Immersion

Immersion in this case means to immerse oneself in Spanish. How is it accomplished? We spent nearly forty hours in five days talking to dozens of volunteers and employees of the Church Senior Couple Program, practically all of whom were very proficient in the Spanish language. Chrise and I were sometimes together but mostly apart during this time. In one hour blocks I got a glimpse of the lives of these wonderful people, conversing with them in Spanish. One young lady had worked for a summer at Disney World. She had a Disney World smile and a story of how that experience had affected her--not in a way that you might expect, but that is her story to tell if chooses in such a public forum. I had conversations with an elderly woman from Argentina, a young man from Venezuela, and a former Professor of Spanish at BYU. One man had served in Mexico very close to the year I had served there forty years ago. We talked of the exploits of my legendary Mission President, who had gained fame throughout all the missions in Mexico.  Two of our helpers were going to be married in June (not to each other) and another had just been married two days before we arrived. He still had Just Married scribbled across all of his car's windows.

Because I already had a strong background in Spanish, this experience was easier for me than for my wife. For the first few days, Chrise arrived back at our hotel room every evening exhausted. Wednesday she slept nearly 12 hours. But she is one very determined woman. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we met together with a volunteer, whom I think was chosen and trained to be challenge for us, especially for Chrise. Our first meeting Monday was kind of a disaster. We hadn't known that we were supposed to prepare for this jointly and so we were both on different pages. I tried to bring what we had prepared together but only succeed in taking most of the time with Chrise reading a couple of scriptures that didn't really tie with where we were. The volunteer didn't help much by throwing us all kinds of unexpected curves. We both felt badly. Wednesday, as we walked to lunch, Chrise tried to clue me in on what she wanted us to talk about, but I have to admit that my mind was elsewhere. So when we got together with the volunteer, it was another disaster. 

Our preparation for the final meeting with the volunteer began right after our second disaster. We both prayed about it and rolled up our sleeves. After consultation with our advisors and tutors, it was decided the best way to equalize the disparity between Chrise and I in Spanish speaking ability was to have her take the lead and ask the questions and that I would be in a supportive roll. Chrise worked with her tutors and advisors to develop the questions and material which she shared with me. When the final meeting with the tutor arrived we were both nervous. 

Immediately, I could tell there was a difference. Chrise started out beautifully as she asked questions and responded to his answers. I was amazed and deeply touched. I could feel the spirit as if she was speaking past our pretend investigator to the people in Mexico. Never had she been able to speak so clearly and so fluently and for such a prolonged time. I added things here and there which she was also able to understand. The volunteer echoed my amazement at the end when he said that he too had been deeply touched.