Week 1 Summary - Church in Luxembourg!

Church was very different and interesting.  The ward speaks French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and now ASL.  The speaker can speak in whatever language they feel comfortable in, and they provide a translator.  They have headphones that you put it, and listen to the translation.  Emilee can't use the headphones because of her cochlear implant.  So Dad has the headphones in and he signs to Emilee.  So that is why ASL is listed above in the list of languages the ward speaks.

They sing the Hymns in French, so we are going to have to learn French for sure!  Today we just sang really quiet and tried to sing it right.

Ashton was very nervous to go to church today because he was scared that he wasn't going to be able to understand them.  We found out that a lot of kids speak English also.  They say everything in French first, then English.  Once Ashton found out that people spoke English, he was okay. After sacrament he knew where to go and went to primary.  He did great, and can't wait to see his new friends next week.

The rest of the kids went to sunday school together.  There are 21 kids in sunday school.  Everyone seems really nice.  Their teacher knows very little English.  They speak French, Spanish, and English in sunday school.  They don't have headphones so they just say everything 3 times, so it takes a while.  For example they asked us to read some scriptures, so they picked on someone to say it in French, another in Spanish, and another in English.  They have to read the scripture 3 times, one in every language.  Then discuss it 3 times.  Emilee got asked to read a scripture, so she did.  She felt proud that she understood the teacher.  It is very hard to hear the teacher, because she knows very little English.  The kids felt like it was a little chaotic.  It will take some time to get used to it.

The kids also had Young Men and Young Women together because they wanted to introduce the new theme.  This class was much easier to understand, because the young men president is from the States, so he knows English.  They had an interpreter for the French.  The young men president would say something then the interpreter would repeat him in French.  It is different than back home, but it is a whole new experience.

There are lots of missionaries in the ward.  A missionary asked my dad if they could come over for dinner Tuesday night, and my dad couldn't say no.  So we are having the missionaries over for dinner.  We have to go back to the store and buy stuff, so we have enough for the missionaries!

This was a great experience.  It is very different than what we are used to.  It will take time to get used to it.  We are up for it though!  Going to church will help us learn French, because the majority speak French.