1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,680 and I'm the online engagement director here at Trinity. And there are lots of things that 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:20,320 happen in this church building every week that maybe you don't know about. And we're 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:25,080 going to talk about one of those things today and that is Trinity's ESL or English as a 5 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:30,920 second language program. And so I am very happy to be sitting down here with three of 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:36,520 the women who volunteer in that program. Thank you so much for joining me ladies. Thanks 7 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:41,240 for having us. So maybe we'll just get started and do some introductions. You can say sort 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:46,360 of who you are and how long you've been working with the ESL programs. Maybe we'll start here. 9 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:56,880 OK, I'm Ruth and I started in Trinity's ESL ministry in the planning stages before the 10 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:05,080 clusters actually got started. So it was Sheila, Joshi and I that met together at Diane's request 11 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:12,560 to start an ESL ministry. And this was in 2001. So this is 24 years ago. OK, so I was 12 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:20,200 involved in the planning and we did a few Saturday training volunteer volunteers and 13 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:28,160 we had a really good response. So we started with three classes per week, Tuesday morning, 14 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:34,560 Thursday morning and Thursday evening. And so Sheila took the morning classes and I was 15 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:39,760 leading the evening class. So I was already working full time as an ESL teacher at that 16 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:45,880 point. That's how come and Sheila had experience too. And so I did the evening class for five 17 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:52,280 years and then I took a long break. Yeah. Fifteen years or something like that. I retired 18 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:58,520 from full time teaching seven years ago. So then I came back to the Trinity ESL ministry 19 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:03,720 about five years ago. OK, I'm still there. OK, that's great. OK, and we'll move over 20 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:12,960 here. My name is Diane and I started with ESL as a dream in my mind, just hoping we 21 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:18,760 could get something going. I was working on the staff here at Trinity. OK. And I really 22 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:30,960 wanted to see something develop with ESL. And we had the blessing of some new person 23 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:38,840 arriving in a church as a newcomer, Sheila Joshi. And she was a missionary and I think 24 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:47,120 it was West Africa somewhere. And she taught ESL. And when I was talking with her, I thought, 25 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:54,080 oh, maybe we can really get something going now. Somebody knows what to do. And so I put 26 00:02:54,080 --> 00:03:01,560 a call out to some people I knew, Ruth and some other ladies. And we got together and 27 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:09,080 did the planning. So I've been involved for about 22, 23 years now when we first started 28 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:16,160 this. Yeah, great. Well, I guess I should say that I was sort of coordinating it with 29 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:25,280 the people who were leading it. And then when I retired in 2012, I took on being one of 30 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:35,800 the regular teachers on Tuesday mornings and continued doing that until COVID kind of put 31 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:43,640 the kibosh on our being able to meet in person. And Ruth and Sandy Howell went ahead and did 32 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:53,400 an online class. How many did you have? About 10 to 12 students. And we all managed to figure 33 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:59,320 out how to use Zoom. That's when it was all new. And they were regular every week from 34 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:10,320 January to June. So then when we were able to start getting meeting in person, another 35 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:19,840 one of our initial leaders, Grace Daly and Leila Ramperas, who's not a member of Trinity, 36 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:23,680 but she was very much involved in teaching anyway, the two of them got together with 37 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:30,600 a couple of the students who really wanted to keep meeting. And so they've been outside 38 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:36,880 in the picnic bench for a little while and then started when we were able to meet in 39 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:44,040 person inside the building. They came in and started promoting it again. And I came on 40 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:52,160 and Ruth came on as table facilitators. And then that's when I joined the picture. Okay. 41 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:58,160 Great. So yeah, Ali, do you want to introduce yourself a little bit? Okay, I'm Ali. And 42 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:06,520 yeah, my story started during COVID with ESL. I had been tutoring some middle school students 43 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,760 and in English. And I thought during COVID, I thought, well, I've got all this time on 44 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:18,960 my hands. I'll actually do a formal qualification for teaching English as a second language. 45 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:26,680 So I did online college work during COVID, got the qualification. And as I heard about 46 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:33,000 the classes starting up again, I thought I went to Diane. I said, Diane, I'd love to 47 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:41,160 help. I've had the training. I've got lots of ideas. And she said, yes, please. So I'm 48 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:47,720 three years teaching downstairs on a Tuesday morning. Okay. That's great. Yeah. So you 49 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:54,280 already mentioned a little bit about some of the history of this ESL program. I'm wondering, 50 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:58,520 Diane, you said it was sort of a dream, a thing that you had thought about. So maybe 51 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:06,040 what prompted that dream for you? Well, we used to live in Australia six years before 52 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:14,280 we came to Canada. And the church I was going to there, one of the ladies taught ESL as 53 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:21,240 a part of a ministry. And it just intrigued me. So I thought it was such a great idea. 54 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:25,720 And so I just kind of had that in the back of my mind of something that maybe we could 55 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:33,160 do here at Trinity. Yeah. Okay. Great. So right now you've talked about sort of some 56 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:39,560 of the history of what this has looked like, especially through COVID. What does it look 57 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:48,360 like now? When and where is this happening? We meet once a week. We're one class at the 58 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:53,640 moment and we meet on a Tuesday morning between 10 and 12. So we have our tours every week. 59 00:06:53,640 --> 00:07:01,080 And we have probably in our register, we have over 30 students. And we look every Tuesday, 60 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:07,480 we're looking really between kind of 20 and 25 students. Okay, that's great. It's fantastic. 61 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:18,120 We have representation from many countries, from China, Japan, Russia, Egypt, Morocco, 62 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:25,240 Mauritius, Japan. And in fact, this week we have a brand new student from the Ivory Coast 63 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:31,400 in Africa. So we really have lots of lots of different home languages. And when we get 64 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,640 together on a Tuesday morning, we split the morning into two sessions of teaching. 65 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:43,320 The first hour and everybody loves the coffee at the break and an informal catch up. And then we 66 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:51,560 do a second session. But we're, we want our students to learn about Canada and our culture 67 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:58,520 and our traditions. They're coming in with their own backgrounds. And there's 68 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:03,560 Thanksgiving, for example. Many of them have no idea they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in 69 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:12,280 their country. So there's vocabulary around that. There's food there. And we can make it interesting 70 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:18,920 by doing I love grammar doing some kind of grammar past tense, future tense. Okay, so we 71 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:26,840 we're always looking to weave in all all different aspects of language and make it fun and engaging. 72 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:32,600 And also, of course, we are a church, we are Christians, even though this isn't a Christian 73 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:40,200 based teaching ministry, we do manage to at every opportunity just share faith. So Easter is very 74 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:45,000 important and Christmas is very important. And we can bring in our faith around Thanksgiving. And 75 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:52,200 even we have Valentine's Day coming up, we'll be talking about love. And this week, New Year, 76 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:57,400 we kicked off and we were talking about change. Not quite New Year's resolution, we were talking 77 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:05,080 about change in New Year's and, and, and idioms, a change of pace, a change of life. But we managed 78 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:11,080 to bring in and we talked about a change of heart. What does a change of heart mean? So we're, 79 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:19,160 we're always looking to be practical, but also to have fun. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Teaching grammar 80 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:32,200 and having fun. I think that's possible. I think that's possible. And the students really have 81 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:39,000 bonded. A lot of them have made friends and they really enjoy coming. They usually sit at the same 82 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:47,000 table with the discussion, you know, our facilitator, what we do, Ruth and I. Yeah, yeah, we have our 83 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:53,640 table. And we've just really bonded with our people and they with each other and they have a great time. 84 00:09:54,440 --> 00:10:00,280 So the way we set it up downstairs, we have, so we have four main tables in front of the teaching 85 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:07,320 board and we have volunteer teachers at each table. So we have a really strong team. So that's four 86 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:14,040 volunteers at each table. When, when our lead teacher does the main teaching and then we break 87 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:18,600 into smaller groups for discussion, it means that there's more one-on-one interaction with the 88 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:23,240 students. And we, and we even have a couple of floating teachers where, where we have people 89 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:29,480 that maybe need some one-on-one support. We can, we can go from one to one. And then of course, 90 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:36,600 someone is taking turns at putting the kettle on and the coffee on. So it's a busy morning with 91 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:42,760 lots of leadership. Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like you've got a really strong team. We do. That helps 92 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:51,480 make this run. I think the last ministry fair we had, we picked up two, yes, people and that really 93 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:58,840 took off. Yeah. Oh, that's great. So you said you have, you know, 20 to 25 ish people who are coming 94 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:05,640 out. Um, is there like a typical length of time that someone will sort of participate in this 95 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:12,760 ministry? Like once, once they're in, will they stay for years or months or? Yeah. So I think the 96 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:18,520 longest one is Faena because I remember her being in the class way back in the beginning, 97 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:25,720 that's early years. And I was surprised when I came back in 2019, she's still here and she's a 98 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:32,600 regular. She comes out rain or shine. She, she uses a walker, so it's not easy for her to get out, 99 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:39,480 but she looks forward to this more than anything else. It's her one outing. Uh, and then there's 100 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:46,680 other people who are, um, have been coming for years. Uh, there's a group of older Chinese women 101 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:51,320 who all, they live near each other. Some in the same building, they're really strong group of 102 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:56,760 friends together and they come as a group. And, and you know, sometimes we look at the weather 103 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:00,840 and say, well, I don't get many students today. It's icy, it's snow, it's cold. And some of them 104 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:07,240 walk over here and every time we've proved wrong because they all show up. So they're pretty 105 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:14,040 dedicated. And then at the same time, we just keep getting new ones in all the time. And that part 106 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:19,960 of that is some of the students are already coming. Um, we'll go, they meet someone, um, you know, 107 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:25,240 they, they, they go to a library group or something and they say, oh, yeah, come to my ESL. 108 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:32,040 And they introduce friends. And so we're always getting new, new students in. Sure. Yeah. I'd 109 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:37,720 say we have a few that have been coming at least 10 years. Okay. Yeah. And, and it sounds like 110 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:44,280 they're coming just as much for the community as for the lessons. Yeah. And it's often probably 111 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:50,040 one of the few places they can speak English because they're at home either alone or with, 112 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:56,120 uh, family, a lot of, a lot of seniors involved and they're just pretty isolated. And they, 113 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:02,280 when they're in their comfort zone, they speak their language, of course. And so we're one of 114 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:07,800 the few places they can come and use their English. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And really get that chance to 115 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:14,760 practice. Right. And it's sort of low, low stakes. It's a safe place for them that, you know, they can make mistakes. 116 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:20,920 They can just give it a go. And that's what, you know, when we're around the table, we make sure 117 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:28,200 everybody has a chance to participate and, uh, draw them out. So, and we hear from them that they, 118 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:35,800 especially for our seniors, they at home, when they're seeing their grandchildren, um, they're, 119 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:40,360 they're being encouraged to speak in their home language because of course the grandchildren are 120 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:45,880 are speaking English at school and they're, they're in an English environment. So it's important for 121 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:52,120 the families to, to maintain their home language and their heritage and their culture. So, and, 122 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:57,640 and sometimes our students even say to us, my grandchildren don't want to speak English to me. 123 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:05,160 And to, they say I'm too slow or I'm not good enough. And so they, they, they don't want to 124 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:10,680 speak English with me. So it's, they really don't, our students don't get as much practice. 125 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:18,360 So are most of the students then seniors or do you have other age groups that are sort of part of the, 126 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:25,160 the class? Well, it's quite a mix. Yeah, it's, it's, it is a mix, you know, sometimes we have 127 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:31,560 some students where, um, maybe we have some women and their partners, their spouse are on a work 128 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:36,680 contract. So they've been brought over here for a couple of years. So we've, we've had some, 129 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:42,760 some students come and then we're all really sad to say goodbye and they come and then they go. 130 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,560 But, and we maybe have some moms while their kids are at school. 131 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,600 And also we've seen people where they've come in and they're fresh immigrants and they don't 132 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:58,120 have work yet. So they're, they're looking for work and they're trying to improve their English and 133 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:03,080 find out, you know, we could, we, we share information with them about, you know, going 134 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:09,160 to the library. We've, we've had our local counselor has come in and spoken to us and talked about 135 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:14,200 facilities in Mississauga and things that they can get involved in. So we do see some of our 136 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:19,560 younger students are more likely to come for a while and then move on. But our seniors are, 137 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:25,320 our seniors are dedicated and regular. Sure. Yeah. So we've already talked a little bit about some of 138 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:30,600 those needs that this program is meeting, obviously learning English, building a sense of community. 139 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,640 What other sort of needs do you see being met through this ministry? 140 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:38,920 Sorry, Hugo, Diane. 141 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:46,920 Yeah, go ahead, Ali. Well, we just keep saying, we keep banging on about community. 142 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:56,360 This is people, especially after COVID, people were isolated and, and, and this gets people 143 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:02,920 out of the house and it gives them fellowship. And sometimes we say, we have discussions as 144 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:10,520 teachers, we have different levels, beginners, intermediate, and we say, oh, should we, should we 145 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:16,440 change up our intermediates and separate them from beginners and do different lessons? Because we, 146 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:23,080 we all work to one class at the moment and we just keep coming back to, but it's the friendships. 147 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:31,240 People come together and, and they help each other at the tables. So we want to, we, we want to provide 148 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:37,240 community within our local community. Yeah. You know, that's, that's very important to us. 149 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,480 But we've been inviting them to attend the community dinners that Trinity has put on. 150 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:49,400 Yeah. You know that. Yeah, that's been, that's been a really, they're very excited 151 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:55,480 about the community dinners now. And there's usually over a table of ESL students. And, 152 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,680 and so they've, it's, it's actually, it's really encouraged them to take their friendships out of 153 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:06,360 a Tuesday morning. They're, they're exchanging numbers. There's more of them beginning to meet 154 00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:15,480 up now outside. And some of them are even have even volunteered to help at the community dinner, 155 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:23,720 not just eat at the community dinner, which is great. And another we've, we've also, it's, 156 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:30,840 it's been a really nice, it's, as we mentioned a few minutes ago, it's a nice way to introduce faith 157 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:38,360 in a respectful way, because we have other faiths coming. We, we, we have some Muslim students. 158 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:43,960 We have people who have no faith at all. And we have students who attend other churches in Mississauga. 159 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:50,680 And we want to be respectful to other people's beliefs and styles of worship and, 160 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:55,800 and the way they would approach faith. So a gentle way of introducing faith, 161 00:17:55,800 --> 00:18:03,000 but then also just an opportunity to say, would you like to come to church on Sunday? And we have 162 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:09,080 an alpha course running. This is an introduction to faith. You can learn a bit more about faith. 163 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:14,520 And a couple of our Muslim students have come along and done some of the alpha classes. 164 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:22,920 And we've had some students do the whole alpha course and, and find Jesus. And also for some of 165 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:27,480 her students who are already Christian, alpha is a great way. They, they don't know how to talk about 166 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:36,280 Jesus in English. So it's, it's been useful for them to come along and just, it's, it's a whole new 167 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:44,440 vocabulary. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Even for those of us who speak English. Christianity is a whole new 168 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:50,760 vocabulary. Well, I had a fun story. I had one student who's, who's a Christian. And he said to me, 169 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:58,760 of my Bible, he said, I have a Bible. And he said, and I am a Christian, but he said, I just don't 170 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:07,240 understand the reading the Bible in English. And, and we talked for a minute and I said, 171 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:17,560 what version are you using? And he brings out a King James Bible and he has an older style. And 172 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:26,120 he has an older style and he didn't understand the, and thou. And so we, we managed to connect him 173 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:31,560 with a, with a Bible that he actually, he, he understood the vocabulary and much easier. 174 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:36,600 It's amazing what comes up when you're just having conversations downstairs. 175 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:45,320 Yeah. So for, you've mentioned that this isn't a sort of necessarily Christian program, but it is, 176 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,360 as you've said, a way that you can introduce some faith elements there. I'm wondering for, for you 177 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:59,240 guys as leaders, as volunteers in this program, how do you see your faith connect with this, 178 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:04,680 this work? Like, are there ways that you have grown in your faith or ways that you sort of see 179 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:10,920 this as an expression of your faith? Well, it's definitely an expression of it. Okay. In terms 180 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:19,960 of wanting to be loving and caring for all people. And I think we just kind of admire their, 181 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:28,520 their abilities to just reach, start something new and start new lives, coming to a new country and, 182 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:36,040 and having to learn a different language and find their way. And it's, it's just an encouragement 183 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:43,400 to us to see, see how that works. And I just, and I love sharing the Christian story to Christmas 184 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:51,560 and Easter. And it's just really rewarding to see. Yeah. For sure. What about for you, Ali? 185 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:58,920 Well, I mean, we, we read in our scripture about loving our neighbor and this is, yeah, it's an 186 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:06,840 expression of love. It's, it's sharing our skills, you know, so often, and I mean, recently in, 187 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:12,280 in our teaching series in church, we were talking about the gifts. Oh, Bill Crawford was talking 188 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:19,240 about our spiritual gifts. Right. And we've all been given gifts. And, you know, if, if ESL 189 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:25,720 is training and teaching is training that a lot of us have had along the way, we are using our 190 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:32,120 gifts and we are sharing with others and we're called to do that. And, and also just caring for 191 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:37,320 the vulnerable. So many of our students are vulnerable in different ways. Um, and we can 192 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:44,360 provide a safe and caring environment for them to come. Um, and just their perseverance is so 193 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:51,320 encouraging. They, like Ruth said, they come out in the cold and the rain and even over the summer, 194 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,800 they don't want to stop. Um, they want to keep going. They don't want to break. They want to 195 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:02,760 keep learning and trying and, and that's encouraging for us. So that makes our job as a volunteer easy 196 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:09,640 when, when they're so willing to show up every week. The other thing that strikes me is just the, 197 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:22,360 the variety of cultures and, uh, races and that all combined together and people that come from 198 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:30,120 traditions that were our genemies are now sitting around the table, learning English together. 199 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:37,160 Quite something. Yeah, it is. It's fascinating. You meet all different kinds of people, 200 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:42,680 all the different backgrounds and to see how they interact with each other and overcome some of 201 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:48,760 those, maybe, you know, other preconceived ideas. They just see each other as friends. You're 202 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:54,520 learning English. I'm learning English, but let's help each other as somebody. So they're patient 203 00:22:54,520 --> 00:23:02,520 with each other and, um, and, and they help, they help each other along. So, and they're also very, 204 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:08,440 very appreciative of us and are giving our time. And I can't remember the number of times they'll 205 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:13,880 say, thank you so much. You're so good to do this. I know you're giving up your time and they know 206 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:20,600 that we're volunteers. And so they just express their appreciation all the time. And I say, you 207 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:27,160 know, but we get as much, maybe more back from them. And so, uh, you know, and when you're teaching 208 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:34,600 them English, you want them to talk and express themselves. So at the table talk, you want, it's 209 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:40,520 just interesting to listen to them. They come with all their life experiences. They, they know a lot 210 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:47,000 of things. They've, they've got interesting ideas and, and, um, things that they've been through. 211 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:52,840 And so it's interesting to listen as much as we're teaching you, showing you this language, 212 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:59,000 we want you to them to use it. And so when they, when they talk to us, um, just getting to know 213 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:05,160 them on that, and, and as we do sit with more or less the same group every week, you really get 214 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:10,760 to know the students at your table and you can have a bit of a fun with them and, you know, 215 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:17,160 interact in a very friendly way. That's good. Yeah. Yeah. When you were talking about this idea of 216 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:21,720 like different people from all of these different races, nationalities, backgrounds, like coming 217 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:27,240 together and sitting around the same table, it evoked this idea for me of like, this is what the 218 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:32,920 kingdom of God is like, right? Like we read about in Isaiah, you know, the lion will lay down with 219 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:39,640 the lamb. The people who, it seems like they could never get along. They, they're coming together and 220 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:44,680 they're supporting one another, as you've said, and learning together. And that's the kingdom of 221 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:53,240 God, I think. Yeah. And we are really important food. Food is important for hospitality for all 222 00:24:53,240 --> 00:25:00,440 of us. And two really important times of year for us are our, our end of semester at Christmas and 223 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:07,800 in June. And we, we host a, we have, we have a potluck lunch and this, it's one of my favorites 224 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:13,320 because everybody is so happy to bring along some food from their home country, from their culture. 225 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:21,480 And so we lay, we set out tables and this feast appears of homemade food, but we don't just tuck 226 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:29,800 in before we tuck in, we all stand around the tables and everybody explains this dish and how 227 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:36,120 it's made and why it's important and when they eat it and how it forms part of their traditional 228 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:42,600 celebrations. So again, it's, it isn't just about them, our students coming along and learning about 229 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:49,640 Thanksgiving or Easter or our traditions. We are learning about their traditions and we are, 230 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:56,840 we are learning about each other. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Do you have any favorite memories 231 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:02,120 or stories that sort of stand out to you from your time? I know that you two in particular have been 232 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:10,760 around a long time, so maybe there's more memories to think through, but. I wonder recently, you know, 233 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:16,680 last year, one of our students and who was at my table moved to, I think he moved to Markham. 234 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:24,440 This is Anthony and he, among other things that he did, he was a guitar player. He taught guitar. 235 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:32,280 Okay. And so he said before at his last meeting, before he moved, he wanted to come and sing a song 236 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:38,360 to the teachers and the students. And so he got up at our last potluck meeting there and with his 237 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:44,360 guitar and then it turned into a bit of a sing-along, right? He sang his song that he wanted to sing to 238 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:49,480 us. And then we just joined in a couple of others with him and that was really special. It's yeah. 239 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:58,200 That sounds lovely. Yeah. I've had a special relationship with one of our students. She's 240 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:06,200 Shiting from China. She's been coming for at least 10 years. And when I was teaching a lesson 241 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:15,960 in January, I don't know, maybe 10 years ago or something, I talked about New Year's resolutions. 242 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:23,720 And she had the idea that she wanted to write about her life in English so she could have to 243 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:31,960 share with her grandchildren. Okay. And she asked if I could edit it for her. And so she would write 244 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:40,200 out a story of something in her experience and send it to me by email and then I'd edit, correct 245 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:46,360 the English and then send it back to her. And then she would put it all together. And we did this for 246 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:55,000 several years. Okay. And then her daughter put it together in a book and printed it. So just a 247 00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:02,040 self-publishing thing. Yeah. And she was just so thrilled with that. And for me, I learned so much 248 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:11,640 about a woman close to my age growing up in China and going through the Cultural Revolution and how 249 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:20,600 she had to leave school and go off into the forests and do things. And she just brought herself back 250 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:30,360 and finished her education and became a teacher. It was amazing. Yeah. So we have a special bond. 251 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:38,040 Yeah. And so cool that you get to really journey with people in that way, right? Yeah. It really 252 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:43,000 is much bigger than just teaching English. It's building these relationships, right? Yeah. Yeah. 253 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:46,840 What about any favorite memories for you, Allie? Well, I'm a bit newer. 254 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:57,000 I, this last summer, I really enjoyed a more low key lesson. It was one lesson we be over behind 255 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:02,040 the church on the other side of the road. There are a couple of seniors homes and we actually, 256 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:07,080 because the camp is using the church, we can't use the church over the summer. Right. So we only use 257 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:12,760 the party room in one of the seniors homes and it's a bit more unplugged. It's not as formal. 258 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:18,280 And it's a bit more unplugged. It's not as formal. It really is very conversation based. 259 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:27,480 And we had an hour where we talked about childhood memories and a bit like Diane was explaining, 260 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:34,200 it's really lovely to hear about people's memories from the other side of the world, 261 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:39,800 how they grew up. You know, some, some of them maybe weren't even able to go to school 262 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:46,760 and they had to work as children. And so just hearing about their, their upbringings and, 263 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:54,520 and hearing about them laughing and just getting into trouble as children as well. That's always 264 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:59,160 quite funny when you have, when you have someone who's older and talking about that and their, 265 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:03,320 and their large families and then hearing about their stories when they came to Canada, because 266 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:10,680 it's, it wasn't all joy when they came. It was hard. And especially our Chinese students, 267 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:17,720 they were having to leave their country because they're unhappy and, and it's difficult for them 268 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:24,200 politically. That's, they've, there's been a lot of hardship. And so it's, it's humbling. It's humbling 269 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:31,640 to, to be a part of, of hearing their stories and, and having their friendship. Yeah, for sure. 270 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:36,200 Thank you so much ladies for sharing these stories, for giving us a little taste 271 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:43,240 of what this ministry is like and all of the ways that it is blessing you and blessing those that 272 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:50,040 you are working with. I think for me, it's just this reminder that, um, 273 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:58,840 we can find connection with anyone across any sort of boundaries. And also a reminder to 274 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:04,760 that need for, for empathy and for care, right? That, that, as you mentioned, folks are, are 275 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:10,920 struggling folks are coming in, not, not knowing what, what to do or how, but they're trying. 276 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:17,560 Yeah. Right. And so extending that empathy in those moments. And thank you for tuning in to 277 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:22,600 this week's episode of Trinity Talks. I hope that you are also able to find some moments of 278 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:28,760 encouragement and challenges towards empathy and connection. And we will see you again next week.