The school year at EELC has officially started!
The first English classes were held on Saturday 24th September and by the following Tuesday every class had had at least one lesson. The teachers were thrilled this year to have so many students and teachers that it was possible to have two level 2 classes, a level 3, and a level 4 class!
Conversation classes have also started. The plan is to have the coffee lounge open most mornings of the week for students to attend, enjoy coffee, and have a great conversation. Also, there will be classes on a couple of evenings each week including one evening for a women’s only group.
The beauty of conversation classes is that participants can talk about anything and everything and allow the conversation to flow around the questions and the answers that are shared. It is a special space in which teachers can get to know the students better and more personally. It is a place for challenging the status quo and the “correct” or “routine” answers. It is a place for the students to practice English listening and speaking skills, but it is also a place where they can think deeply and safely ask questions.
So what was the main question for last Monday’s conversation?
The topic was grace. Grace is a difficult concept because it is abstract and tends to go against our natural inclinations as humans. The working definition used in class was, “To receive grace is to receive something you don’t deserve at someone else’s expense.” The students were quick to think of examples of parents showing grace to their children and someone read a story about Mayor LaGuardia’s unexpected show of grace to an older women accused of stealing a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren during the Great Depression. Then the story of the Good Samaritan was told; although to fit the context, it was told as the Good Afar. The students were challenged to think about what it would look like to show grace to an enemy, someone who has wronged you or even someone from a different culture, race or language.
The students were quick to point out that God shows grace to us, forgiving our sins and allowing us into Janna (Paradise). All agreed, but referring back to the definition, the question was posed, “When God shows us grace, who is paying? At whose expense do we receive grace?” This is a tricky question. For God to forgive us, someone still has to pay for the sins we committed. If God would just forget or erase the sins, he would be unjust and corrupt. All agreed that could not be the case. Thus the students were left with the question, ‘who paid?’ In the story about LaGuardia, the mayor paid the $10 fine for the woman who stole the bread. It was at his expense that the woman received grace. The consequence of sin is death. Who paid that price so that we can receive grace from God?
So the class ended. What will be the next topic? Watch this space!
Kerith Trust 