A Small World

By Bonnie Barber, Community of Christ

One of the precious rewards that comes out of the English classes is creating relationships with the wonderfully diverse student population. Pulling the students into the fellowship activities of our church gives us opportunities to learn about their culture and traditions and they about ours. One of our oldest Christmas traditions in the United States is Christmas caroling. Our English students are invited to join our church group when we carol in the church's Washington, DC, neighborhood. In preparation, we share links to simple YouTube videos with lyrics and music so they can practice. We laugh together because their favorite songs are "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Deck the Halls" where they can easily join in singing "Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la."

When COVID hit, our classes moved online and students from all over the United States joined us. Even though we couldn't physically go Christmas caroling, we continued to introduce the students to the tradition through the YouTube videos and pictures. During one class, as I explained our going door to door, carrying candles and singing Christmas songs, one of the students excitedly told us that she had gone Christmas caroling before, and she pulled up a couple of pictures on her phone. As I looked at her pictures, I was surprised to see our church neighbors' porches and our eclectic collection of Christmas hats. This young woman had caroled with our church group two years before, having been invited as a guest of one of our students. She had moved to California, and she found our online classes during COVID, never realizing she had once visited with us. 

This young woman is now in her home country of Colombia, and she signs on to our Zoom classes occasionally to keep in touch. The relationships we establish know no boundaries. It can be a small world. 

The Joys of ESL Ministry

What do ESL volunteers like most about participating in ESL ministry? Here are some of the joys mentioned by ESLIM's board members.

• Getting to develop relationships with the students
• It changes people’s lives--both the students and myself.
• Meeting people from all over the world (#1) and wonderful volunteers (#2)
• We are truly changing lives, teaching students to fish with the new language skills.
• What I like the most about participating in ESL ministry is the connection with people. Some relationships have lasted for decades now.
• I love meeting people from all over the world who really value our help.
• It's a hands-on way to directly and positively affect our neighbors' lives. I also like learning about our students' countries and cultures.
• ESL programs help newcomers (not just immigrants, in our case) get familiar and comfortable with life in the United States.

ESLIM Community Group Set to Launch in January 2025

ESLIM's volunteer teachers, program coordinators, and board members can ask questions, post ideas, and share resources such as class activities and lesson plans in the ESLIM Community Group starting in January 2025. Also available is a subgroup for coordinators and board members who would like to send messages and share files. We are excited about this new opportunity to bring together ESLIM’s best resource: its people!

Program coordinators at ESLIM's member churches will provide sign-up instructions to their volunteers in January. Initially, the two main activities will be a discussion group and a space to upload files.

Thank you to the ESL team at Grace United Methodist Church for suggesting this endeavor. For more information, please send an email to office@eslim.org.