Passing by

Hey, so last Friday was our last ESL class. It feels good to be done, but at the same time, I really wished we could still meet twice a week for … I don’t know what for but just to continue to build our relationships. I didn’t teach for money, I saw it as a challenge, a god experience for me as an ESL teacher-to-be, but the more classes I taught, the more I felt compelled to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. My first aim was to tell them how God loved them. Our last class went fine, but nothing very surprising happened. We had a normal class, then the break. They brought all kinds of goodies to eat and they gave me a thank you card and a little gift. Then we had little time left so I gave them certificates and a present from the church. The church (where we met for the lessons) prepared a bunch of little packages for my students. Gospel tracks and small books in Arabic. The ladies were SO thrilled simply because it was in Arabic. They seemed very happy and kept thanking me. At the end, the “more religious” lady came to me and gave me a book. It’s called “The Qur’an, the Bible and Science”. I really wonder what I’ll find when I’ll read it.

Little things:

- Before class started and I was alone with the Catholic lady, she told me that she didn’t like to talk about religious things, especially with the other ladies in our class, because som were more “fanatics” than others. She seemed to look down on them because they were “ignorant” about Jesus and didn’t seem to realize how important it was for them to know Him. She tod me that certain ladies didn’t like that we talked about Jesus at break time last class.

- I left a little later and usually I would take the bus and then the metro with some of my students. So they were already gone when I waited for the bus. One of my students was actually waiting for her husband to pick her up and when he came by, they gave me a ride to the metro station. The man was really nice. Anyways, when I got into the metro, the student I usually sit with was there! She had gone with some others to buy something and so the timing was just perfect since I was there later than usual. So we chatted about the books and gospel tracks she got, she told me how the Jews had altered and changed the Torah and the importance of faith. I could not agree with everything she said, I simply told her I belived God was great enough to preserve His Word through the ages, but eh, she obviously needs more than that to believe it. She told me that in times of trouble it’s good to have faith to hang on to. I warned her, telling her that I could have faith in many a thing but these things could be powerless to help me. The object of our faith is very important. She agreed. I really hope she’s going to think about it.

So, my journey with the ESL ladies ends here. I hope they’ll learn more about Jesus, the Son of God.

the Good News

When I first started teaching ESL I prayed that I’d be a good teacher and that the ladies would be good learners. But as the weeks went by I found myself praying almost and only for God to give me opportunities to tell them about Jesus. If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve noticed that I’ve had some open doors and some interesting discussions. But tonight was nothing in comparison with the other nights.

We had our second last lesson today and yesterday I was wondering how I would be able to tell them plainly and fully, the Good News of Jesus Christ. I thought I could tell them my testimony on the last class and was trying to find how I could tell it in such a way that would reach to them. I’d be talking to a little bunch of Muslim ladies from 35-60 years old you see.

At break time tonight I brought the coffee upstairs where the ladies started chatting and after telling them again that I disliked coffee, I walked toward the classroom. A lady, that I consider to be more like the “leader” of the group made a few steps after me as she asked, “You Evangelists, are you Protestants?” I just thought to myself “Hmm where is this coming from? We were just talking about coffee!” So I turned and we started to talk. Well, not just her and me, the whole group were waiting for a response. There is actually one lady who is from the Middle East but is a Catholic, so as we talked, she explained to the people that the only difference between Catholics and Evangelicals was their beliefs about Mary. Ok… She then said, “Right Gabriella?” (lots of them call me Gabriella). Instead of comparing Catholic and Evangelical beliefs, I simply told them what I believed.

Starting with our only foundation, I told them that we believed in the Old and New Testaments. I explained that all the prophets pointed to a coming Messiah that would suffer and be rejected by the people, who would die for the sins of the world. Then I told them why God was sending a Messiah, because we were in deep need of a Savior. I reminded them that God was holy and great and couldn’t be in the presence of sin just as we couldn’t tolerate a dead mice in our house. No matter if the mice was our beloved pet, we wouldn’t bear to keep it in its cage, lying there, dead, rotting and stinking. I told them that God who is just couldn’t simply allow us into His presence as long as we remained stained by sin. I explained how doing good deeds, praying, reading the Bible and etc. could not make us right with God, could not purify us. Like putting perfume on the dead mice, it wouldn’t help. We are helpless sinners in need of a holy Savior and that’s why God sent Himself, His Son, on the earth, and became a little baby, Jesus. I told the ladies that Jesus was more than prophet. He was God Himself. He died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose again on the third day. Jesus had satisfied God’s justice by dying on the cross for us. The Messiah had come. I ended by saying that now God desired all people to come to Him as helpless sinners, knowing they couldn’t do anything to earn His favor and trust in the only work of Jesus Christ on the cross to be saved from sin and find eternal life with God.

They all listened very quietly. Depending on what I said, some looked very interested, or agreeing, or understanding, or uncomfortable or just there. The break was over now. I brought the milk downstairs and couldn’t believe that God had opened to me such a great door. I praise Him. I praise Him.

Why oh Why

I taught ESL today.

One of my students arrived quite early so it gave us the opportunity to chat a little bit. To me, she appears to be the most “religious” one. Simply by the way she dresses and the way she talks about God, calling Him “Le Dieu” (The God). I asked her what she does during the week and it led us to a conversation about the Koran. She took a little booklet that contained portions of the Koran and she started to explain to me how she was trying to memorize the entire Koran. We kept talking about the different stories in her little booklet. Obviously, I couldn’t read anything since it was in Arabic, but she told me a few stories about Moses that I found interesting but that was it. Stories that I had never heard before. Some other stories were found in the Bible though. All the “new” stories she told me about Moses sounded like they could be found in a religious book, but really, the God who led Moses here and there and did this and that in the stories, did not remind me of the God of the Bible. So anyways, we had good little conversations about the Koran and my student seemed to be really happy to explain everything to me. I was asking questions and such, but really THE question I wanted to ask her what the following: “Those are interesting sroties but how do you know they’re true?” I’m sure she has an answer, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be an answer for me.

After class when I got into the metro, one of my students happened to sit in the same wagon as me. We usually take the bus together, but it was the first time I saw a student in the metro. So I changed places and sat beside her. We talked for the whole time until she had to get out. She’s the one that’s been on my heart for a while now. And when she left I told God, “Why, oh Why!” Why do I love these ladies so much, why do I want them to know that their Creator loves them so much? Why do I keep having windows open here and there to talk one-on-one with this one lady who seems to be opened to me? Doesn’t God see that there’s so little time left until the classes are over? Doesn’t God see that I don’t know how nor when to speak about Him to them? I’m tired of nodding and keeping my questions and comments to myself. The “religious” lady asked me today “You won’t forget us eh….?” when we talked about our last classes. I told her I could not forget them. Why do they want me to remember them? Why oh why.

Funny fact: At break, we had no coffee ready (ooops) so I took out all the different kinds of juices I found in the fridge. I even took the grape juice out. Well, I think it was like concentrated or something, it wasn’t good at all. BUT some of the ladies took some. Everybody knows that if you find grape juice in a church’s fridge, this juice is used for taking the communion. So some of these ladies will have stood in a baptistery and would have drank grape juice used for communion. Funny funny! Well, we all know that standing in a baptistery or drinking from the church grape juice won’t make you into a Christian or make you any different, but I think it’s funny to think about it.

the BAPTISTERY

To be honest I had no clue what was the translation for “baptistère” in English. Viva Interneta. Anyways I found myself in a baptistery today. I mean, literally.

I taught English this afternoon and it was pretty warm on the second floor of the church. So I said to the ladies that the church should have a swimming pool somewhere outside. Then I told them as a joke, that we could use the baptistery. I am so funny you see… So they asked me if they could check it out (not for swimming of course). At the break we went across the hallway and I opened the door marked “Private”. We found ourselves into a narrow but pretty wide room. In the middle was the baptistery. They were pretty impressed. I told them it was not a “holy” place or anything like that and I went down the stairs explaining to them about how they filled it and etc. A lady realized that they actually used tap water, so she said, “So they bless the water after it’s filled?” I told them that the water was not blessed and pointed out that in the Bible, people got baptized in lakes, rivers or anywhere they found water and the water was obviously not “blessed” itself or by anyone. I told them that there was nothing magic with baptism. That it was simply a symbol of the old life without Christ being “buried” and then the new life with Christ, that it was a public demonstration of one’s desire to follow Christ. The water did not save or purify from anything. They asked me how they did baptism with babies. I explained to them that we believed that the decision to follow Christ had to be taken by the person herself, a baby cannot make that kind of decision, it had to come from the heart. A lady asked me how they actually baptise, she thought that people simply had to walk from one side of the baptistery to the other. So I explained, they were really interested.

At the end, we were all standing in the empty baptistery. I thought that it was an interesting picture. It’s break time from learning English, the ESOL teacher and her Muslim students are standing in an empty baptistery, discussing about baptism according to the Bible.

At the end, ladies said stuff like:

1. Every religion brings good things to people.

2. I think that we would have all killed ourselves without religions.

3. Faith is important. It gives you something to hang on when you have nothing else.

What did I reply? Hmmm. Nothing, I simply smiled and nodded. I never have much imagination you see so I didn’t know what was proper for me to say. But obviously, all these statements are altogether wrong or in need to be more detailed. Many religions bring good things to people, otherwise, they wouldn’t follow any. But these good things are good things according to this world and usually won’t pass through God’s refining fire. Now I don’t know what the lady meant by statement number two. Although… many religions and sects have killed their members (literally) and all of them kill them spiritually. So, I don’t know. Number three… it’s true. But it really depend on something: what is it or who is it that you put your faith in? What’s the object of your faith. Because if it’s in the wrong thing or person, then your faith is totally useless since that thing or person has no power.

So anyways. I thank God for the opportunity to speak about baptism, IN the baptisery to Muslim ladies.

There’s a sort of lighting that I don’t like. Like the one in the room right now.

There’s a lot on my mind right now. I shut the door of the church building tonight after teaching ESL and I looked up to where people wait for the bus and recognized some ladies standing there with their heads covered and wearing thick clothes as if it was late november. So I got into the bus with some of the ladies I teach ESL to. One of them turned to me and told how she enjoyed our classes because she felt relaxed and it was good for her to get out and do stuff with people. She told me she was having some trouble with a divorce that had just came as a big “surprise” into her life. She’s kinda young too, so it sadened me. Then she told me she lives in a 1 1/2 and doesn’t work, she told me how sometimes she feels alone (those are my words). I was really sad to hear that.

What makes me even more sad is that I have hope that she has no idea of, but I can’t use the Bible in class anymore. I don’t know how to tell her, tell them that there is hope, not in this life, not in people, but in Jesus. I feel like I’d like to be more than a mere teacher for these ladies. When I was at university this years, I often felt like, “Hey, I like this teacher, I wish we’d be friends.” I just like people sometimes. And I feel that I’m doing the same thing with my students, I’m just being a nice teacher. But I wonder if some students would like to be friends with me. Not like tight or whatever, but just be there to share their ups and downs. That’s just something I feel strongly about. I see most of them as lost sheep in need of someone to listen and encourage them.

Why do I care so much about these ladies that are so different from me? I hate this expression, butit is true right now: I can’t help it.

Stop It!

Hi there.

So I just came from my Friday ESL teaching, well, it’s more like ESOL I guess but anyways. I was disturbed for the whole two hour because of something very simple that you may think nothing of, but I would appreaciate your prayers and comments about it.

You know how that I give passages of the Bible to the ladies (in their notes) to read, that way they learn about Jesus and they practice their pronunciation. The ladies are Muslims. Well today, it felt very strange but they all seem of the same accord to tell me what they thought. Before the class started, a lady asked me if I could find other texts for them to read, and most of the ladies nodded and agreed with her. They said that the texts are “too deep” and they “can’t relate”. The texts they’d read so far were some parts of the Beatitudes, a parable of Jesus, Paul on love ( Love is…. love is…), and the story of Jesus offering living water to a woman. I told them that I would think about it. A few minuutes later, I handed the text of the day for us to read and a lady said, “Oh, Jesus again…” (negative tone here). She then went on about it and said she’d like for me to find different texts than biblical ones (she was not aware of the previous discussion we had). And everybody again agreed.

What am I to do, please tell me. You’ve read my previous posts and you know that for me, it’s just important to put Christ first, I as so glad they could learn about Jesus, little by little. I seriously believe that the real problem is not that the texts are too deep, but is that it is the Bible, we talk about Jesus and they don’t like i so much (it was obvious by the lady’s comment, “Oh Jesus again….”. I feel that if I keep on using the Word, they’ll bcome cold and closed toward me and the Gospel. I would literaly be going against their will if I’d put another “religious” text in their notes on Tusday. But I am the teacher, I choose the material. I don’t want o break the relationship we have already, I’m scared that they would not be open to hear the Gospel.

What am I to do? What should I make them read?

I’d appreciate your prayers and comments by Tuesday afternoon. Thank you.

Me? Making waves?

When I teach, I like to keep a little piece of paper on my semi-desk. I wrote the words that a friend sent me at the beginning of my semi-teaching job. Here are the words:

I do pray that the Lord will use you in that setting and that these ladies will be faced with a choice.

“Faced with a choice”? Am I not supposed to teach English? These people pay to learn English, not to be preached at, not to be shown love. For sure they’d take the love and the care the teacher will give, but that comes naturally and lots of people give love and care easily. But sharing Jesus? Preparing these students, these ladies to be faced with a choice about trusting Jesus or not? It sounds a bit odd. I’m called a “teacher” not a “missionary”. I’m not in a jungle somewhere, this is Montréal!

Aren’t we all called to make Christ and His Gospel the priority of our lives? No matter the title we’re given by our superiors on earth, our God, our Father has given us a title, we’re His ambasadors, called to make Him known for who He truly is, called to show in Jesus the way to the Father, we’re peacemakers.

It’s not in our job-description as students, cashiers, lawyers, secretaries and so on, to share the Gospel, but that should still be our number one priority. I’m realizing this can cause some of us to lose face, reputation, money, time and more. But really, tell me, what is more important than the cause of Christ and the Kingdom of God. We lose contact with this reality so easily, so quickly. So yeah, somehow, we’re called to make waves. Sometimes there’s no lake or water to make waves, it really seems out-of-place. But still, it is our joy and privilege.

Makin’ waves?