It has been a few weeks since we were last reminded, but at Faith our mission is to glorify God by spreading the Gospel through preaching, teaching, and living our daily lives. That’s exactly what those involved with our ESL classes are doing.
In August of this year, a small group of volunteers, with the guidance of Diana Soerens, Director of the ESL program at San Pablo Lutheran Church in Aurora, gathered to discuss how Faith could provide a Christian setting in which English language learners could learn to understand, speak, and write English. Their ultimate goal was for the students to feel comfortable in their communities and workplaces, thus improving the quality of life for themselves and their families.
Classes began on September 28 with 9 students. Through the recruiting efforts of Ada Bray, Faith’s Hispanic Evangelist, and the strategic placement of yard signs by Faith’s Pre-Seminary Field Worker, Cruz Guerrero, and others enrollment has increased to 21 students. While many of our students have studied English before, we have several others who are seeking to learn the basics. Our classes are unique in that instruction is offered free of charge, free child care is provided for children of our students, and Faith volunteers donate and serve homemade baked goods and coffee during a short social time when students practice their newly acquired conversational English skills. On November 23, Faith’s Saturday Night Is Potluck (SNIP) organizers invited ESL students and volunteers to join them for a Thanksgiving celebration. Approximately 30 teachers, students, and their families attended. We are thankful for the doors the Lord has opened and will continue to open through this program.
We want to say a special thanks to all the volunteers who make this program happen each week: program director, Ada Bray; Fred Bray; teachers Katie Wiederhoeft, Cheryl Wiemer, India Baughman, Kristen Skinner, and Cruz Guerrero; hosts Diane Drabicki, Sarah Chang, Judy Kraemer, Bea Cholewa, and Amy and Andy Gonzalez; and resource/clerical support, Jan Bersano.