This new year started out with new adventures, new challenges and a new outlook on life in missions. On January 5th I headed back to my beloved Brazil. I was so happy to return to a country, language and people I love. But everything was different this time because I was going to teach English. Our little teaching team, made up of American and Brazilian volunteers, taught for two weeks at UniEvangélica, a Christian university in Anápolis. We taught a second two week course in Brasília at ALEM, the training center where I recorded the Jesus Film with the gypsies last summer. I was in charge of the “history” class at both locations. My goal was to get the students talking about their own personal histories. We created family trees and drew timelines of our lives; we talked about life before and after we knew God and wrote out our plans for the future. It was a perfect fit for me because I was able to help the students be creative and use English in real life situations.
In between the two week course in Anápolis and the two week course in Brasília, I had a week of free time. So I took the opportunity to go visit two dear Chilean friends, who were students in our Orlando English exchange program last fall, with my dear American friend/co-teacher. They showed us all around their beautiful country, introduced us to the best foods in Chile and overwhelmed us with love and hospitality. There’s nothing like visiting a new country and experiencing a new culture, especially with local friends!
Teaching English was at first very intimidating, something I never imagined I would or could do. But once I saw how determined and excited the students were, I couldn’t help but feel the same way. By the end of the course they were able to speak freely in front of a crowd, pray, write poetry and share stories from their lives. Among the more that 60 people we taught were several current and future Bible translators. For them, knowing English is important due to the number of theological materials written in English and the huge international missionary population which uses English to communicate. I loved getting to know all the students and being able to give them something useful for their lives. They were an inspiration to me, and their accomplishments had me bursting with pride! Now that I know how fun and rewarding teaching English is, I can definitely see myself being more involved in this type of ministry in the years to come.
In my last newsletter, I mentioned the possibility of serving for a few months in Angola this Spring. That plan was recently postponed, then cancelled. But with my willingness and availability to serve, I believe this year will bring many new opportunities. It got off to a good start! Please continue to pray for God’s provision and direction in my life. Thanks for your support and encouragement!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
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