The original plan was to have one person talk per month, but that changed! Before announcements at the end of the day, I stood up in front of the class with my clipboard to review the plan and get my volunteers for the talks. This... this was the first time I'd ever stood up in front of the whole class like that. I'm student 21, the very last. Tucker. It's alphabetical, so I'm the last to have a chapter teaching and the last to be Leader of the Week and all that stuff. xD Anyway, yeah, I'm very verbal during class time, but this was the first time I was up there standing up in front of everyone with my clipboard on the pulpit thingy. I reviewed for them what we were doing, who I already had down for what fruits, which were still available, and who wanted to do them? And then someone had the idea that we have two people talk about each fruit per month, since some people both wanted the same fruit. Then we went to three or four per month, which is pretty much once a week. xD
And... I loved it. I loved standing up there, talking. It wasn't my idea that we have 3-4 people talk each month. It wasn't my idea that each student talk at least once. They were my classmates' ideas. x) Just like back at NSA, where I would coordinate things, but it's not like I was some kind of mastermind behind it all. No. My classmates are involved and having ideas, I just... administrate it. Administrator. That's what I scored highest in when we tested for gifts and abilities.
I love administrating. And I love talking, delivering a message. I've spoken in front of my class a total of 6 times so far, as of week 8, (not counting testimony night and vacation talks). Three times as the fruit sheriff, once for my first chapter teaching, and twice filling in my classmates' chapter teachings when they were sick. And I enjoy it... so much! I went into this year both afraid of talking, and looking forward to it. When I did my interview, I said that talking was one of my weaknesses. But I had a little suspicion that perhaps that was not so. I'd never really had an opportunity to do any sort of public speaking, now had I? And people told me I was a good communicator. Not that I necessarily believed them, but it was nice to know I couldn't be quite as bad as I thought I was.
I think I came closest to believing it when Dad told me, though. Because he's so... logical! He always brings clarity to situations. For example, he told me that I could write "good communication skills" on my resume when applying for jobs because I can discuss topics that most people my age have never even heard of. I'm educated and quick to learn. While yes, in social settings, my communication skills will be a bit lacking because I haven't had much experience in there.
And when I put together a slideshow presentation last December when I told my family about GL, Dad said that I did a very good job with it, both in how I organized it and put it together and delivered it. It was a step below actually delivering a message, though, because I just read what I had written. But it was a good start.
Ever since I was little I dreamed of being an orator, a wordsmith, one who is eloquent and can weave words into brilliant patterns of communication. Why? Well, because I love words. And because I want to be like my dad. I've always looked up to him and wanted to be like him, and I've always admired his way with words. But growing up, I somehow got the idea that spoken eloquence is beyond me. I settled for writing. I knew I could attain eloquence in writing. But not in speaking. No. If I tried to speak eloquently I would just stumble over my words and lose my train of thought.
Apparently this is not the case, though. I started to realize that when Dad helped me to see it, but it didn't really sink in until I actually experienced it. It's good that I'm student 21, the last to have a chapter teaching. Because I had 20 chapters in which to gain confidence in discussion before standing in the front leading it. And to hear comments like, "Wow, I'm looking forward to Jamie's first chapter teaching!" and, "Jamie, you're so smart. We need to have a day where you just stand up there and teach us stuff all day." Ahh! Words of affirmation is my second love language, just behind quality time. So comments like that mean... so much to me. And after I taught someone else's chapter for the first time, Millie was telling me that it was clearly one of my strengths, and the enemy probably convinced me it was one a weakness to try and keep me from it. Even after my testimony at the beginning of the year someone called me a wordsmith... which is pretty much the greatest compliment possible. x) Wordsmith. I've always had a special fondness for that word, always wanted it to be mine. I always wanted to be a Wordsmith. And... I am. I am a Wordsmith. x)
So, yes! What about week 6? On Tuesday night at Young Adults the topic was our significance, on Wednesday I spoke about the fruit of the spirit with a slideshow presentation, and that night we had a foundations class about speaking in tongues and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On Thursday I had my first chapter teaching. That was really awesome. x) I had the last chapter in the book, so I got to conclude everything. And I made a slideshow to go with it. Here's a collage of the slides I made. ^_^ The first 4 slides were more detailed, because that's as far as I had gotten in my preparation. Then when I realized that we would reach my chapter that day... whew! I had my computer open and I was on Pinterest and Pixelmator and Kindle during class time in a rush to finish. xD So it very quickly gets less detailed after that. But all the detail wasn't really necessary, just a slide saying which section of the chapter we were on worked fine. And no one even noticed, and I certainly didn't tell them during my presentation. ;D
On Friday I went to MOPs again, and was with the 2 year olds. Then several of us girls gathered at Millie's castle before going shopping. Really. Millie lives in a HUGE house which looks like a castle. O_O And her host family Homeschools! They're Homeschooled in a castle! Ahh, I'll have to get a picture of it. Anyway, then on Saturday we had a surprise birthday party for Clara. And that pretty much sums up week 6. ;D
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