Teaching the Teacher

We are experiencing growing pains as we try to get to know our seminary students better, apply the lessons we're supposed to teach in a way best suited for their needs, and simply do a better job translating our love and enthusiasm for the Book of Mormon into their hearts, to motivate them to have desire to read and study the Book of Mormon each day so they can feel for themselves the joy that comes from knowing Christ is their Savior that is found there. We're supposed to do assessments that measure their progress throughout the year, and after two weeks, we feel that if anyone were to observe our classes and give us an assessment, they would probably tell us we have a lot to learn about teaching teenage members of the church, and that we need to make a lot of improvements to our teaching techniques in many areas. Cathy is more gifted as an extemporaneous speaker and does better connecting with the kids. Dan is having more difficulty reaching them, and needs to be less professorial and more conversational to find greater success in teaching seminary.

Fortunately, we had a seminary curriculum training meeting on Saturday that really opened our minds and our hearts in a way that will help us teach better and be more effective. We had workshops that focused on three main areas of Christ Centered, Scripture Based, and Learner Focused. In addition to the guest speakers who led each of the workshop discussions, we were blessed to learn from teachers just like us who have much more experience than we do, who shared ways they've developed over the years that make the scriptures come alive to their students, and instill in them a desire on their own to drink deeply from the word of God and his prophets. We were given statistics from a group of 100% active 12 year-olds in 32 stakes that were closely monitored through the next 9 years to learn what caused them to either embrace or turn away from the church during their teenage years. No surprise but seminary was the key. The ones who said they had a positive experience in seminary were able to gain their own testimony and conversion. Our workshops emphasized the importance of always helping them know that they are not alone, that we and other church members are not here to judge them but to help them, and the Atonement of Christ is the way back to free ourselves from guilt and sorrow when we make mistakes. All we want is to be better, do better, love them as Christ loves them, and help them feel God's love for them. We are earnestly praying each day for Heavenly Father to help us.

The Olomana ward conference was today, and they celebrated Saturday by having a huge party with food trucks and bounce houses for the kids at the Bishop's house. There were so many non-members and less active members there that we spent all of our time socializing with those whom we don't see very often at church. It's so easy for the members to help them feel loved and included because the majority are either relatives of theirs or old friends. But for us and the proselyting elders, it's a challenge to meet everyone we'd like to talk to because we're still learning names and faces. The ward activity was a success because the chapel was overflowing today, partially due to the social aspect from the previous day, but also because the bishopric was released and a new Bishop was called to serve.