Back to the Grind!

School is back in session. I am taking 12.5 units and working 30 hours a week at the college. I have had several AWESOME SI sessions in the first week! It was exciting when last Friday, most of the students day off from school, I opened a session and had 7 students attend. Talk about peer facilitated learning! We were able to use several different procedures to process the Public Speaking information we needed to learn for the first Identity Speech, which is an informative speech. I have only had two sessions where no one showed up. Last semester, my Speech 9 Interpersonal Communication class only had 4 students show up the whole semester. Two showed up for midterms and two more showed up for finals! So this year is promising to be much better!

The students in my Speech 1 Public Speaking class had their first speeches this week and it was quite interesting to hear all the different stories these students shared about who they are and what has influenced them. One student talked about his being in the Army and going to Iraq where he lost 8 of his platoon members within the first month. He also spoke about how those that survived the attack where these men died, came home with missing limbs, eyes gone, minds blown from the trauma. He also said that he is back in college to eventually become a Psychiatrist because he saw many of the wounded veterans being given anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, and pain killers to help them deal with their mental anguish and NOT receive adequate mental health care. I commend him for his service to our country and for his desire to help his fellow soldiers in the future.

Another student spoke about how her parents didn't like how she was growing up here in the U.S. and sent her to their native country the Philippines. She shared how the culture there was so different and how that as she was eating at a McDonald's each day at lunch, she would see the children begging in the streets, willing to eat her left overs. This impacted her greatly and she learned the value of money and how to appreciate everything she had. It also taught her humility and respect for other cultures, adults, and to value her education more. She had a huge picture of herself as her visual aid and it was missing a piece, like a puzzle. As she closed her speech, she said that her parents sending her to the Philippines helped her to find the missing part of who she was. It was quite impressive and powerful.

Other topics included: influence of parents, being the first to graduate from high school in their family, car wrecks, sports culture and coaches, having babies young, music and its' influences, and other topics. I would say 90% of the students did VERY well for their first speech.

Now that the ID speeches are over, it is time to start working with them on their Demonstration speeches and Chapter Seminars. So tomorrow I hope I will have students attend the sessions and we can get going on these new speeches.

OH, and I joined the Speech and Debate team! SCARY! Not really but it is something different for me. I am looking into two different Informative topics and one Persuasive topic. I also plan to do a Oral Interpretation of Prose. So, pray for me to do well. I must attend two tournaments and I want to do well.

Urgent Prayer Request

I have an urgent prayer request. My cousin, Rob, who is in his mid 30's, suffered a stroke sometime Monday night. He was found by his brother, unconcious, after they couldn't wake him and he seemed to be ignoring his alarm clock for over an hour. He is in neurological intensive care, in a drug induced "coma", with a hemorraghic bleed between his left and right hemispheres. The location of the bleed makes it impossible for the doctors to operate and repair it. They think he may be paralyzed on his right side and now his kidneys are failing. He asphyxiated when the stroke originally occured and is on a ventilator.

Since they are in Fort Worth, I called the church where Steve Pixler pastors to see if Bro. Pixler could go and pray for Rob and with my Aunt Louise and Uncle Robert. Bro. Pixler was out of town so another minister, Bro. Litke, called me for the pertinent information and went to the hospital tonight. Bro. Litke called after the visit to let me know that he was able to visit with my family and pray with them. He also said that Pastor Flowers from Mesquite was on his way to visit the family as well. Bro. Litke promised to send out an email prayer request to their church family so that there would be continued prayer for Rob's healing and salvation. I am so thankful for the body of Christ who, when notified of a need, are willing to go the extra mile and who bombard heaven with their prayers.

Please pray that God heals Rob and gives him an opportunity to come to know the Lord in a more powerful way. I appreciate you and covet your prayers for Rob's healing.

Finally....A new post

Sorry I have been so remiss here lately. It has been exactly one month since I last posted. Lots of things have happened but nothing seemed like it just HAD to be blogged about! But here I sit tonight on the brink of a new semester of college. I will be taking 12.5 units and working 30 hours as a Supplemental Instruction Leader at Riverside Community College. Fortunately, I have been privileged to be rehired for my third semester as SIL. I will be SIL for two Public Speaking classes and one Interpersonal Communications class. It will be a busy, fun, and rewarding semester.

Thanks for coming back after such a long hiatus and visiting with me. Pray for me to do well with my classes and job and more importantly, let the light of Jesus shine through me so someone will be drawn to Him.