Me, a writer? But here I am, putting my thoughts on paper. It never ceases to amaze me at how God weaves our lives together. Through the twists and turns, things rarely make sense until you look back and see the beauty of the journey.
I have always had a heart for working with internationals. However, my husband and I had been foster parents for the last six years and weren’t really in a place to do much with an international ministry. So after six years, we felt that God was moving us into something new.
Last July, when our church was hosting ESL (English as a Second Language) certification classes and praying about starting an English language ministry, I saw an opportunity. I learned so much through those classes. My previous experience was teaching a conversational English class to Chinese students who attended OCU. Those classes were very informal; no need for placement tests or lesson plans, just pick a topic and go. How hard could teaching English actually be, right? Let’s just say, I was a little intimidated at the thought of everything that went into becoming certified for what we would provide at CRBC. But when God calls you to something, you can either be a Jonah and run from it or a Peter and step out of the boat.
I decided that it was time to step out of the boat. Stacy Neuschaefer was still looking for a director for the ministry. I told her that if she didn’t find anyone else, I could do it. Some days I wonder what I was thinking, but most of the time, I’m just really thankful that God called me to this. I was still partially upset that God was calling me away from foster care, but God knew it was time for something new. I could not imagine doing even a fraction of what I do without the team of volunteers that work in this ministry. They are the backbone. I just help everyone find their “spot.” In the beginning when the team was still planning what this ministry would look like, we prayed for just 10 students to show up. Just 10! But God.... We currently have some 80+ students representing 7+ countries registered. Not all of them have shown up to classes, but many of them have. I think we are currently averaging 20-25 students per week. This past week we had the most students attend to date!
God is moving in this ministry and community. While some of our students have mentioned that they attend regular church services, many do not. The need is great. Please pray to the Lord of the Harvest to open the hearts of those who don’t know Him. Pray that the teachers and volunteers involved would be sensitive to the students’ needs and work to meet them where they are. God is moving, and I’m so thankful that I get to be a part of that.
Meet the Author!
Heather has been married to Scotty for almost 13 years. They have one adopted son, William, who lives with Jesus. Heather currently serves as the director of the Council Road English ministry. When she’s not busy with lesson plans, she usually has a crochet hook in her hands. She loves her family, her church and Jesus. She and Scotty started attending Council Road through the Karis Adoption Ministry and eventually started attending full time in April 2021.