Last Group Shot

Here we are at the end of all things…

Yep, the first English for Missions school has come to a close for this year.

I smile when I think of all that has happened and how God was faithful in every moment that I needed him. It was a huge growing time for me and I was certainly stretched in many areas.

I have learned how to better communicate with my students.

I learned that teaching Slavic students is completely different than teaching North American students.

I always considered myself to be somewhat flexible, but I learned to be really flexible in this time.

I learned simple and complex things, as simple and silly as learning to have be more conversational when giving grades to as complex and difficult as dealing with students who do not want to do something.

I have gained a further understanding of Slavic culture.

I have grown in interpersonal relationships and leadership.

I started the school with a simple bag of tools, but I feel like I’m leaving with a full tool box.

The students have of course gained many things besides English as well. They have also gained an understanding of North American people. They are leaving with not just English, but with a broader scope of missions and Western-thinking. To see an academic list of what the students are leaving with or to see picture from graduation, go to the school blog here.  There are so many different levels of learning that go on in a classroom.

It was a great year, really, I think I can say that. Even though it was super difficult sometimes and I cried a few times, the school was a success. God was with us every step of the way. His plan was laid out and came to pass. I am so blessed to be part of it. I can’t wait until January 2013, when the next school will start!

My amazing staff and I

Just for fun

Just wanted to share about two English students that we feared may not return to the school after holidays.

One student, Sveta, returned to her home in Belarus and was told at the border that she did not have the right paperwork and that she would not be allowed to come back into Ukraine. She had not had problems before and has frequently crossed the border between Belarus and Ukraine. The officer was nice and told her that when she tried to return to call him (he gave her his number) and he would make sure that she got through.

Sounds so nice right?

Well she knew better, she asked him how much that would cost. He said “Oh don’t you worry, not much.” Hmmm, right. Bribes are incredibly common in just about any part of Ukraine.

Another student, Ruslan, went home to Moldova. He has had multiple problems before so it was no surprise that he was stopped at the border and actually had to get off the bus to talk things over with the border guards. He was told a similar story; not the right papers, need some stamp here, pay some fine, bla bla bla. He was told he would be deported if he returned without the right papers and stamps. He had to wait until another bus came through the border in order to get home.

I met with both students over skype to hear their stories and gain some understanding. We prayed and asked God to make a way.  We all believed that they would get through since God had already called them to the school.

Two days before the school started, I got an email from Sveta in Belarus saying that she made it back and was in Kiev! They did not even ask her any questions!

I sent Ruslan a message asking what he was planning on doing. He replied saying that he was leaving the next day. Later I got a call from a mutual friend who was driving Ruslan back saying that they had been stopped again and that we should pray. Ten minutes later, he called back saying that he had been deported.

Yep, then he laughed and said “Gotcha, they let him through.” Praise the Lord!

Our whole class made it back from their holiday break!

Just in time for Christmas… a blog on Thanksgiving. Yeah!

This year was similar to last year, the whole base came together to eat, and eat, and eat, and talk, and eat. It is always great to see everyone. We had half a day of class then spent the rest of the time preparing and cleaning.

For the food, yummy mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, stuffing, gravy, and for the meat we had goose. Goose is basically all dark meat, very fatty, not bad though. Doesn’t compare to turkey of course.

There I am, taking my food seriously.

Like last year, I gave a little speech on the history of Thanksgiving day and how Americans celebrate it. Many people have never celebrated Thanksgiving day. Many countries do not have this holiday, but they may have a sort of harvest festival.

The highlight of the evening was my advanced group giving their speech on Thanksfulness. We had been doing a study on famous speeches and for their final project they had to write a speech on Thankfulness. It was great! They are so creative. To see the full written speech, go to the EFM blog!

"My lovely people..."

I ended the night skyping with my family and wishing my mom a happy birthday. It was a full day!

The joys of community living... skyping in the laundry room!

Finally, the long awaited, blog has arrived!! The English for Missions blog is here!

TERNOPIL EFM BLOG

Every Monday, one student is assigned the task of writing a post for the blog. Students can write about anything, there are no restrictions on the topic. The options are endless!

By Friday, every student needs to comment on the blog.You too can comment and leave encouraging notes and bits of inspiration. The students will love it!

The Terrific Teachers will also be writing posts about funny moments in class and what we are doing. Don’t forget to leave comments for us!

First Class

For another glimpse, into the classroom watch EFM Students hard at work to see students using English and discovering who they are in Christ!

This video is for all the different English ministries that happen here at the base in Ternopil. We made it for the YWAM Ukraine conference in Lutsk a couple weeks ago. I’m just now getting around to posting it…