As we were undergoing training to become ESL teachers, we attended our supervisor’s ESL class for a couple weeks, and practiced our teaching skills with his students.
One of the ladies there was a Christian herself (we’ll call her Bianca), but with a husband (also taking the class) who was not (we’ll call him Bob). She had been attending the class in the hope that he would be exposed to the life, and light, and hope that Jesus brings.
ESL classes generally take the following form:
1 hour – class
15 minutes – chapel time
15-45 minutes (this timing completely depends on the students) – “tea time”, where we discuss in English something from either the class or chapel time, depending on the wishes of the students
Our in-class training completed, we didn’t attend last week’s session. The tea time that week ended up being a really intense and deep discussion of the chapel time… and all in Japanese. Bob just sat back and didn’t really say anything. Bianca, when she glanced at him, thought he’d zoned out. However, when they got home that night he announced that he wanted to “officially become a Christian”!
Imagine the rejoicing in that church, when the following Sunday they were able to celebrate the lives of three people: (1) a new person entering membership, (2) a new person following Jesus in baptism, and (3) a new person inviting Jesus into his life!
We are so thrilled to have been “links in the chain” to Bob’s new life, and are happy to hear that he has started praying to God and reading his Bible regularly. He has announced that he wants to “get baptized sometime in the future”. Please pray for continued growth and endurance in a culture that emphasizes homogeneity.
