• Home Page
  • Bible College
    • About FLBC
    • Academics
    • Student Life
    • Admissions
    • Tuition & Aid
    • After FLBC
  • Seminary
    • About
    • Academics
    • Admissions
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Our Beliefs
    • History
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Accreditation
    • Assessments
    • Campus & Location
    • Campus Library
  • News
  • Events
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Blogs
  • Videos
  • Students
  • Alumni
    • What We Do
    • Alumni Association
    • Referral Opportunity
    • Transcript Request
    • Alumni Testimonies
    • Alumni Job Opportunities
  • Capital Campaign
    • Student Life Center Webcam
  • Athletics
    • FLBC Athletics
    • Basketball Live Stream
  • Choirs
  • Gospel Teams
  • Summer Teams
  • Live
  • Chapel
  • Prayer Updates
  • Stories
  • Students
  • Alumni
    • What We Do
    • Alumni Association
    • Referral Opportunity
    • Transcript Request
    • Prayer Support
    • Alumni Testimonies
    • Alumni Job Opportunities
  • Student Life Center
  • Athletics
    • FLBC Athletics
    • Basketball Live Stream
  • Music
  • Gospel Teams
  • Summer Teams
  • Contact
  • Donate
Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary
    • Home
    • Bible College
      • About FLBC
      • Academics
      • Student Life
      • Admissions
      • Tuition & Aid
      • After FLBC
    • Seminary
      • About FLS
      • Academics
      • Admissions
    • About Us
      • Mission and Objectives
      • Our Beliefs
      • History
      • Faculty & Staff
      • Accreditation
      • Assessments
      • Campus & Location
      • Library
      • Wedding Event Request
    • News
    • Events
    • Stories
    • Resources
      • Blogs
      • Videos

    Blog

    • Home
    • Blog
    • Blog
    • Taking AFLBS abroad

    Taking AFLBS abroad

    • Posted by FLBC
    • Date May 22, 2019

    Contrary to popular belief, AFLBS doesn’t really make you ready to be an English teacher in Ecuador.

    “How’s it going there?” friends keep asking. Ah … how do you figure? Do you mean, how are my English classes going? Honestly, attendance is up and down. Some days, everyone seems engaged and attentive and can define terms like “Saxon genitive” (literally a trumped-up name for the possessive “s”); other days, we struggle, flubbing our grammar and botching our syntax. I catch myself using Spanish to make my students understand, cutting off my own work at its knees. At the end of a day I’d set aside for writing two lessons, I realize I’ve finished only most of one, and I’m at a total loss for a devotional for class.

    Yet, in the same breath: God is so good to me. I’ve got a family here that treats me like family. I’ve got multiple people I interact with regularly who can speak English with me—which keeps my 21-year-old English-speaking brain tethered to sanity when my relatively 6- to 7-year-old Spanish-speaking brain tries to play king of the hill. The wifi in my host home is strong, and I can talk with my girlfriend and my family on the daily, which has been absolutely inexpressible grace.

    The AFLBS Ecuador team’s visit was a godsend, too. Having the opportunity to translate for friends gave my brain the jolt it needed to stretch into some new linguistic territory. Seeing the city and Paz de Dios Church again through their eyes reminded me that there was, in fact, both beauty to seek out and work worth doing here yet. I’m heading home soon, and having AFLBS students around was enough to take the edge off of the waiting.

    So, no, AFLBS doesn’t prepare you to teach an English class. (Except maybe a handful of things from Christian Education, actually—Mrs. Moan, my 12-14 year olds have been riding that “10 Commandments with actions” train for almost three straight weeks now. Thank you. God bless you.) It doesn’t prepare you for Saturday morning salchipapa sickness. (No more mountain hot dogs for me; twice was more than enough, muchas gracias.) And it doesn’t put a dent in the language barrier, either; you’ll have to clamber your way over that just like anybody else.

    It will change how you go about every single one of those things, though. Bible school will give you some of your core people—the kind of people you’re going to call when you fail. It will give you a clearer understanding of what your failures actually mean, and more importantly, what they don’t. And it will give you truth to hang onto, too, even when all you can understand on a Sunday morning is the third verse of “Solo en Jesús” (In Christ Alone)—because that’s the point of AFLBS. And when you’ve got that, you can go anywhere.

    Seth Skogerboe [AFLBS, 2018] served as a short-term assistant with Journey Missions in Cuenca, Ecuador, for eight months.

    This article first appeared in Kinship Magazine, Spring 2019 Edition.

    Kinship is a magazine of the Free Lutheran Schools. Stay up to date on the latest news, student stories, classroom highlights, and fun tidbits about life on the AFLBS and AFLTS campus.

    View the latest edition of Kinship here:

    • Share:
    FLBC
    FLBC

    Previous post

    Intercessor Team Update - May 14
    May 22, 2019

    Next post

    Osier called as AFLBS dean
    May 22, 2019

    Bible College

    • FLBC
    • Academics
    • Student Life
    • Admissions
    • Tuition & Aid
    • After FLBC

    Seminary

    • About
    • Academics
    • Admissions

    About Us

    • Mission and Objectives
    • Our Beliefs
    • History
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Accreditation
    • Assessments
    • Campus & Location
    • Library
    • Request Info
    • Visit Us
    • Apply Now

    Calendar Links

    • ical Feed Instructions
    • Academic Calendar
    • Chapel Services
    • Basketball Schedule
    • Event List

    Resources

    • Resources-Blogs

    Contact

    logo

    (763) 544-9501

    (763) 412-2047 (Fax)

    FLBC: flbc@flbc.edu

    FLS: fls@flbc.edu

    Quick Links

    • Live Stream
    • Chapel
    • Basketball Schedule
    • Prayer Updates
    • Summer Teams
    • Gospel Teams
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Service Opportunities
    • About the AFLC
    • Post a Job Opportunity

    FLBC Schools

    • Mission and Objectives
    • Our Beliefs
    • History
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Accreditation
    • Assessments
    • Campus & Location
    • Library

    Forms

    • Apply
    • Transcript Request
    • Donate
    • Make a Payment

    Find Us

    Free Lutheran Bible College & Seminary
    3134 E. Medicine Lake Blvd
    Plymouth, MN 55441-3008

    © COPYRIGHT 2021 FREE LUTHERAN BIBLE COLLEGE

    • Privacy
    Login
    [miniorange_social_login shape="longbuttonwithtext" theme="default" space="4" width="240" height="40"]

    Login with your site account

    Lost your password?