The Beginning of Something Great

After long plane rides and long layovers, Holly and I have arrived in Sopot, Poland! This summer, we will be working with Mike and Molly Dawidow and their daughter, Annabelle. Mrs. Molly and Annabelle picked us up at the airport on Wednesday night (unfortunately it wasn't until around midnight that our plane got in). After showing us where we would be staying and getting a good night of rest, we got down to business.

When Holly and I met with Annabelle and Mrs. Molly in the morning, we wrote down our goals for this summer and talked about them and how they could be accomplished. It is very clear that Annabelle and Mrs. Molly are very passionate about the work here and about it being done correctly. They are very competent in what they do, and they want to help us be competent and efficient, as well. It is wonderful to have that kind of support! Annabelle's profession is teaching language, so she is able to use and teach us to use methods that are proven and that work. They also made it very clear that the main goal is teaching the Bible, analyzing the actual text of God's word. Teaching English is the vessel through which this is accomplished here. The students that come to the Sopot International Bible School, for the most part, know that they are going to learn the Bible, not just secular English.

There are four workbooks right now that are used in the studies. Each lesson selects a certain Bible text to analyze and discuss. The lesson will initially start with some kind of warm up to set the context and tone of the material and make it easier to understand. Many of the students have never read these texts or heard these stories before in their lives, but we heard them since before we could talk. The rest of the lesson will have at least three complete readings of the text. A"question cycle" will be used after the first reading to direct the thoughts of the student using the Socratic method (in which they find information and conclusions on their own without it being directly told to them).  First, the teacher asks questions to which the answer is "yes," then "no." Next come either/or questions where they choose one answer or the other, and then questions such as who, what, when, where, and, lastly, why. These questions move from less to more difficult and deep.

Each lesson also has certain vocabulary words picked out that the student will need to know to understand the concept presented in that text, such as atonement, sin, righteousness, enmity, corruption, grieving, covenant, etc. Mrs. Molly and Annabelle taught us how to come up with questions to ask and how to properly introduce words that the student does not know yet (hint: it is not by pulling out a dictionary or showing them the Polish word!). As they put it, we are simply renaming an object or concept that they already know. We just have to help them make the connection between the two words. And this is only the beginning of each lesson! An entire lesson may take 2-4 sessions to complete, but that just means that quality work and learning have been done. These are hard texts to comprehend and decipher, even for native English-speakers. I am amazing by the students who are learning them in their second language!

Holly and I have also learned a great deal about Polish history from these two ladies. The history of the Polish people shapes how they think and interact with the world and the Word. It is very important for Holly and I to understand where they are coming from in order to relate to and teach them! The map of Poland, and Europe in general, has been redrawn several times throughout history. Poland was completely off the map for about 200 years. Poles experienced more decimation, heartache, and utter misery than many did during the two World Wars. For example, more civilians were killed in the one city of Krakow during World War II than all the United States soldiers combined. Poland has been the underdog for much of history and has been pushed around and bullied by its neighbor countries for a very long time. Most people living in Poland today have grandparents and great-grandparents that were alive and affected first-hand by the terrible events surrounding wars. It is living history, and it is all they have ever heard or known. Gdansk, which is about twenty minutes from Sopot, was flattened to the ground by German soldiers. It is all very close to home for the people living here. It all happened right in their backyards. It is hard for me to imagine all of this, but I will be sure to consider the different mindset that people may have here when I am teaching.

We have also had a chance to walk around the town of Sopot and get to know where everything is. It is such a gorgeous place! We got all of our grocery shopping done and even went to a market where we got fresh, organic, straight from the farm fruits and vegetables! The town of Sopot is right on the coast, and the beach is about a 5-10 minute walk from where we are staying. The weather has been very warm, at least 80 degrees, which is very unusual for this part of Poland at this time of year. Today, it stormed, so it should cool down some now. There are plenty of shops, cafes, parks, and everything else right within walking distance! It's been a joy to get to know the town and the people in it so far. We even got a short Polish lesson from Annabelle to show us just exactly what it is like so that we will know how our students feel. We read through a historical text we had not seen before with and without context for the same purpose. It will be much easier to relate to my students' positions because of these two activities! I can't wait to get started and continue learning!

This is going to be a wonderful summer!