Another HOT SEAT WITH GARY AND DIANE! - PS this is my favorite one yet!!

   What word/phrase/ concept has been the hardest for you to “get” in your new Spanish language training?  

      DIANE - 

Spanish in general has been my greatest struggle. When we are there I realize how much better it would be if I could speak and understand, but the words just do not stick in my head. I am plugging on with my Pimsler discs and praying that some of it will stick. Sometimes I think maybe I am just supposed to hug everyone! I can do that really well. I guess one really hard thing for me is the word order. In an adjective modifying a noun. It is reversed of what is is in English. The adjective is after the noun instead of before. But really that is just a small part of my difficulty. I am just trusting the Lord that He will help me with this. 

GARY - 

I am continuing to struggle with the tenses of the verbs.  I find that I am really speaking like Tonto did in the old Lone Ranger TV series.  "I go yesterday to the church."  or "Tomorrow, I write a letter, yes?" Always speaking in the present tense. It is simply that we all speak in the varying tenses in English without even thinking of it. But despite these shortcomings, I have found that with each visit I am able to communicate a little more effectively and hopefully more fluently.  I also remember that in Spanish, Tonto means "stupid" which doesn't give me much comfort.

WEEK TWO - GARY AND DIANE ON THE HOT SEAT

2.    

  What was your biggest surprise in traveling to Central and South America?

DIANE

The biggest surprise for me is how wonderful and welcoming the Latin American people are to us. They are understanding of our language problems, open to the Gospel message and seem to be very glad we are there. This amazes me. God has certainly given us a heart for the Latin American people, but they are very easy to love. This is true from the people in the prisons to the many people we meet who are associated with the ministry. And it is especially true of the Ramirez-Reyes family who we stay with when we are there. They have truly adopted us into their family and treat us as one of their own. They are wonderful Godly believers and we feel very blessed to know them.

GARY

I don't think there were any really big surprises.  The people we have encountered there, both strangers and those who are becoming our friends have show a great deal of love and encouragement to us.  I guess one surprise is something that I was warned would take some getting used to, that is "Latin Time."  I tend to be "on time" and keep to a rigid schedule, and my family can attest to that even with regard to our vacations, but that kind of rigid order just doesn't fly in Latin America.  Things just move at a slower pace and at first I was frustrated and impatient, yes, one of my other shortcomings.  But with each successive visit, I find that after a day of adjustment, I can get into the swing of things and take things as they come.  It is really a lot less stressful pace than I would normally set for myself.

QUESTION HOT SEAT WITH GARY AND DIANE

Welcome to week one of Gary and Diane on the hot seat where they will answer questions about their ministry, their lives and their relationship with God to give us a window into what God is up to!!  DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN!  You can submit them anytime to dmasterino@artreads.com and don't be afraid to ask a funny question!  We're certain God has a great sense of humor so why wouldn't his servants???!

QUESTION:  What is the hardest thing about traveling for OMS?

Gary
The hardest thing is actually the travel itself.  The tension of meeting the schedules and then having to spend so much time waiting is very wearying, but as we are getting used to it. We seem to be finding ways of coping.  We always have reports, replies and correspondence to take care of and we have found opportunities to share our faith with fellow travelers.

It is interesting that in addition to sharing our faith, we have met more than a few fellow missionaries heading into Latin America as well.  It may be that we are just traveling to an area where there is a lot of missionary activity from the US, but  I know that meeting these other people and hearing their stories provides a lot of encouragement and affirmation to us. I hope we are doing the same with them when they hear our story and understand our mission focus.

Diane

I think the hardest thing is the packing. We have almost always driven everywhere we have traveled. Which means that I could take everything but the kitchen sink! But not so with our mission travel. There is a weight limit on our suitcases so that limits what I can take. And then, of course, there are my hair products! But I am getting better with each trip and learning what I will need to pack. One really good thing is the weather is pretty much the same all the time so I know what weight of clothing to pack. All summer stuff with maybe a light jacket for mornings. It gets to 60 at night and maybe 80 in the daytime all year round. I guess in the summer it gets hotter. They advised us not to come then!

The second harderst thing is the actual flying. While I am not afraid, it is not really fun. A necessary evil. But on the plus side, we do get to share our story with many different people in the airports and on planes. That makes it fun.