Each morning one of the students in our language school leads a devotional.  These are done in French, and is a way to encourage each other as we study French and also to practice speaking and understanding the language.  There are many students who have been here for almost a year already, and they were initially the ones leading the devotions.  Now the classes who have recently arrived are beginning to lead them.  Last week, it was Julie's turn.  She gave the devotion in front of the entire school, in French.  

In the video, she tells a story about an old pair of Liam's shoes that we brought with us, but which were beginning to wear out.  She bought him a nice pair of new red shoes, but the problem is, they have laces, and Liam had not yet learned how to tie his shoes.  While he wanted the new shoes, he didn't think he could learn this new skill and was more comfortable holding on to his old shoes, even though they were too small, had holes in them, and just weren't working properly anymore. She sat down with him and practiced over and over until finally he figured it out.  It was frustrating at first, but with perseverance now he can tie his own shoes!  

She related this experience to learning French, and how even though we want to speak this new language, it is difficult, and often times it is just easier and more comfortable to revert to speaking English.  But there are "new red shoes" waiting for us to wear if we have the persistence to learn how to tie them.