During the volunteer dinner on 5/16/01, Jacque shared about her experience being a volunteer teacher at Federal Detention Center. Her love for the inmates and her encouraging words indeed reflect how the other teachers feel. Thank you, teachers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1. What if there was a group of people who saw a need and didn't turn away?
2. What if they were faithful, available, and teachable?
3. What if they gave all they had to give?

1 Corn. 2:1,3 (paraphrased) We do not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as we proclaim to our students the testimony about God.  We come in weakness, fear, and with much trembling.

We come to teach English because we feel God has called us.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we try to live our lives in obedience to Him.

When the notice was posted that there was a need for ESL teachers, I found myself responding yet realizing I didn't have the training.  I had sensed a need and desire for this training several years ago but family and time pressures kept me from making the commitment.   Now, I had a reason to take the training.  In Jan., I enrolled in the intensive ESL certification program.

As ESL teachers, we have a love for our students of another race, culture, and certainly different life situation than ours that doesn't come from us but from God.

Our students are a delight and blessing.  They are mannerly, grateful, fun and enthusiastic learners.

I teach once a month and write the lessons for the level 1 class for the other 3 weeks.  I spend a lot of time trying to make the lessons interesting and appropriate for our students.  Most ESL materials do not apply to our students.

English is a challenge to teach.  Where there is no egg in eggplant, no ham in hamburger, no meat in sweet meats, sweet bread isn't sweet and is meat, we fill out a form by filling it in, a house burns down while it burns up, a teacher taught but a preacher doesn't praought, a slim chance and a fat chance are the same, we have mouse and mice, goose and geese, but not moose and meese, we pray for wisdom and patience.

Across the street or around the world, the message is still the same, to share the truth in Jesus' name.  That is the heartbeat of our mission. 

What if there was a group of people who saw a need and didn't turn away?  What if they were faithful, available, and teachable?  What if they gave all they had?  That could change someone's world.

Thank you FDC and students for allowing us to fulfill our God-given calling by teaching English here.  We consider it a real privilege.