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MNA ESL Ministries Newsletter
June 2020

             

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         Anybody had a melt down lately?   I’ll be honest; last week I did.  This pandemic isolation has been hard enough but then two of my Zoom ESL Classes got cancelled last week due to power outages caused by lightning storms.  And due to concerns about Covid-19 and possible new outbreaks, we had to make the hard decision to cancel our 2020 ESL Leadership Training, where we train new ESL trainers.  Plus the news of the tragic death of George Floyd which has ignited both justified protest and horrible violent chaos broke my heart.   What’s a person to do?  I cried out to God and He answered me through His Word.  Maybe some of you today, need to hear this too.
 
Where is God?

  1.  God is still in charge.  He’s always been in charge and always will be.  The virus is here only because God is allowing it to be here.  And it will only be here for as long as He allows it.  The chaos in our country was not a surprise to Him.  His will is never thwarted.  God will get us through this but we must seek Him for the answers.
            Proverbs 19:21
                   Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
                   but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
 
  1. God has not left us.  He is still with us every single moment of every single day. 
             Psalm 46:1-3
                   God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ...
 
  1.  Our situation/environment may have changed but our marching orders remain the same.

              Ephesians 2:10    
                       For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good
                       works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

  

Plans for ESL Trainings for the rest of 2020

        MNA ESL has been working hard to equip ESL Ministries to move their ESL Classes onto Zoom.  We have videos on our website, www.pcamna.org/esl-ministries to teach you how to do that.  We even have videos in English and Spanish for your students to watch to know how to participate in Zoom classes.
 
        We have spent the last couple of newsletters suggesting the best ways to move forward this fall with your ESL Classes.  We encourage you to be prepared for both in-person classes and Zoom classes.  You might even have a two-track system this fall offering both formats of classes.  Go to www.pcamna.org/esl-ministries to see these back issues.  And now we are moving forward with how to get new people trained this summer and fall. 
        
       If your church would like to host an ESL Training and your church leadership feels that it could be done in person safely, then please contact me to schedule one.   We should have a few trainers that feel comfortable traveling and training in person.  These would still be in the Friday night and all-day Saturday format.
 
       However, we realize that everything is in flux and people are concerned about being in large groups.  So, we have temporarily decided to offer the full ESL  Training through Zoom starting mid-July.  This is temporary because Zoom trainings will never be as good as in-person trainings.  This is a stop gap measure.  But right now, it is better to do it through Zoom than not do it at all.  We realize that it would be very hard for people to sit through a Zoom Training in the same time schedule as normal (Friday night and all-day Saturday).  So, we are going to break the training down into six 2-hour segments which will be offered over a period of two weeks.  These trainings would still be “hosted” by a particular church.  The MNA ESL Leadership Team is working hard to make the training effective, motivating and fun through Zoom.  Currently we are thinking of limiting each training to 20 people.  You would have the same trainer(s) for the entire training.  If your church would like to host one of these trainings, please contact me.  If you would like to attend one but your church doesn’t want to host one, please let me know and we can hopefully add you to another training.
        MNA ESL firmly believes that ESL Ministry can continue to thrive even in this current Covid-19 situation.  Let’s remember that the purpose of ESL Ministry is not to teach English.  The purpose of ESL Ministry is to intentionally share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both Word and Deed with our students and their families.  So, while the manner that we learn how to teach English may change (for a while) and the format that we use to teach may change ( Zoom), the purpose never changes.  God can and will equip us to reach the nations that He was brought to our doorsteps.  As perplexed as we are in the current environment in America, imagine how much harder it is for most of our students.  MNA ESL is here to help you adjust to these challenging times.

Blessings,
Nancy Booher
MNA ESL Ministries Director
nbooher@pcanet.org
www.pcamna.org/esl-ministries
Upcoming ESL Teacher Training Events for 2020:

MNA ESL Trainings are 12 hours in length and are done in a Friday night and all day Saturday format.
In this training you will learn:
  1. How to start and maintain a fruitful ESL Ministry
  2. How to teach ESL to adult Internationals including:
    1. How to place students in the proper fluency level classroom
    2. How to Lesson Plan using professionally written curriculum
    3. How to introduce new vocabulary & sentences using new vocabulary
    4. How to get the students to generate their own sentences
  3. How to build authentic relationships with your students
  4. How to share the Gospel both inside and outside the ESL Classroom
You do not need to speak a foreign language or be a professional teacher to be a volunteer ESL Teacher.  All you need to do is speak English and love Jesus and we can teach you the rest.  This training is interactive.   During the training you will practice the skills that you are learning,  create  two lesson plans for different fluency levels and come away excited to serve the Lord through ESL Ministry. 
 
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
     410-868-3025nbooher@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 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

 






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