Small Steps. Big Faith.

As mentioned previously, our social work ministry, GAiN (Global Aid Network) has been developing a special project among Moroccan immigrant women . This year 5 different Spanish classes have been offered, serving over 100 women, in order to help them improve their language skills, improving their chances of finding a job and making their way in Spanish society. (Pictured above are some of the students from my Friday morning class.) This project was started 5 years ago by Isabel Fernández, Agape staff member with a degree in Social Work. She has worked tireless, not only to create the structure for these classes, but also to build relationships with the various city officials related to this project, as well as using her professional knowledge to help several of these women rise above their economic and cultural challenges. Soon, Isabel, along with her husband, Agape Spain´s National Director, and their 4 children, will be taking steps of faith to blaze new trails in a differen...

15 women from Morocco. They all showed up this week. They are eager to learn. A few can write. Most cannot. They are so grateful for the smallest efforts. In the one hour a week I have with them on Friday mornings I want to give them all that I have. I want to give them a step up in the midst of this world economic crisis. All but one are married. All those who are married have at least 2 often 4-6 children that they are rearing. As we seek to bless these ladies, we will also be influencing scores of children. Fatima, Fatima, Yamna, Jamila, Fatima, Fatima, Latifa,  Samira, Rahma, Halima, Fatima, Hasna, Louiza, Hanán, Turiya Would you pray for them? Please pray that God would point out those who are open to hear more about Him. Please pray that He would reveal those that we can help in other areas in addition to language acquisition. What? You don´t see anyone in the classroom pictured above? The students are very shy. They have a strong aversion to cameras, especially...

We gathered today at the GAiN ( Global Aid Network ) headquarters  to prepare for this Fall´s new wave of Spanish students, who are almost exclusively Moroccan immigrant women living in Terrassa, Spain. This is the 5th consecutive year that we´ve been able to offer these classes to more than 100 women whose social needs are enormous. Our teaching team for the 2012-2013 year is made up of 8 women: 3 full-time staff and 5 volunteers, one of whom is an alumni of these Spanish classes. We are very excited because this project continues to grow in number and we believe that it is also improving in quality and excellence. This year we will be using specific student manuals for each of the five lanugage levels. Although it might seem like a small detail, it reflects a huge step forward compared to the previous years. As you may already know, GAiN is working to improve the quality of life for its students and to encourage social participation from those who don´t have the same econom...

22 students started. 10 continued faithfully to the end. They come with head coverings, long skirts, hard life stories and big smiles. Each Wednesday I have looked forward to my Spanish class, a solid group of 8-10 women who have attended faithfully each week, pictured here: (left to right) Karthoum, Saliha, Guita, me, Rachma and Malika. The learning curve is high. Many are not literate in their own native languages. So, learning to hold a pencil and/or re-learning to read from left to right (instead of right to left) are some of the language challenges that they must overcome as they gather the building blocks for adequate communication in this new world they live in. The learning process is slow. Many have lived here for years and are just starting to learn the language. Others have attended classes for multiple years but require much repetition of basic topics until they are recorded in long-term memory. The year-long course ended this week.  We celebrated with trad...

Ladies draped in winter coats, burqas  (the loose outer clothing that Muslim women wear)  and hijabs  (the head covering),  entered the classroom with plates and plates of their best Moroccan sweets and thermoses filled with Arabic mint tea.  To celebrate the end of the first semester of Spanish classes for the Moroccan women, we held a little "fiesta" in our make-shift classroom at the Montroig Civic Center in Terrassa.  They all are sweet and eager to learn.  It was an interesting mix of women: some can communicate better than others in Spanish; a few older women, many young women with multiple children; one or two that studied at the university and a good number illiterate, even in their own language, and almost all lacking employment. While there are a few, more outgoing women, most seem quiet and shy when they are together in the classroom environment. Isa Fernandez, (pictured on the right) is the wife of Spain´s National Direct...

It took two full mornings to complete the class registration. It wasn't easy. All of these women are unemployed and most of their spouses are unemployed as well. Most speak only a minimal amount of Spanish. Many don't read or write in their own language. They have names that are difficult for us to pronounce, let alone spell. They came with their mothers-in-law. They came with their cousins. They came with their babies. They are "covered" women. They are Muslim women from Morocco. They came with the desire to learn Spanish. Our classes, offering 4 different language levels, are being held once a week at the Civic Center in Terrassa. One of the Civic Center employees told us that we had become famous. This project, which started last year, has spread by word-of-mouth and the classes filled up immediately, even having to turn away women. I've been praying for a new focus, a renewed opportunity of involvement. Our recent move to Terrassa has jump-started my mini...