Monday, March 16, 2009

English Club

When I first arrived here in Portugal, Miriam asked if I could help with her English club and I gladly agreed. I've come here with the purpose to be a blessing and help in any area where I am needed. Due to this, that, and the other thing, we didn't get started with the club until the first Wednesday in March. Part of Miriam's ministry for some time has been giving free English lessons in her home or at local schools. So all of the children who have come to the club so far can speak a little English; some better than others.

On the first week we had Ana Carolina who is 13 and her brother Marcus who is 10 I think, and Melissa who is also 12 or 13 and her sister Marta who is 8 or so. Miriam previously knew all of them, which was nice because then the only awkwardness was the children and I getting to know each other. Ana Carolina and I talked for some time at the end of the "class" and I discovered that she speaks English very well already, which made the second week a lot easier for both of us.

We only had Ana Carolina and Marcus on the second week, and they had a great time teaching me Portugese while we taught them English! :-) Right now, Miriam is reviewing with them basic words: father and mother, colors, fruits, etc. Last week we only did the English words, but THIS week they taught me the English words as well. So while Marcus learned "top, middle, bottom, left, right, line, column" I learned "cima, meio, baixo, esquerda, direita, linha, coluna". We played tic-tac-toe on the board and I had to play in Portugese while Marcus played in English. It was fun! They are really sweet kids; I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. The whole idea of this is to build relationships with people and ultimately (hopefully) lead them to Christ.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amy that sounds just awesome!!! Befriending them, learning something, teaching something, and ultimately building a relationship that could lead them to Christ! There's no way you miss any of us now....you're having way too much fun!!! We miss you, and hope all is well with you. Can't wait to see you!
Paul, Laura, and Gillian

EJ said...

I am so happy for you..Sounds fun and yet you are learning and teaching. sounds so close to schooling my children...Have a blessed week...
Jonathan, Erica, Mikie, Robert, and Anna..
PS..Kids say thanks for the A...:-)