Teaching English has been one of the main ways to do ministry here in Ratchaburi. We go into juvenile detention centers hosting English seminars and go to schools & teach classes to the kids all week long. If I’m being honest, when i heard that this is what we would be doing for a week, i wasn’t that excited. If I’m being really honest, i didn’t see the full meaning and impact it could have. I knew it would help the kids in the future with getting a job and things like that, but that was all i saw.
As we prepared for the week to come, our host, Bronwyn, explained to us the importance of teaching English. As i explained to y’all in my first blog, there is a ministry here in Ratchaburi that we’ve had the privilege to be a part of called Rice Seeds. Bronwyn shared with us the story of one girl who comes every Friday.
I’ll try to make this long story short, but, the girl was 14 at the time & disappeared from her home for 21 days. Her parents tried to find her & track her phone/social media, but there was no activity. The police wouldn’t help them because they weren’t citizens (go read my first blog “Hope in Heaven” to know more about them/the ministry), so Bronwyn & Noiy (our host family) contacted the police & begged that they help, as she was like a daughter to them. They ended up finding her in Bangkok (two hours away). She had met a boy online & traveled by bike to the bus station then taken a bus to Bangkok & had lived with him the whole time. When her parents found out, they were frustrated with her & told her she’d have to marry him now, couldn’t finish school, & had to get a job. Obviously, that’s scary for a 14 year old.
Fast forward to a year later, two weeks ago at Rice Seeds. We did a message on Daniel & the Lion’s Den & how we don’t have to fear because we have Jesus with us. We made the kids draw a picture of their fear & draw themselves beside it. After, we had them draw Jesus standing next to them. This girl drew a picture explaining how her biggest fear was not finishing school. She knew what it would look like for her if she didn’t. She knew the types of “jobs” she would have to resort to & the life she would live (prostitution is the main thing girls turn to here in Thailand).
After hearing her story from Bronwyn & hearing what her biggest fears were, my whole perspective shifted – I saw the bigger picture.
Teaching English has now become one of my favorite ways to do ministry. Not only do we get to teach them a new language that will be helpful in the future, but we are helping prevent them from going into prostitution or sex trafficking. I know it sounds extreme, but it’s real.
Many children in the schools here don’t get encouraged a lot by peers, teachers, or even sometimes family. They feel ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb.’ Not only do we get the chance to teach them English, but we get the chance to remind them of how smart they really are.
The other day, my group got to do a lesson on family/identity. We taught them words like “grandmother/brother/cousin” and “smart/handsome/valuable.” While they were learning these words, we were able to speak truth over them and remind them of who they are. By doing this, i believe it makes them more confident, feel loved, & motivated to stay in school.
The third way God opened up my eyes to why this type of ministry is so important is when we went to one of the public schools here to do an English camp. The first day was 1st-3rd grade and the second day was 4th-6th. We played games and taught classes, each day being there for only 6 hours. On the second day (aka the last), as we were standing there with kids coming in a line to hug us, at least 10 of the 4th-6th graders were balling their eyes out. I was confused at first, then found out they were crying because they didn’t want us to leave. We had been with them for only 6 hours and they were actually crying so hard they were heaving.
This blew my mind. I was happy that they loved us that much, but i was so curious – why are you so sad that we’re leaving? Then it dawned on me. Because they don’t receive this kind of love anywhere else. They’re hungry for love. I could write blog posts all day on just this, but what i learned was that when we get the opportunity to teach English, we’re giving them a love that they’ve never felt before. We get to give them our love, but most importantly, Jesus’ love.
By teaching English, i get to love on His children & tell them about Who loves them the most, i get to remind them of the gifts they have, how smart they are, how beautiful, & how loved & cherished, & with that comes helping the girls stay in school & not fall into prostitution or other things.
So if you can’t tell already, God quickly opened up my eyes to the importance of English ministry. I was only seeing it one way with one goal, & God made me step back and see the big picture – see all that He was doing.
