Madness picks. We tasted corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread with Irish butter and had a sip of Guinness. We danced a reel and generally enjoyed some "craic" (Irish Gaelic for fun and pronounced "crack").

How to make corned beef and cabbage:
Buy a package of corned beef from the grocery. You will find it in the beef section or in a special display.

Open the package and dump the beef and juice into a large pot or crock pot. Open the little package of pickling spices and sprinkle that into the pot. Add cabbage cut into quarters (leave the core and the leaves hold together), carrots, potatoes (red skinned hold up better). Fill the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for anywhere between one and three hours depending on the size of your corned beef. If you use a crock pot, start cooking in the morning on low and enjoy the day. That's it! It couldn't be simpler. Enjoy rye bread, yellow mustard, horseradish on the side. Have a nice cup of tea (with milk and sugar), a Guinness (famous Irish dark stout (beer)), or a refreshing glass of milk colored green (of course!).

March 20: In the spirit of March Madness, let's go on a field trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler Campus (and see some of the campus as time permits). Meet at the church to carpool to Butler or meet on campus in front of Scotty's Brewhouse around 11:00. We will park in the parking garage.
4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis.

submitted: entered
pub: bar, tavern
Wikipedia: a people made dictionary; you can edit and write for Wikipedia!
abstinence: any self-denial, self-restraint, or forbearance
reduction: the act of reducing or bringing down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.
security: freedom from danger, risk, care or anxiety

alcohol impaired: drunk

impaired: in North America impaired means affected by alcohol or drugs to the extent of losing control; impaired can also mean damaged or weakened or having a disability of some kind (hearing impaired)

hold up: don't fall apart

The Madness of March

Hello, Friends.

March is super exciting in Indiana: it's March Madness! Men's college basketball teams compete for the NCAA championship title. We Hoosiers are known for our love of hoops. There is nothing like a championship to get you through the dreary end of winter, especially if you at missing the Olympics! Last night I stayed up after midnight to watch the Butler/Seton Hall game. It was a nail biter with the Butler trailing by mere points most the game. Seton Hall had some stellar three point shots on goal, but in the last two minutes of play the dawgs owned the court!

To get into the spirit (even if you aren't a fan), complete a bracket and follow the competition. You don't have to be a pro, just pick a team. Some people pick because they like the team colors, the name, the mascot, or because the players look the best. Other people study the statistics and make educated guesses. 

Get ready to mark your calendar for March Madness!

March 11: Selection Sunday: the 68 teams are announced. Time to make your picks! Here is the link for you to make your bracket so we can compete against each other for a fabulous prizes TBA. Or visit our Facebook pages to log in.

March 13-14: Teams are finalized and seeded into the bracket 

March 15 and 16: Sixty four teams compete in the first round games in eight cities.

March 17 and 18: Thirty-two teams battle it out in the second round.

March 22 and 23: Sweet Sixteen: (16 teams play eight regional and semifinal games).

March 24 and 25: The Elite Eight

March 31: Final Four

April 2: The remaining two teams compete for the national title

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

This week we finished our study of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. We began with, "Give us this day our daily bread." The Greek word for "daily" in this sentence is "epiousious," and it is not used anywhere else in the Bible. The only other place it has been found in Ancient Greek was in something written in a papyrus from around the year 400 A.D., in a list in an account book. It was used there as "enough for the day" or "the daily ration." By praying for our daily bread, we are trusting in God to provide enough for today and leaving our future needs in His hands.

We also talked about the manna that God supplied for the children of Israel in Old Testament times, as they wandered in the desert after leaving Egypt, and about Jesus, the Bread of Life, who supplies not only our physical needs, but also our spiritual needs.

The next petition is a bit of a scary proposition. We say, "And forgive us our trespasses (sins), as we forgive those who trespass against us." We are essentially asking God to treat us the way we treat others. If we are generous with our forgiveness, we will be forgiven generously. If we hold a grudge against someone who has mistreated us, then we are telling God to withhold his complete forgiveness from us, too. It's a great reminder that we, who have been loved so much by God, also need to pass along that love to people in our lives. Forgive and forget, but don't forget that you forgave!

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." God never tempts us to do evil, but He does allow our faith to be tested. So what we are asking here is that God spare us from trials and tribulations, and also that He would give us the strength to get through difficult times of testing or temptations to do evil. ~ Jan Heimann

We learned so much from this study of the Lord's Prayer, and we look forward to next week, when we will continue with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Please join us!

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

We met to try our hand at making polvoron (the Filipino answer to shortbread). This interesting and tasty treat is concocted on the stove. Watch this video for directions for making polvoron.  This video is in Tagalog, but you will find that you can easily follow the directions. We had a little bit of a problem with our recipe because the initial recipe called for 4 Cups of Butter. This was in error. In previewing the video for this newsletter I discovered an amendment:

4 Cups of flour

2 Cup of Powdered Milk

1/2 Cup of Sugar

4 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER

No worries! Our results were tasty. We increased the flour, powdered milk and sugar until the consistency of the mix was more to our liking and less gooey and greasy.

Here's a recipe for the famous Goldilocks style. This cook uses a small scoop to shape the cookies rather than a press.

Goldilocks Style Polvoron

2 C flour

2/3 C powdered milk

1 t vanilla

50 grams melted butter (what?! Grams?! We don't use grams here in the U.S.)

You can mix just about anything into your polvoron: chocolate, coffee powder, ground nuts (cashews, peanuts, etc.), even sprinkles! Some fancy recipes dip the polvoron in melted chocolate.

March 13: Join us to learn how to make that famous St. Patrick's Day feast: corned beef and cabbage! Maybe we will dance a jig.

Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 209.

You never know just how our conversations will turn! This week we talked about why it's good not to plan too much for a conversation class: to keep us flexible so the discussion can follow whatever path and keep on our toes to keep up with the conversation. We talked about how conversations require us to be able to follow unscripted paths.

We talked about cousins and second cousins and extended relationships. We found that different countries have different laws for marrying relatives. In Indiana you can not marry if "applicants are more closely related than second cousins (though there is an exception if you are first cousins and both are at least sixty-five (65) years of age)." These rules are similar in Venezuela and Japan, but in Taiwan you have to be more than sixth cousins (six generations apart). We read a few articles in the March Easy English News about St. Patrick's Day.

March 14: Join us for chatting and fun.

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

We are having some special guests to talk with us and answer our questions. Think of questions to ask. You can write them down or save them to ask the officer or fireman in person. Save the dates! Invite your friends!

March 29, 10:30-11:45: We will have a Carmel Police Officer come and talk to us and answer your questions. You can ask the officer yourself, or you can write your questions down and give them to your teacher March 6, or bring them on the 15th.

April 19, 10:40-11:45: Join us as a representative from the Carmel Fire Department comes to talk to us about safety. 

super: slang for very

hoops: basketball

NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association; the NCAA Hall of Champions is here in Indy!

championship: competition for the best

midnight: 12:00 am

dawgs: the bull dogs; the mascot for Butler

owned the court: won the game (basketball is played on a court)

stellar: outstanding, great

shots on goal: throwing the basketball at the hoop and net to score

get into the spirit: get involved; participate

mascot: the animal or character that represents the team or school

make your picks: choose the teams to win

make your bracket: put the team selections in the form

TBA: To Be Announced

seeded: arranged so that top ranking teams do not play early in the tournament

bracket: a diagram of teams competing in a tournament

first round: the first games of the tournament (competition)

semifinals: round of games before the final games

ration: a fixed allowance of food
manna: the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:14-36)
petition: a request made for something desired; a supplication or prayer
proposition: a plan or scheme proposed
hold a grudge: to have a feeling of resentment for some real or imagined wrong
trials and tribulations: tests of one's patience or endurance; difficult experiences; problems

concocted: mixed together

initial: first, preliminary

amendment: correction, change

consistency: texture

more to our liking: to our taste

gooey: sticky

greasy: oily

you never know: it isn't clear; you couldn't guess

will turn: the direction a conversation takes; the topics covered

flexible: able to change or move easily

follow a path (of conversation): a train of thought; connecting ideas

keep on our toes: pay attention

unscripted: not prepared