CLA Practicum

So, there is a very secretive class we have here at MTC called “CLA Practicum”, in which we are taught the secret formula to evangelize the unreached….

I cannot divulge details...

…ok, not really, but there is a certain level of ambiguity that we are supposed to maintain when it comes to talking about this class, so sorry if it’s not as detailed as you would like.

Basically, this class is a scenario in which staff here go to great lengths to make an authentic-as-possible tribal village (complete with makeup, huts, sound effects, the works). We get to practice all of the things we’ve been learning the past couple semesters, like language learning and teamwork and how to recover when someone who shall remain nameless accidently suggests to a woman that she seduces her son… yikes!

How do you recover from that??

All in all, it was one of the coolest classes I think we’ve had yet. It really solidified in my mind how all these things work, and actually doing this stuff is a lot more helpful (for me at least) than learning about it in a classroom. Don’t get me wrong, it was super-uncomfortable on numerous occasions, and really disheartening more than once, but I came out of it so excited to do it all for real.

Oh, and the reason for all the secrecy is to not spoil it for anyone else who may conceivably go through the course themselves (or talk to someone who will). It doesn’t help much if you don’t get to learn how to deal with things yourself!

P.S. a HUGE thank you to all of the staff members here who put HOURS into studying and so much effort and time into making this so realistic for us. It really was quite incredible. Thank you also for making it so awkward for us sometimes- I’d rather mess things up terribly now than later 🙂

                                          

Our language helper!

(Nevermind the huge drool spot on my shoulder)