The tension was mounting. By Thursday morning, the students come to realization that tonight is the big night…tonight they take their weekly test. Having a strong desire to do well, they vanish into their rooms and pour over their books. Once in a while, one of them will appear to ask us how to pronounce a certain word, and then the silence reigns again. About 7:00 p.m., the students assemble at the table in the living room, giggling expectantly…will the test be hard today, or will it be easy? Can they remember all the bible verses with the references??? As I tell them to close their books and put them away, determined looks wash each face. They are now ready.

Last week was Elani’s first test night, and she did not know what to expect from it. She had envisioned being left alone to study Karen at her own leisure, while the students sweated over their tests, but it was not to be. Travis had asked me earlier to write a special test for Elani, and we would surprise her. If she is going to be a missionary, she has to be ready for anything, right? So, after handing out tests to each student, I hand one to Elani also. She got a startled look on her face, and then bent studiously over her work.

I am going to copy her test here for you, so that you can help me decide if she passed or not!

Elani TEST

1. Please write a poem about triangles.

Some triangles don’t think it fair

That they have not cool shapes like squares

They don’t realize, and fail to see

That a three point shape is a good thing to be.

(this part was decorated with pictures of happy triangles)

2. Please explain the theory of relativity.

As a missionary adapts to a new culture, they experience the theory of relativity. Every thing you thought you knew is only relative to the other country and you need new skills, language, and culture relative to the new country. Your satisfaction is relative to how much you accept the new ways relative to your new culture. For an adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered, while an inconvenience is merely an adventure wrongly considered. Thus, E=mc2 is the equation of the theory of relativity.

E=energy and happiness of missionary

M=mistakes learned from

C=constant of effort

3. Please write the Karen alphabet.

(I cannot show you what she wrote since my computer will not write Karen!)

By the time I had finished grading her paper, I was laughing pretty hard, and Travis was in hysterics. This was not the response we were expecting!

The other students finished their tests also, each one of them had as their last problem, “ask Travis to pass the popcorn”. So, as each one finished, they gleefully accepted popcorn from Travis! Then the fun begins. We munch on popcorn,( really good kettle popcorn that we find at an evening market that they only have on Thursdays.) Then, we talk in English. There is much laughter and confusion, but everyone enjoys it a immensely. This has become a tradition at our school. Hard work, and then popcorn! Being a missionary is never boring!