Spanish Ward Adventures

After much deliberation of what family ward we should attend after getting married, Enoch and I agreed upon the the Provo Peaks 8th ward, a Spanish speaking ward. You may ask, why the Spanish ward? Do you even speak Spanish? To which I would reply, no- I don't speak Spanish.

So here is a little background on the situation, for reader ease I have divided this saga into two parts.

Part 1- Enoch
Enoch grew up in Culver City, just west of LA. As part of Enoch's elementary school there was a Spanish Immersion program- meaning half of the subjects were taught in English and half in Spanish. Therefore, pretty much all of Enoch's family speaks Spanish and most served Spanish speaking missions as well. At family gathering instead of spelling words when the parents don't want their kids to understand- they speak in Spanish. Unfortunately for me, I felt a bit like one of these helpless kids out of the loop, so this has been part of the motivation for some Spanish training.

Part 2- The Polo Family
The Mills have some good family friends, the Polo family. They are quite possibly the kindest and friendliest family alive and father Polo (Alberto) is the bishop of the Provo Peaks Ward. You would think since Alberto is from Peru that perhaps his family would all speak Spanish as well, now that is where you are wrong. Other than Lisa (the mom) none of the kids speak Spanish. Rory and Mica Polo were quite convincing when they would tell me, "You should come to our ward, we don't speak Spanish either."

So here is how church goes for me. I am very lucky because the ward is very English friendly, sacrament meeting is translated, Enoch and I were called to be Sunday school teacher and we teach in English for all of the youth 12- 18 which is about 6 people, and then usually someone will sit by me in Relief Society and translate for me. All in all I am very taken care of.

It has been a great experience for me to learn more and come to love the Latino people. They are wonderful people who love the Lord and work hard at what they do. Many of our ward activities are very cultural based and all the ward member come decked up in the country they are from and make authentic food as well. A personal favorite of mine is the Maldinado family who I refer to as Brother and Sister Argentina, becuase of their immense pride for their country. Sis Argentina is over the top in every way and is so endearing to me. Every RS lesson is complete with handmade foam handouts complete with hot glued jewels, and ribbon; however when it came to culture night half the church was accessorized with Argentina. This is just a small sampling of our fun ward, I could go on... Anyhow, it has been a unique experience for us and has taught me a great deal of humility. I feel helpless at times not being able to communicate, and blessed by all of those willing to translate for me. I have also been forced to get out of my comfort zone and approach others even if we can't communicate perfectly.

I have tried I little Spanish now, winter semester I enrolled in accelerated Spanish (101 and 102 in a semester) which is 8 credit hours of Espanol. I started the semester with great optimism and was quickly burned out by 4 hours of assigned talking and listening each week in Spanish along with the scheduled homework and vocabulary. needless to say I survived the first half and then dropped the 102 for the second block of the semester. I don't think accelerated Spanish is for the typical individual or the weak in heart.

Now that I have given you my life's Spanish experiences I would like to return to the real reason that I am writing. Enoch and I have the best calling in the Provo Peaks 8th ward! We love our Sunday School class and this past Tuesday we had the long anticipated class party. We had pumpkin waffles and then went to a park to play some croquet. It was so much fun and I feel lucky to associated with them.