Connecting with teens in Ansan, South Korea

When we started teaching at Wings of Dreams Summer English Camp in Ansan, South Korea, my teenage students were afraid to speak in English. They had it in them to make conversation but practice was needed. We focused on greetings, weather, ordering food, making purchases, talking about personal character and what we liked and disliked. As each day progressed, their comfort level grew and grew.

As a fun project, we created a short play, retelling the story of Esther from the Bible. The students created the script, all of which was in English. When we performed it for the rest of the camp, the students had a lot of fun.

Mid week, I helped lead my class on an outing into the city. Our guide/teachers assistant, Luis, led us through the hot streets of Ansan. We took buses, had lunch, walked through downtown and across  a bridge to spend time in an art museum. We even took an opportunity to dance in front of a great music and light art display! We finally made it to the last stop of our outing, a man made waterfall. It was beautiful! The students played in the shallow water nearby, chasing each other and throwing water from their bottles. We had been through a lot that week and it was almost time to say goodbye to each other.

When we went to leave the park, we wanted to get a photo near the waterfall, only to find it was set on a timer and we were right in the middle of a pause in the water works! We took the picture anyway then began to make the trip back to Camp. 

On our last day together, I shared my heart with them. Above all, I want them to grow deeper in their relationship with God. Through learning and practicing English, we got to ask and answer questions about life, future plans, world missions and  having trust in God instead of fear. I can't wait to see how God uses each student and my teachers assistant to reach the world for His glory.