Reaching Through Teaching

English Camps

“Chicken,” the teacher called out as she held up a picture of that familiar bird.
The group of LaHu children said in unison, “kitchen.”
“No,” she said with a smile. “Try again. Chicken.”
“Kickin,” they said. But soon they had it.
“Now,” Susan said. “Let’s walk like a chicken.” She led the group around the room flapping, pecking, and “bock-bocking” like chickens.

The kids had a blast, but learned both vocabulary and some new grammar as they “walked like” (a new phrase) a chicken, a robot, an old man, etc. It was English camp at the mission and nearly 50 children and helpers were enthusiastically participating.

Excited screams and waves of laughter floated through the window as other children played messy and boisterous games outside. Another group of children sat on the floor, glueing decorations and stickers onto their craft project with intense concentration. Soon they would switch places until all had a chance to do each activity. Later they would come together to hear a Bible story in English, translated into LaHu. And, of course, they would have refreshments. It was one of the English camps we offer to children whenever possible during their school break times.

Often, we have taken the camps to the villages, but this time the villages came to us. While the parents were in our Bible conference, the children came to our camp, which is very similar to Vacation Bible School in America, only with English given a special emphasis.

English camp is a great way to make a special memory for the kids while teaching them some English skills. More than that, it provides an open door to share the Gospel with the children. And it’s yet another way of showing Jesus’ love in a practical and visible way.

English Classes

The main goal of our mission is to share the Gospel. Our English classes have opened many doors that made it possible to reach out with the precious truths of Jesus. Friendships have been made and students have visited the church to hear more. And while the Thai government, which is Buddhist, is not impressed with preachers gaining Bible knowledge or people coming to know the One True God, they are impressed by the help we give the community.

Our local village is proud that they have their own native English-speaker willing to give free lessons. At times we have had up to 40 children coming for English class. More recently, we have six or so joining in with our 18 children in our after-school and Saturday lessons. Adults, teens, preschoolers, and every age in-between have come to learn English over the years. Some became fluent, others only learned some basic communication skills. Still others just had a good time. But Susan was happy to teach them all.

Each year we have a class Susan calls “Intensive English.” It involves three hours a day, five days a week, for three weeks. In that time, the students learn the alphabet and most come out able to read on a first-grade level. They also learn hundreds of vocabulary words and some basic speaking skills. Those living with us and others from the community continue on in daily after-school English classes.

Saturday is our big English day. We have three classes – the grade school kids at 9, the older beginners at 10 and the advanced group at 11. We love them all and are happy to serve by meeting this special need.

Higher Education

Most of our students are far behind their peers in education because they didn’t have educational opportunities available to them in the villages. We have had a few, though, that showed exceptional ability. We want to give them every opportunity to reach their potential. We send them to a local “college” which is like a cross between a community college and a Vo-Tech or trade school. It’s possible to get a high school diploma there or, if taking advanced classes, an associate’s degree.

If they do well, we send them on to a university in Chiang Mai. The word “college” only refers to the community college while “university” is always a place where a student can receive a bachelor’s, master’s, or even a doctorate degree. A university student would correct you if you called him a “college student.”

So far, we have had two students receive bachelor’s degrees. Wichai is one of them. He has a degree in English. He also attended a Bible Institute at the same time, earning a BA in Bible. Those degrees have been a huge help to him – and us – as they have enabled him to take on roles of leadership that require a degree by Thai law.

We have two students now studying in Chiang Mai. Jay has been a part of our home since he was 13 years old. He is in his senior year, studying accounting. Pat, who has been with us for four years, earned his two-year degree at the local college and is now working toward his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

The cost of higher education here is a small fraction of tuition prices in the United States, so we are able to send them without taking funds from other programs. They stay in rooms at our Chiang Mai office and cook there, so they have no room and board expenses. We feel that all these young men have been a good investment!

Moses and Mali are continuing their education through a Thai distance-learning program. It takes discipline and effort to keep up with it, as much of the work must be done independently, but they hope to have their BA degrees within a couple of years.