Shining Stars

At today's service [postponed Lessons and Carols], I awarded a Stewardship 'Shining Star' certificate to each person that helped out this session in the 'Play, Pray, Hello USA!' ESOL classes for the Karen community.

The certificates went to the three pastors: John Endler, Ich Duc Nguyen and Gie Dor.

Those who had helped out with the program [in many different ways] were: Victor Agosto, Linda Carrasquillo, Bruce Davidson, Joan Davidson, Amy Endler, George Grisevich, Kari Miller, Norma Sproul and Cheryl Zeiner.

Without the help of the above, the program which provided 243 hours of English instruction would not have been possible. Thanks to everyone!

Certificate Party

Today we held our Certificate Party. Many were in attendance; Pastor Ich and Cheryl Zeiner attended also.

We opened with a prayer by Pastor Ich in Vietnamese, myself in English and Pastor Gie Dor in Karen. Then we all introduced ourselves with the help of a passed box of candy canes.

A crossword activity with Christmas was a lot of fun. Then the Karen community sang a song and presented me with a beautiful jacket which I will wear to church soon.

Certificates of Attendance went to:
Hser Nay Paw
Say Lway
Lay Naw
Day Mu Si
Ner Ri [received a Special Award for Perfect Attendance]
Hser Nay Chris [also received a Special Award for Perfect Attendance]
Gie Dor
Peh Htoo [& received a Special Award for Excellence in Story Writing]
Sha Thaw
Taw Nay Moo
Sha Kier Moo
Say Lay Paw
Htoo K Paw
Po Day
We closed with The Lord's Prayer

Cheryl Zeiner then took over and conducted a meeting concerning:
Workshops for Jobs
Prescription Cards
Opportunity to sell handicraft items in the CBC Crosswinds Store
Listing specific needs of the Karen Community

This was definitely the highlight of my Christmas season! Thank the Lord for the opportunity to work with such wonderful people. Hallelujah!

Music Class today!

Today's class in the 'Pray, Play, Hello USA!' series was taught by Norma Sproul and Joan Davidson. They taught the words in English to three Christmas Carols: 'Silent Night', 'Deck the Halls' and 'Away in a Manger'. They left 'Oh Come All Ye Faithful' for me to teach next week which is our last class of the Fall session.

I visited the class at the end of the session and they were all fully involved. The singing was beautiful. It is a blessing to work with a community so willing and eager to learn the new language.

Thanks to Joan and Norma for their help as Guest Presenters. I hope many more people will get involved in the Winter session that will start in January.

Our Personal Commitments

2010 ‘PRAYERFUL’ PERSONAL COMMITMENT

Today is Pledge Sunday. You have heard from many people about the importance of pledging both your time and money to increase the life of the church and the power of its congregation. I ask you to consider the Time, Talents and Energies booklet. A pledge of assisting the Karen community in their English classes would be most appreciated. Next year, starting in January, we will embark on an improved program of ‘Play, Pray, Hello USA!,’

I would like to thank those of you who have already been involved in the program. Would the following please stand up: Victor Agosto,  Joan and Bruce Davidson, Amy Endler, George Grisevich, Kari Miller, Norma Sproul, and Cheryl Zeiner.

Joan, Bruce and Amy came in to assist with a class.

Cheryl came in to assist with a meeting.

Victor, Cheryl, Amy and Kari taught classes.

George will teach next Saturday.

Norma and Joan will teach two weeks after that.

Eight people have been involved. Next year we can do much better with more people and offer a program that far surpasses anything done in any other church in Hartford. We will meet next January for a presentation about the new program. God bless you all!

guest presenters...

Looks like the every other week guest presenter format is going well.

Amy Endler was the guest presenter today and I will hear about her class tomorrow in church. She was going to work with descriptive words and prepositional phrases. Will post on the details.

Last slot Kari Miller took on the subject of knitting and worked with colors, clothing, body parts and measuring. The class really enjoyed it. Pastor John used a Bible story for his presentation. Cheryl Zeigler and Victor Agosto talked about job skills and preparing for the job market.

George Grisevich will be the next presenter and wants to talk about Hartford and its history; good subject for the newcomers. The last slot for guest presenting will be Joan Davidson. She is scheduled for early December and will work with the words to Christmas music. That's a good idea as she is an alto and mentors some of the Karen young women in the choir.

blognote: The Fall session ends on December 19th with a Certificate Party at 10am. Everyone is welcome to attend.

first double class day...

I am so blessed to be able to work with the Karen community.

Today was the first Saturday of our new double class schedule. The beginners met at 9am. We studied the family and learned about my family tree. This seemed to be very successful. The class was spirited and lively with the beginners feeling at ease without many of the advanced students present. Then at 10am the intermediate/advanced students met. We devoted most of the time to the vocabulary in the first practice test for the DMV. Then we discussed the stories that the students are writing. They were pleased with the reformatted stories and most will continue their writing. The stories are very interesting and I will put them together in a booklet for our last class.

After class I joined the students in eating sticky rice and crispy chicken wings. As I was leaving, the group started their choir practice. What a wonderful day!

blognote: Next week Kari Miller, our Director of Music, will be the guest presenter.

Pastor John's class

Today Pastor John Endler was our guest presenter. He is very familiar with the Karen community so this was a great opportunity to get to know them even better.

Pastor John worked on story telling using the Bible and continued the grammar work on the past tense stressing the differences between the regular and irregular forms. The verbs in English will take many lessons as this is a difficult area for second language learners.

schedule change...

Classes have been going well on Saturdays. We are averaging 18 students. But they feel they want to change the format. Originally the students wanted one class with varying levels. The beginner students now feel the need for a class of their own. So we will offer two classes on Saturday mornings: a 9 o'clock for beginners and a 10 o'clock for advanced learners. The beginning class will focus on oral skills and the advanced class can do more reading and writing. Even though this is a lot more planning on my part, it will better meet the needs of the Karen community. The guest teacher classes will remain at 10. These classes focus on a theme that can be interesting and useful to the entire group.

Benediction Prayer

as we leave this hall today
do not leave the message here
make it clear, take it home
shine the light, keep it bright
the message of Jesus is dear
to our hearts, bless those who
were recognized today, those
absent, those of us who will
take on the struggle, the fight.
Lord, show us the light; amen



blognote: This is the Benediction I will use as Master of Ceremonies at the conclusion of the Membership Recognition Dinner today at Central Baptist Church.

a simple memory...

This is the town of Manaca, Santí Spiritu, Cuba where I bought the 'campesino' shirt I wanted to wear for the Recognition Dinner on Sunday at CBC. It has gotten so cold here it's definitely not anything like Cuba. So maybe I can wear it for the slideshow presentation I plan to do later.

I rode a 1940's steam train from Iznaga to reach the small town of Manaca. The train used to bring workers from Iznaga to work in the sugar cane fields. This simple short-sleeved white shirt made here of local 'linen' with wooden buttons cost 6 CUP [$7.20]. Jokingly I was told it was made of washed rice sack material with lots of starch. It has laundered beautifully and embodies so many of my memories of rural Cuba: pristine, honest and pure.

School Supplies

One of the two stops to donate supplies was a rural school outside of Trinidad de Cuba. It had been raining and mud had overtaken the schoolyard. The children had been sent home but when our bus appeared, they came running back to the schoolhouse. Some even stopped to put on their school uniforms.

They gathered in one classroom and greeted us. We took a tour of the four room schoolhouse and then presented our school supplies to the principal. The children were overjoyed; they sang to us and we sang to them. The school was very clean and neat but lacked most amenities that our schools here take for granted. They did have TVs in each room for beamed-in classes but not for internet activity.



This was a very humbling experience. What a difference my packets of encouragement stickers would make is beyond my comprehension. Others had crayons, rulers, notebooks, storybooks, etc. It was like a big party with lots of gifts.

In spite of the weather and the muddy spare conditions of the school, the children were so happy. This is what we found all over the island and it was not what I had expected. Whether or not we were bearing gifts, we were always greeted as friends and as Americans there was no ill will.

Medical Supplies

The first stop to donate supplies was at Caritas, a hospital/clinic/shelter run by the Daughters of Charity, Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. We met Sister Judy, the sister in charge, and handed over many medical supplies, most of which are practically impossible to attain in Cuba. There were 17 members of our Humanitarian Mission and each brought between 10 to 15 pounds of supplies. The major part of my donation was 10 pounds of Oyster Shell Calcium with Vitamin D. We left them about 200 pounds of supplies.

The mission houses a clinic; one sister is a medical doctor. She will catalog everything, dispense it there and also make it available to the sisters that work outside the clinic. They also feed the indigent and the elderly. The nuns live there and work in the community. We also met 5 'orphans' but I will leave that wonderful story for another blog entry.

Cuba Humanitarian Mission

Just back from Miami where I stayed after my week in Cuba on a humanitarian mission and celebrated my 72nd birthday!

Will start blogging tomorrow!

Orientation Session for 'Pray, Play, Hello USA!'

We held an orientation session after service today. It was very well attended even though the library is not air-conditioned and was quite warm. It was like the proverbial 'preaching to the choir' in that everyone was ready to volunteer.

I gave some background to the program and the 'experimental' eight week spring session. Then we went on to discuss the ways in which members of the congregation could be 'guest presenters.' There were only six open slots in the coming fall/winter session and there were lots of volunteers. Right now the following are on the list: Cheryl Zeiner, Victor Agosto, John Endler, Amy Endler, Kari Miller, George Grisevich and Joan Davidson. Some of these people will be looking for a partner to co-present with them

What a great way to serve the Lord and help the Karen community integrate into our English speaking body of worshippers!

blognote: The first class of the fall/winter session is scheduled for September 17th.

SHOUT OUT!!!

Here's a SHOUT OUT!!! to the folks at Education Express for putting in $10 extra worth of stickers in my purchase today. I went there to buy stickers to donate to the schools in Havana where I will be visiting in early September. This is a Humanitarian Mission with Bringing Hope Foundation in Miami and Elderhostel. I have already bought my 12 pounds of Oyster Shell Calcium with Vitamin D and big bottles of aspirin at BJ's [thanks Kristen for the one-day pass]. We will give out the medical supplies at one of the hospitals run by the Sisters of Charity. I hope to take some pictures. Stay tuned!

bloginfo: Education Express, LLC is located in the Ridgeway Plaza at 1400 Berlin Turnpike in Berlin, CT. The phone is 860.829.0306

JAMI students' future plans...

Here is the Culto de Encerramento (Closing Worship celebration) picture of my JAMI students from March of this year: Raquel, Anderson, Juliana, Salvador and Sandra.

Juliana will head for the Amazon in a couple of weeks, Raquel is jetting off to Peru the first week of September, and Anderson is hoping to begin an English course in Trinidad also in September (he hopes to arrive in D.R. Congo early next year).  Salvador is preparing for Angola but I haven't heard a departing date yet.  Sandra is hoping to head for England early next year and will eventually serve in Niger with Ana Paula [a student from year one (2007)].

GLAD @CVOC Gala

GLAD, the a cappella quintet, will be the featured performers at the CVOC Gala on Sunday, October 11th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell, CT.

Hope you will be able to attend. It is a wonderful evening to benefit the Benevolent Fund of the Covenant Village of Cromwell where I live.

Details to follow...

Planning Meeting

We held an important meeting today at Pastor Gie Dor's apartment. Attending from CBC there were Pastor Ich and Cheryl Zeiner. Also many people from the Karen community came to help with planning.

The decisions we came to:
1. keep the same format of ESOL classes at the same site
2. concentrate on all 4 areas of language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing
3. change the day to Saturday morning from Wednesday afternoon
4. keep class attendance to improve attendance
5. give a certificate at the end of each seasonal session
6. advanced students would prepare extra written materials
7. institute the 'guest presenter' plan to involve more CBC members
8. individualize work for any student needing extra help

Diaconate Meeting

Today after service, I made a presentation to the Central Baptist Church Diaconate. I asked for their support in the continuation of the Karen ESOL Project. This is the draft of the letter I will send to the congregation.

‘Pray, Play, Hello USA!’

‘Play, Pray, Hello USA!’ is in the planning stages to be an integrated ESOL program of English conversation for the Karen Community of Central Baptist Church. This would be a weekly one-hour content-based course offered in Pastor Gie Dor’s apartment on Alden Street.

The setup of the course would consist of two-week modules: Week One concentrating on form and function and Week Two on a specific language topic. The continuity of the program will be held with Thomas Foran’s teaching the first week of each module. Different guest presenters would offer a new topic each second week.

Involvement in the ‘Pray, Play, Hello USA!’ program for individual guest presenters would consist of a one-time two hour commitment during the Fall/Winter session. You could even pair up with a friend. The first hour would be in developing the topic with the help of Mr. Foran and the second hour would be the presentation at the class site. Think about your gifts and turn them into talents. A talent is nothing but a shared gift! We all have gifts from God: fixing something broken, reading a story, writing a poem, teaching a hymn, baking some cookies, drawing pictures, etc., etc. All of these activities can be used to teach English. Together we will figure out the vocabulary needed and the verb forms to use for you to present it the first week. Then the second week, Thomas will review it and get the class ready for the next presenters.

This program could start in the Fall of this year; the first session running from September to December. If this program is successful, a second session could be planned starting in January as a Winter/Spring course.

Please let me know if you might be interested in using one of your many gifts as a talent. Your involvement in this program: ‘Play, Pray, Hello USA!’ will make a world of difference to the Karen community. An orientation session will be held in mid-August after service.


John 5:30 “I can do nothing on my own”.

ingenuity...butterfly houses

Humanitarian design organization TYIN Tegnestue from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology conceived the project in response to a need for more dormitories for Karen refugee children in the village of Noh Bo on the Thai-Burmese border. The six woven bamboo huts, dubbed Soe Ker Tie, or The Butterfly Huts because of their “winged” appearance were designed with the children’s happiness and health in mind. As simple as these new dorms may seem, they provide something wonderful for a growing child - a space to call their own to learn, sleep and play in. This small luxury is one that so many of us take for granted but makes a huge difference in the development and happiness of these youngsters.

bloginfo: read the entire article here

Good News from Japan!

Just heard that my good friends, the Kudos, are doing better in Japan. They are serving as missionaries there. Humberto and Josie were two of my students at JAMI in 2007, the first year I served there. Their children, Gabriel and Raphael in the picture, called me Vovô, grandfather. I do miss them and hope to visit them next year. You can see the story here in the 'Answer to Prayer' section of the article.

We have started to email again. I just received some pictures from them so updated this entry. They have invited me to visit them in Japan next year, 2010. What a joy that will be!

News Release #4

The ESOL classes for the Karen community are finished for the summer. July 15th was the last class in this conversational English course held at Pastor Gie Dor’s home in Hartford

Our guest presenters for the summer session were: Bruce and Joan Davidson, Amy and Jeremiah Endler. Ask them about the experience; they all had a great time!
The four-week session that was scheduled to begin on August 5th has been cancelled. We are using that time to refocus and restructure the course for September with the guidance of Pastor Ich, Pastor Gie Dor and members of the Karen community. An Information Session will be scheduled for Sunday, August 16th in the Church Library. At that time, Thomas J. Foran will give details on this new program where you can become involved in a class.

You can read entries about all the eight classes already held with the Karen community at Thomas’ website: www.mispos.blogspot.com

Hello USA! Class #8

The Lord surely works in mysterious ways!

Today's lesson was to be the eighth and final lesson of the introductory series. But attendance today was very poor. However, Pastor Ich was there to visit and a member of the Karen community who speaks excellent English was there also. Pastor Gie Dor came in a bit later after his driving lesson.

So we had a great planning session. Pastor Ich and Pastor Gie Dor will meet on Saturday to help refocus the program. A new day and/or time may come out of the meeting. I stressed that the community's needs were the most important and a program could be made to fit any situation. We will go on 'summer vacation' while this planning is being done. The middle week of September will be our target date to start a bigger and better program.

I will meet with the Board of Deacons on July 26th to explain the 'guest speaker' function of a coming program and ask for their blessing. This is stewardship in it's true meaning. Then I will meet with interested members of the CBC congregation on August 16th to outline the program and ask for volunteer 'guest presenters.' Everything is falling into place. Praise the Lord!

blognote: Pastor Gie Dor's youngest son, Blu Mission Ku Taw, got up from his nap and sat on my lap [again]. What a thrill to have a nearly two year old from another culture show so much trust. God is good!

News Release #3

THOMAS J. FORAN continues to work with ABCCONN in teaching ESOL classes for the Karen community. The classes are held at Pastor Gi Dor’s home in Hartford.

AMY and JEREMIAH ENDLER visited and helped out with their Family Tree and JOAN DAVIDSON assisted in a lesson about Food, Cooking and Shopping. Ask them; they both had a great time!

July 15th will be the last class in this series. A new four-week session will begin on August 5th and continue each Wednesday until August 26th. Come and visit us at 1:00 any Wednesday afternoon.

Watch for exciting news about the Fall/Winter session where you can become involved in a class. You can keep up with THOMAS at his website www.mispos.blogspot.com

Hello USA! Class #7

At the beginning of class there were only two women in attendance. This was good in one way as the class was all about food, cooking and shopping. Several of the young girls sat in and helped out a lot. Pastor Gie Dor came in later after his driving lesson.

Joan Davidson was our guest teacher today. She had brought so many items from her kitchen. First we started out setting the table and learned the names of all the dishes and the cutlery. After that we 'cooked' a few things with the use of different types of cooking vessels. Then we talked about shopping and decided the mystery vegetable in the refrigerator was lemongrass. Everyone had a fun time.

Next class will review the entire session of seven classes. We will take a two week break and then begin a four week session. These new lessons will concentrate on Transportation and Housing and incorporate some writing.

blognote: The class was interested in fitting us all into a family tree when they found out that Joan is my sister-in-law.

CUBA!

I am going to Cuba in September!!!
Details to follow.... and I will celebrate my birthday in Havana!

Hello USA! Class #6

Today's class was great! There were five adults and half a dozen children.

We spent a bit of time on the pronouns: I, he and she. This went along with the verbs to be and to have; the change from 1st and 3rd person singular was our goal. We practiced body parts and going to the Emergency Room and describing our problem to the nurse/doctor.

The topic for the day was Clothing. We learned a lot of new vocabulary and ended up telling what each person was wearing. Then we discussed what one would wear to a specific place or activity. 'I am going to church. I have on a white shirt, etc.' This necessitated a review of colors which most everyone had under control.

The Bible passage for the day was John 9:25 - "...I was blind, now I see." During the Lord's Prayer at the end of class, the 'baby' [2 in August] came and sat in my lap until I was time for me to leave.

blognote: At some time after our last class of this session [in two weeks], we will meet and sort out the best way to continue classes in the Fall. It is my hope that some members of CBC will get involved.

Invite your Pastor to Lunch...

Today is the 'Invite your Pastor to Lunch' day. So Pastor John Endler joined me here at Covenant Village of Cromwell. CVOC has been my new home since this last August.

Since this is a Christian Retirement Community, CVOC is reaching out to area churches to show what we have to offer. This is a very popular addition to our marketing ventures and shows us off to good advantage. Lunch is always very good [as is dinner].

Pastor John and I sat with Burt Johnson, Executive Director of CVOC, and had a very enjoyable lunch. Burt and John had friends in common and John knew several of the pastors at other tables.

bloginfo: check out the CVOC website
blognote: I reviewed last month's Birthday dinner at my restaurant site

Hello USA! Class #5

Not too many adult students at today's class but lots of children [which is always a blessing].

Amy Endler and her son, Jeremiah, were visiting and helped out a lot with the concept of younger/older child. We reviewed our family trees and introduced brother/sister-in-law.

Most of the lesson concentrated on body parts. We practiced the singular and plural forms of these words and used the words: this/that and these/those. We drew happy/sad/tired/sleepy/angry faces. The five senses were introduced with statements such as 'I see with my eyes.'

We practiced being at the doctor's office/emergency room by telling what hurt. The 1 to 10 scale was a lot of fun with me hitting my finger with a hammer and yelling: 'That's a 10!'.

The second five books of the New Testament are pronounced in Karen and English very closely so that part of the pronunciation went very quickly. Our Bible passage for today was John 3:4-5.

News Release #2

THOMAS J. FORAN continues to work with ABCCONN in teaching ESOL classes for the Karen community. The classes are held at Pastor Gi Dor’s home in Hartford.

This past week BRUCE DAVIDSON accompanied Thomas in “career conversations”. Bruce reported that it was very enjoyable and that the members of the Karen Community are learning English very quickly. AMY ENDLER and JOAN DAVIDSON are both scheduled to be ‘guest speakers’ in the next few weeks.

titles of respect...

I have been honored with these titles of respect:
Don Tomás = Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico 
Mang Tomas = Philippines
Vovô Thomas = Brazil
and now
Pu Thomas by the Karen people from Burma [now in Hartford via Thailand]

Hello USA! Class #4

Very good class today with several new female students. The Wednesday afternoon Karen ESOL Conversation Class is getting popular.

Everyone came in and sat on the floor so that is the way the class went. We were all so much more comfortable that way. We reviewed my Family Tree and identified each member of the family. Practiced the difference between father and grandfather/mother and grand mother. Also spent time reviewing occupations/workplaces/tools.

The core of today's lesson was Seasons and Weather. Since summer starts this week, we wrote down the dates for each season. Today was hot and sunny and not breezy. Everyone had a good idea of telling time and the numbers but we practiced half-past and quarter after/of.

Pronunciation practice this week concentrated on the first eight books of the New Testament.

blognote: I can't believe that we are half way through this eight week session.

Protestantism in Burma

Protestants in Burma make up 3% of that nation's population, many of them Baptists. The Protestant Churches of Burma were begun in the early 19th century by Adoniram Judson, an American Baptist missionary. Since the 1800s, Christianity has become deeply rooted and has grown stronger through many adversities.

In 1966 all missionaries were expelled by the Burmese government, but the Burmese Church has become a vibrant missionary-sending movement, despite financial limitations and geographic isolation. Baptists, Assemblies of God, Methodists and Anglicans form the strongest denominations in Burma. Many Christians are well-educated, but cannot rise to positions of responsibility.

Most Christians are from the minority ethnic groups such as Karen, Lisu, Kachin, Chin, and Lahu. An estimated 0.1 per cent of the Bamar population is Christian.


bloginfo: above taken from Wikipedia
blognote: Picture is Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College.

Hello USA! Class #3

Today's class had a guest speaker! Bruce, my brother-in-law, came along and added to the lesson.
We reviewed last week's work and focused on the days of the week and months of the year. Bruce introduced himself and we went through our ritual of say, spell and write.

The Bible passage was 2nd Corinthians 5:14 and we concentrated on the pronunciation of Christ /krayst/ emphasing the final consonant cluster. Everyone did very well on that.

There were two topics for this week. The first was family. I showed my 'family tree' and we learned the members of the immediate family. After stressing my two children and two grandchildren, we contrasted that to Bruce's family. He has four children and eleven grandchildren. The students had fun repeating the names of all our grandchildren.

The second focus was occupations. We learned those of the people present: teacher, pastor, student and engineer. Bruce had brought a mini toolkit. The students learned tool vocabulary and we discussed uses of tools with appropriate verbs.

Each week the student population changes a bit. This week, with school in Hartford out for the year, the students were at a bit higher level than the first two weeks. I will adapt those differences into next week's lesson.

CBC Scroll

This month's Central Baptist Church Scroll is out.

Unfortunately they got my website address wrong! It's not blogspo.

Of course if you are here reading this you know it is blogspot!  

Hello USA! Class #2

Today's class had several more people. Pastor Gie Dor was the only male in the class. One of the female students has a very good grasp of English and was able to help out in some of the cultural portions of class. All in all, it went very well.

Since most of the class had not attended last week, the handout review became the basis for the lesson. They seemed to enjoy seeing the vocabulary and grammar patterns in writing. The students took copious notes. They are surely an enjoyable group with a great desire to learn this new language.

Today's Bible verse [1 John 4:19] emphasizes the role God plays in our life on earth. I went on to introduce the days of the week and months of the year. We practiced yesterday, today and tomorrow; and this month, last and next month. The pronunciation contrasts need more work on my part as it is difficult to find known vocabulary that fit a sound pattern.

An Unexpected Welcome

Walking into the apartment where I was to begin teaching English to Karen refugees, the first thing I noticed in the sparsely appointed room was a blue patterned tablecloth. These students had come to Hartford from Burma via the refugee camps in Thailand. The tablecloth had come from Brittany, France. How did the two meet?

The tablecloth was a bright spot in an apartment furnished with donated furniture. Handmade posters on the wall: ‘Talk English!’ said one. A pleather couch and a row of wooden chairs were waiting for me and for the few students in this first class. Everyone was ready and waiting nervously for the class to start. A reading from John 5:30 [“I can do nothing on my own…”] was my introduction to this eight week series of conversational English lessons.

A little fabric store somewhere in Brittany, outside the Fine Arts Museum was where we bought the tablecloth. The bright blue of the background and the yellow, white and red figures holding hands and circling the border caught our attention. I don’t remember what it cost but it was a happy reminder of a beautiful trip. And a reminder of a great life when we were together before my wife’s untimely death. It wasn’t so important then as a memento or later when I broke up the house and moved to a retirement community.

That day a circle became complete. This donation to the church refugee ‘housewarming day’ evolved into a sign of rebirth, a sign of a higher power’s plan for my life. What had been a tourist purchase, basically unused in our busy lives, became part of the life of another family. It now had a new life and so did I. I realize how true my reading was for ‘I cannot do anything on my own’.

News Release

English Classes for the Karen Community

Thomas J. Foran is teaching an eight-week course in English for the newly arrived Karen community. He devised the course, Hello USA!, to meet the needs of this particular language group. The classes are being held each Wednesday afternoon at Pastor Gie Dor’s apartment. The Rev. Linda Lee Snyder, ABCConn, was instrumental in setting up this program while the Rev. Nguyen Duc Ich is helping in the coordination.

You can follow the progress of Hello USA! at Mr. Foran’s mission.possible website: www.mispos.blogspot.com.

Hello USA! Class #1

The first class went well. Pastor Ich accompanied me to the apartment. This was Pastor Gie Dor's apartment on Alden Street. His family comprised most of the class. There was one other student and there will be more next week.

All of the students are at differing levels of English but I am used to this. The first class was really for me to get to know levels and numbers. Now I have a good idea how to proceed for the next seven weeks.

We covered Introductions [name, address, birthday], Greetings, a Bible Passage [John 5:30], Numbers, Spelling [alphabet letters] and a Pronunciation Contrast [/iy/ vs /i/ (feet vs fit) as this is a problem for Karen speakers].

I had a great time and know that this 8 week session will be just the beginning. God willing!

Cambridge College [new] Grace

“Pro cibo inter esurientes, pro comitate inter desolatos, pro pace inter bellantes, gratias agimus”.

“For food in a hungry world, for companionship in a world of loneliness, for peace in an age of violence, we give thanks.”

bloginfo: click here

HELLO USA!

Watch for the Hello USA announcement.

There will be classes starting soon.

Classes start on Wednesday, May 27th from 1 to 2 pm at Pastor Gie Dor's apartment at 57 Alden Street in Hartford for the Karen community. Pastor Ich will go with me the first few times.

The pronunciation Bible passage will be "I can do nothing on my own." John 5:30

Central Baptist Church

Another presentation today at Central Baptist Church in Hartford where I worship. This will be the same talk I gave at CVOC the other week but will emphasize the religious motivation of my volunteer mission. 

CVOC Presentation

My presentation this afternoon during the '3rd Friday at 3' series here at Covenant Village went very well. There were between 50 and 60 in the audience.

I started with three disclaimers: not a missionary, not a poet, not a photographer. So I interspersed my report with 'word pictures,' [actually my attempt at blogged poetry]. There was a suggestion at the end of the talk that I put my notes and poems into a folder and leave in the library. This way, people can reread it at their leisure and those unable to attend can visit it also.

bloginfo: The title of the presentation was 'Mission Travels and Poetry: JAMI 2007-2009'
blognote: I am giving the same presentation the first Sunday of May at church, Central Baptist, in Hartford.

Lord, I Lift Your Name on High

This is one of my favorite Praise and Worship songs! We sang it many mornings during Devotionals at JAMI in Belo Horizonte, Brasil.



blognote: This was one of three songs that the students sang at my Despedída [going away party] in March, 2009.

Biblia en Lenguaje Sencíllo

I am using Bible Gateway.com to translate my Bible reading passages this month. I find that the Biblia en Lenguaje Sencíllo version is the best form of text to use for a congregation that does not speak Spanish.

This Sunday's reading is 2 Corinthians 5:1-5:

1 Bien sabemos que en este mundo vivimos como en una tienda de campaña que un día será destruida. Pero en el cielo tenemos una casa permanente, construida por Dios y no por humanos.2-3 Mientras vivimos en este mundo, suspiramos por la casa donde viviremos para siempre. Sabemos que, cuando estemos allí, estaremos bien protegidos.4 Mientras vivimos en esta tienda de campaña que es nuestro cuerpo, nos sentimos muy tristes y cansados. Y no es que no queramos morir. Más bien, quisiéramos que nuestros cuerpos fueran transformados, y que lo que ha de morir se cambie por lo que vivirá para siempre.5 Dios nos preparó para ese cambio, y como prueba de que así lo hará nos dio el Espíritu Santo.

blognote: As we read in English, French, Spanish, Vietnamese and Karen, the reading becomes more symbolic than linguistic.

JAMI Talks

Will be giving two presentations in the near future about my volunteer work at JAMI. This first at CVOC for their 'Third Friday at Three' on April 17th. The second will be on May 3rd at noon at CBC after service.

Both will be talks with Q/A session. I don't have a lot of pictures as I prefer not to do the 'touristy' thing and just get to work. At CVOC I will include the poetry that I wrote there [April is National Poetry Month].

blofinfo: CVOC = Covenant Village of Cromwell where I now live and CBC = Central Baptist Church, my church in Hartford.
blognote: poetry blog click here

a joke [?] from comedy central...

Mom and Dad were trying to console Susie, whose dog, Skipper, had recently died.

"You know," Mom said, "it's not so bad. Skipper's probably up in Heaven right now, having a grand old time with God."

Susie stopped crying and asked, "What would God want with a dead dog?"

blognote; That raises some good questions. What is the final answer; where are we going; Is finality final?????

NEXT???

Just talked with Angela Sudermann at ABC about where I could go next. She has some great ideas. Details to follow......

'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...' [Matthew 28:19]

bloginfo: ABC = American Baptist Convention at Valley Forge [International Ministries]

Reflections...

My Volunteer Mission:
@ JAMI in Belo Horizonte, Brazil


After three years one would expect things to be the same. Some were and some weren’t. Getting to JAMI is always a challenge as modes of transportation change. The first year, I scheduled a layover in São Paulo; the second year a transfer in that airport and the third year a direct flight from Miami. This year was the easiest.

My living arrangements had not changed from last year; I had the same apartment just off the dining room. This is a great room with direct access to meals and classes. A fan, this year, was a welcomed addition. The shower was now enclosed with glass doors, a ‘shower box’ in Portuguese. A bowl of fresh fruit welcomed me and was again filled for the second week. I was honored by such hospitality.

The students, only five in number this year, were motivated and eager to learn English. They were all at distinct and differing levels of language proficiency. Classes at JAMI are intensive to say the least. The students are in class at least three hours a day with additional assignments, activities and tutoring sessions. My job was to assist the two missionaries, Bruce and Ann Borquist. They were in control of all the academic language instruction. I, as a volunteer, worked with them in classes, prepared materials, led activities and worked with individual students. At night, after the staff went home, I was involved with the students in their daily assignments, devotional preparation, cultural questions and pronunciation problems.

Devotionals were held each morning. They included Praise and Worship music, Bible readings, group prayers and a devotional message. The message was given in English while being translated into Portuguese. I gave the devotional message twice, once each week. My messages emphasized the need to learn English, the new language, and the problems one faces during this process. The first week, I spoke about ‘roadblocks and detours’ on the highway to success. The second week, I focused on the GPS, an external device, to guide your trip and the internal GPS [God’s Positioning System] which we all have to guide us.

Food and customs were two aspects of my stay that taught me a lot. Being able to ‘fit in’ to a new culture is very important in a group setting. What to eat, when to pray, how to comport oneself during different periods of the day, what water to drink, when to explain, when to let the student figure it out – these questions and many more can make or break your stay. Group prayer is individually vocalized; ‘clamor’ for Jesus. Breakfast is only a roll and coffee. Lunch is the big meal of the day; main course is limited but amount unspoken. There are two periods of meditation daily and enforced. Everyone washes ones own dishes in cold water. Sanitary facilities are not what we are used to. So in order to be integral part of the community, you need to change!

Looking back on the three years, I see all the mistakes I have made, remember all my new friends, appreciate what I have here, miss the joyful music and the vibrant prayer, understand myself better and feel the need to go further in yet a different setting. I am already looking forward to my next mission.

HOME soon...

Now that I am on my way home to CVOC, I want to thank everyone for reading my blog; it has been great keeping a record of my trip.

The only question is: WHERE TO NEXT?