Copy

MNA ESL Ministries Newsletter March 2018
             
View this email in your browser
 

Celebrating Everything Easter Represents

     I was very naïve when I first started working in ESL Ministry.  I was not a world traveler and had not studied other cultures.  I made the “American” mistake of thinking that everyone from everywhere understood our traditions.  And because of this attitude the very first Easter Egg Hunt I hosted for ESL students’ children was almost a disaster.  First I told all of them to bring an Easter basket.  Well,  all of them brought baskets – laundry baskets, beautiful large decorative baskets probably made in their home countries and some scraggly baskets perhaps used as trash bins.  But not a single “Easter” basket.  My next mistake was assuming that the children would understand and enjoy the hunt.  An 8 year old Chinese boy didn’t want to participate.  He thought it was dumb to look for these silly plastic eggs, until a two year old Hispanic girl dropped one she had found and he saw that there was candy in the eggs.  All of a sudden their value increased in his eyes!!  And on top of all that, I didn’t even use the occasion to explain anything at all about Easter and Jesus!!
 
              Years down the road now, I am always excited about the weeks leading up to Easter and the opportunities they afford us to share the Gospel with our students.  And just like at Christmas time, we can use the secular aspects around us to point them to the Gospel.  Did you know that the egg was the symbol of “new life” in Jewish culture in Jesus’ day?  Give every single student a plastic egg filled with candy a couple of weeks before Easter and explain this so that every time they see an Easter Egg at the mall, etc… they will think of new life in Christ.    At the end of the newsletter there are several ideas of ways to share the Gospel at this most special time!!
 
              HE IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!!                                                      
Blessings,
                    Nancy
 
                                                                                                      

Meet the Team
- Holly Lankford, ESL Coordinator at Trinity PCA / MNA ESL Trainer

   

     I am currently the ESL Coordinator at Trinity PCA in Harrisburg, PA. I love serving in the ESL ministry. I recognize that the demographics in my community have changed since we moved here ten years ago and God has provided amazing opportunities for me to love my neighbors by teaching them conversational English. Over the past four years, I have seen our students improve their English speaking skills so that they can hold better jobs, communicate with their doctors and their children’s teachers, pass their citizenship test, obtain their GEDs, and improve their involvement in the community. I also love sharing the gospel with them. Two of our students have professed faith in Jesus, have been baptized, and have become church members. I love co-leading an ESL Bible study each Tuesday morning with a group of ladies (Sisters) from China. And I love getting others involved so they too can experience the joy of serving God through ESL.  There is no break in the summer months, as we offer a Summer ESL Bible study for international students who come to our area to work during the summer months. Last summer, we hosted Dinner and Discussions which provided some ESL but mostly an opportunity to talk about our faith in a non-threatening conversational format. It was a wonderful opportunity to show Christ’s love and welcome these young people to our community.  I am grateful to God for orchestrating these amazing opportunities for the Trinity ESL Team who serve and love so well.

     Tila was a Bhutanese refugee who came to the US from Nepal. She joined our ESL classes one winter and worked tirelessly to improve her spoken English. She was a sweet mother to two young children at the time. She and her husband lived in a one-bedroom apartment with their children. Tila not only attended ESL classes regularly but brought her questions and great enthusiasm. While taking classes, Tila’s young children attended Trinity’s Kids’ Club program. Tila also invited some of her neighbors to ESL. Family finances were sometimes difficult even though her husband was a hard-working man. Tila explored ways she could find employment and decided to begin by studying for and obtaining her GED. She and her husband also became US Citizens around that time. Next, Tila took a six-week course, to prepare her to become a nursing assistant. This was no easy task. Tila worked very hard to learn new vocabulary and memorize information that was all new to her. But she persevered, passed the test, and received her nursing assistant’s certificate. I remember working with Tila as she prepared for her first job interview. We reviewed and rehearsed answers to numerous questions for over an hour. She was offered the job. Tila is one of the most gracious and compassionate students I have had. A few summers ago, we had to say goodbye to her and her family, as they relocated to another state. She continues to work as a nursing assistant and recently, she and her husband became homeowners. Tila’s story is compelling and is one that encourages us as we serve in the ESL Ministry at Trinity.
Practical Ideas

Easter is coming fast – April 1st!!  Here are some ideas of ways to share the Gospel during this wonderful season!!

1. The Jesus Film
     You can show part of the Jesus Film during class time. Just extend your break to 45 minutes long and you will have time to watch from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. You can watch it all together in English with subtitles (some of your students can read English better than they speak it) or if you have enough televisions and DVD players you can show it concurrently in multiple languages.  If your budget allows, it's great to be able to purchase copies in all your students' languages and give one to each student/family.

2. Resurrection Eggs
     Though initially made for children, these are wonderful to use with your students. There are 12 eggs, each a different color, with symbols inside representing events the last week of Christ’s life on earth. A booklet comes with them explaining the significance of the content of each egg. There is a simple English explanation for each egg on www.pcamna.org/esl-ministries under Holiday Ideas.

3. Plastic Easter Eggs
     Did you know that the egg was the symbol of new life in Jewish culture when Jesus walked the earth? Your students will see lots of eggs around Easter. Your church may even hold an Easter Egg Hunt (which I hope you invite your students to). Explain new life in Christ to your students and give them each an egg (filled with candy). The hope is that every time they see an Easter Egg they will now think of Jesus!!
 
     You can add a little more fun and American culture to your presentation by explaining how the Easter Bunny came to fame. 

     “Hundreds of years ago in Germany, people had started to paint beautiful eggs to display on Easter.  Then a very smart Mom came up with the idea of hiding these eggs and having the children hunt for them.   As the children were looking for the eggs outside in the yard, a bunny hopped away.  From then on, Moms would say that the bunny brought and hid the eggs.”

    Lastly, to add a bit more fun to this you can have door prizes of chocolate bunnies and stuffed bunnies.  It’s great to  have 3 sizes of each – a tiny one, a medium one and a large one – and give them away in that order.  Of course keep them under wraps before you give them out.   Everyone from every culture loves winning a 2 foot tall chocolate Easter bunny!!


4.  Jelly Bean Prayer
    You can use Jelly Beans just like a wordless book to tell the story of Jesus.  You can buy small packs of jelly beans that have the prayer printed on the outside of the package at Hobby Lobby or through Oriental Trading.  Or you can just print out the poem and give it with an egg full of jelly beans.  Here is one version of the prayer.  You can find others by googling “Jelly Bean Prayer.”
          Red is for the blood He gave.
          Green is for the grass He made.
          Yellow is for the sun so bright.
          Orange is for the edge of night.
          Black is for the sins we made.
          White is for the grace He gave.
          Purple is for His hour of sorrow.
          Pink is for a new tomorrow.
          And handful of jelly beans,
          Colorful and sweet,
          Is a prayer, a promise,
          A loved one’s treat!

Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Upcoming ESL Teacher Training Events for 2018:
 
  • College Park, MD - Mar 8 & 9
    • At Wallace PCA in College Park, MD.
    • Thursday night and all day Friday just prior to the MNA Mercy Conference
    • This training is just prior to the MNA Mercy Conference.  To register on-line, please go to www.pcamna.org/esl-ministries and click on training events.  For information, contact: Nancy Booher at rbooher@comcast.net
  • Harrisburg, PA - May 18 & 19
    • contact:  Holly Lankford at hollylank@gmail.com
  • Allentown, PA - June 22 & 23
    • contact:  Tami at tamilaughlin@ymail.com

Additionally, if you are interested in starting an English As A Second Language (ESL) Ministry or want to schedule an ESL Training at your church,
Please contact: 
     Nancy Booher
     MNA ESL Ministries DIrector
     410-868-3025, nbooher@pcanet.org
     www.pcamna.org/esl-ministries       
 
Already part of an ESL Ministry?  Here are ways you can help MNA ESL spread the word to others.

Pray with us that God would use MNA ESL to reach the nations God has brought to our doorstep with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Specifically pray for more churches to start ESL Ministries.

And be sure you share your excitement about ESL with your family and friends.

Lastly, we ask that you prayerfully consider participating with us through your financial support. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online.  All contributions go directly toward growing the ESL Ministry and nothing is used for personal support; God has already provided that.  You can also mail contributions, made payable to Mission to North America to:

Mission to North America
PO Box 890233
Charlotte NC 28289-0233
Designate: MNA English As A Second Language (ESL)
MNA ESL Ministries Website
Copyright © 2016 MNA ESL Ministries, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in ESL as a Ministry.
MNA ESL is a Ministry of Mission to North America part of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Our email address is: nbooher@pcanet.org

 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
1957 · 17306 Lassen Forest LN · Humble, TX 77346 · USA

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp