“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always,  to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:19-20)

GO                                   TELL                                    TRAIN

Moving to México this week to serve as a WKW volunteer with our mission in Torreón!  In December, my position in the Dominican Republic concluded with our final session of English classes due to changes within our world mission fields.  Find out how our “Board for World Missions (BWM) Responds to Opportunities” that have developed; reaching souls who have not yet heard the good news of Jesus as their Savior!

Please keep our English students, national congregation members, and seminary students in the Dominican Republic in your prayers that they may continue to grow in faith and in the gospel ministry.

God’s blessings to you in 2009 and beyond as you go and tell the good news of Jesus!

Julia Majerus

The students love to write and tell stories in class.  This crosses over into their favorite activity, telephone.  The students sit in a circle and often start with a short message.  For example, I will whisper “We have English class on Friday” to the first person.  They try to repeat the message *only once* to the next person until everyone has heard the message.  Some words get added or dropped.  The last person announces the final message to the class.  In this case, it was “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.”

While the students are waiting to hear the message, they “hummm” until it is their turn, not to hear the message beforehand.  Our last game began with a gentle “hummm” turning into a chant with the rhythm of clapping,  stomping of feet, and hitting the table.  They were having so much fun, many of the students from the other class peeked around the corner to see what was going on.  (Sorry, Vanessa).

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During this advent season, may we prepare our hearts to share the message of our Savior’s birth with the next person we meet…  standing in line at the grocery store, at the coffee shop, in the post office, at the bank… everywhere we go!

Julia Majerus

Is it a zip code?  Or password? A combination to a lock?  A clue..  when I say “12141″ the students immediately form two lines and have big smiles on their faces.

One (1) person to (2) one (1) person for (4) one (1) minute.

We choose a topic or dialogue that compliments the lesson.  Then each student finds a partner to discuss the current topic for one minute.  After the 60 seconds have passed, I yell (as the room is full of conversations) ‘CHANGE’ and the students rotate, repeating the activity with another student.  This continues until each student has spoken with every classmate.

Do you like the big city or small town? What do you do with your free time?  What things help you improve your English? These are just a few examples of our conversation topics.

May we remember to count our blessings during this Thanksgiving season and always!

Julia Majerus

GAMES, SNACKS,  & FELLOWSHIP

Our “End of the Session English Party” began with games, snacks, and lots of conversation!  (One of my students even brought his own chess game.)  During this time, Freddy, one of our seminary students, met with each student and guest, putting their names into a drawing.  Throughout the party, names were drawn and the People Bibles in Spanish were given as prizes.

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS & ADULTS

The children’s room was full of over 20 activities of coloring sheets,  crafts, games, and songs.  This kept the kids busy for the entire 3 hours.  The adults participated in an adapted version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” via PowerPoint.  The students were divided into 4 teams, and were given a multiple choice question in each round.  Teams were awarded points if they answered the question correctly. Each team also had 3 life lines: 1-50/50, 2-Ask a Missionary, and 3-Ask the audience (including the other teams). The final bonus round, consisted of short answer brainteasers.  Do you know what has 4 wheels and flies?

BIBLE STUDY

The theme of the party was “It’s a No Brainer”.  Bible studies during this session focused on Jesus “revealing his glory”, recognizing him as the Christ, the Son of God in the gospel of John, chapters 1, 2, & 3.  The connection….  “we don’t have to brainstorm to figure out our salvation; it has been accomplished and revealed to us by God through Jesus personally, whose Word we have in the Bible!”–Pastor Shiloh.

All thanks and praise be to God!

Julia Majerus

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

It started out as a home visit with one of my students, Hilcia.  Then Marta asked if she could come too.  The next day,  Hilcia  invited another classmate, Orquidea; followed by another, Daihana.  By the end of the week, the entire class was invited to dinner at Daihana’s at 5:00 on Saturday.

TIME

The next question…  5:00 American or Dominican time?  Does that mean 6-7:00?  My students always laugh when I ask and they assure me, American time.  Well… Vanessa and I weren’t the first to arrive, but definitely not the last.

COOKING

The delicious meal consisted of spaghetti and an alfredo sauce served with bread.  I brought candy bar brownies, which didn’t last too long.  We had a wonderful evening full of food, friendship, and fun.

Since then, the students have requested cooking classes.  Their proposal is to teach me how to cook Dominican main dishes and I teach them how to make American deserts.  These classes will be quite interesting as I have found out, they do not use measurements when it comes to adding ingredients.  Just a little of this or a lot of that…

Even though our cultures differ, may God continue to link us together through a common faith and hope in our Savior,

Julia Majerus

This week, our English lesson focused on communication.  We began with a survey, revealing that the majority of the students in class use a cell phone to communicate with friends and family, with the exception of a few who use email while they are at their university.  This discussion led into a debate of the advantages and disadvantages of the internet.  We even sang a song, “The Email Boogie”.   The class concluded with their homework assignment, “write a standard voice mail message in English AND leave it on Profesora Julia’s  phone before the next class”.  They agreed, but only if I promised to call each of them back, right away.

What an amazing week!  I received so many wonderful messages from my students and had the opportunity to talk with them, one on one!

May the Lord continue to bless our efforts in leaving the message “Jesus loves you” in all of their hearts!

Julia Majerus

Due to the hurricane season, we have been experiencing frequent power outages.  Our English classes are not an exception.  Last Monday, we taught by candlelight.  Each student had their own tea light to follow along with the lesson.   I couldn’t help but smile today, as I was reviewing their worksheets  and one had a burn mark on it.  My students were so understanding, telling me teacher, “we are used to learning in the dark, continue please.”

Hmm…  used to the dark.   A simple life with simple standards.  The more I teach, the more I learn from my students.

The lights did come on at the end of class.  It was a blessing as we were able continue with the Bible study led by Pastor Shiloh afterward.   Since then, we have invested in some lanterns.

May God’s Word continue to be a flame this world of darkness.

Julia Majerus

Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.  -Psalm 119:105

Vanessa King and I are teaching English as a Foreign Language in the city of Santiago, located in the northern part of the Dominican Republic (DR).  The English program is one way the mission is reaching out to the community.   These English classes serve as a bridge to share Jesus not only across the external border, but also internally, into the hearts of our students, families, and friends.

The English Program is divided into six week sessions.  Each session begins with an open registration to supply basic information and schedule placement interviews for interested participants.  During the placement interviews, we ask the students general questions about their life, interests, and past experience studying English.   This gives us a chance to determine their level of English and to get know them… before they even step into the classroom.  It shows them that we really care!  Many times, students will ask at the end of the interview, “Why are you doing this?”.  We are able to witness our faith to them, right from the beginning!

Throughout the sessions, we make homes visits to our students.  These visits serve as opportunities to build relationships with our students and their families, sharing the message of the Savior with them.  There are also Bible studies led by the missionary after the English classes and at other times during the week in addition to worship services for those interested in learning more about their Savior.

At the end of each session, we host a party filled with English activities, crafts and games for children, snacks, and a Bible study.  These events are highly attended and provide another opportunity for us to build bridges for Jesus.

Please keep our students and their families in your prayers that Jesus may fill their hearts!

Julia Majerus

With much prayerful and financial support the Spanish outreach activity in southwest metro Detroit, Mich. gets a running start. The local Motor City Chapter of WELS Kingdom Workers was able to provide the necessary support to launch the Cristo Palabra de Vida-Detroit mission program. The financial gifts of local church members and the very special gifts from St Matthew (ELS) enabled the Michigan District Mission Board to secure approval for the assignment of Missionary Daniel Schmidt to serve the area, working out of an existing WELS church (Paul the Apostle) in the area.

The Spanish outreach to the Detroit area officially began Sunday, August 10, 2008. Pastor Daniel Schmidt’s installation took place at Paul the Apostle Lutheran Church with Pastor Ken Jahnke as liturgist and Pastor Guy Purdue performing the rite of installation. Pastor Schmidt’s father, Rev. Thomas R. Schmidt of Grace, Kenai, Alaska, provided encouragement using the theme God’s Strong Word for Gospel Servants. The installation service was followed by a reception dinner. About 90 people attended to offer support to Pastor Schmidt as he carries out his mission work.

Missionary Schmidt has an apartment in the area and has been making contacts with the Spanish community.

The Cristo Palabra de Vida-Detroit is currently operating out of the facilities of Paul the Apostle, Detroit, and Our Saviour, Westland, Mich. It’s governing board of directors consists of lay volunteer from these and other local congregations, as well as Pastors Schmidt, Jahnke, and Purdue.

The Cristo Palabra de Vida – Detroit outreach to the Spanish community is only possible by the generous support provided by the WELS Home Mission Board, a generous gift the former St Matthew (ELS) congregation, the Motor City Chapter of the WKW, and gifts from supporting friends in our Southeast Michigan congregations. We expect to begin our ECO (English Conversation Outreach) tutoring activities this fall.

For additional information on this program, please contact
Art Naujock, Chairman, Motor City Chapter of WELS Kingdom Workers
(734) 502-5579 or (734) 522-7279

or

Pastor Guy Purdue
Our Saviour Lutheran Church
Westland, MI
(734) 427-8119

Youth In Service (YIS) consists of teens assisting in outreach within a supervised environment. It’s active during school breaks and vacations, lasting between one to two weeks.

Faith In Action Administrator Judy Eisenmann talked about some of the experiences with YIS. “Fox Valley Lutheran does a basketball camp in Tennessee and all the congregations encourage their youth groups to be a part of the service.”

YIS has grown with many congregations and schools making direct contact with other congregations to do mission and/or service projects.

“It’s a good opportunity to use chaperones, because they are under 18, they require them.” Eisenmann said.

If you’re interested in getting involved or for questions regarding YIS, contact Judy Eisenmann.