It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Kerala for almost 2 months, the time has gone by so fast! I’ve settled into a schedule that keeps me pretty busy, but it’s work that I am happy doing. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to Bishop Moore College. I take free classes and help students with their communicative English through different writing and speaking activities. Two of my (and the students’) favorite topics are Malayalam cinema and mascots! I have very little experience with Malayalam films, so the students are only too happy to describe their favorite actors and movies. The idea of a mascot is completely new to the students; they think the idea is very funny. I first explain what a mascot is and what qualities are desirable for a mascot, and then I ask them to think of a mascot for Bishop Moore College. After descriptions and a little debate, the students vote on their favorite mascots. I also teach remedial English 2 mornings out of the week, in which I am a little more traditional in my teaching methods (verb tenses, articles, etc.). When there are no free classes to take, I get to sit in one of the department offices and chat with the professors. They are all very friendly and I’ve had some very funny and very deep discussions with them.
On Wednesdays and Frida
y mornings I teach classes at the primary school next door to the college, Kallamula LP School. The school only has five teachers and their budget is very small—most of their students are too poor to afford the nice private school down the road. In Kerala, students can attend either a Malayalam medium school or an English medium school (referring to the language of instruction). Malayalam medium schools are cheaper than English medium schools, which means that the poorer children do not have the chance to become very fluent in English. This very much hinders them when they take their exams at the end of grade 12, which are, for the most part, in English. These exams determine what type of college students can attend. The result is a cycle of poverty, since poor children cannot do as well on English language exams their chances of getting into a good college are very poor. Kallamula LP School is a Malayalam medium school and they very much need English instructors. All of the past volunteers have served there and the children love to interact with them! I teach songs and nursery rhymes (“Head, shoulders, knees and toes” is a favorite) and play games to help them review their English vocabulary. It’s challenging to teach young children when I encounter such a huge language barrier, but we have fun.Most of my time is spent at the hostel, and it is there that I experience the more spiritual rewards and learning opportunities of my service. I attend the daily prayer with the girls in the evening, and once a week I give a short message. For this message I try to focus on women in the Bible, which is a new experience for these girls. This past week I talked about Rebekkah, how her cleverness and wit helped Jacob to receive Jacob’s blessing. I told the girls that God gave them minds to think and to use. They shouldn’t hide how smart they are (which they do in class because the boys will tease them), they should proudly display their gifts of intelligence and wit. Some of the girls came and told me afterwards that they really enjoyed the message; that it was very different from the messages that they usually hear. I’m glad that I can help them see the Bible and see their faith in a different way.
The hostel is also where I am really engaging in a “ministry of presence.” Sometimes, all I can do is just listen to the girls, be present for them and their troubles. Usually I feel totally unequipped (linguistically and emotionally) to effectively respond to them, but they like to have somebody to talk to, somebody who will listen to their experiences. For example, one of the first year girls came up to me after the prayer one evening to tell me her faith story. She is a Christian but comes from a conservative Hindu family. She made the decision to enter the Christian faith while facing very strong opposition from her loved ones. At home, she has to hide her Bibles and Christian reading material because her mother might tear them up (it has happened before). Consequently, she feels she can truly express her faith only at Bishop Moore College and at this hostel. Even here she faces resistance to her faith; some of her Hindu professors and friends continually ask her why she insists on being a Christian. Amazingly, she says that she forgives her family and friends who discourage her and that she prays daily for them to accept her and her chosen faith. When she told me her story, I could do nothing but listen and nod—I had no personal experience from which to relate with her. I have been fortunate enough to be born into a family that would have accepted whatever religious path I chose to follow, and who would have supported me on any faith journey. I very much admire her strength of faith and of will to hold on to her Christian beliefs in the face of such intimidating obstacles. She says she wants to be a missionary and preach the word of God; I’m encouraging her to think about going to one of the few Indian seminaries that accept women, she would be a great achen (pastor).
Before I sign off on this post, I will explain how you, wherever you are in the world, can help the communities here in Kerala. First, you can support each and every one of the volunteers, and the people we work with, by praying for us—we need it! You can also donate money to our mission by visiting the PCUSA YAV website (http://www.pcusa.org/yav/support.htm#international) and clicking on a volunteer’s name. Lastly, we do appreciate material donations. All of the volunteers in Kerala work with children, but we don’t have many resources for teaching them English. If you are/were a teacher and have some old coloring books, teacher resource books, arts and crafts materials, etc. lying around we would be more than glad to take them off your hands! You can send these things to:
Sarah Lyn Jones
Sr. Rachel Joseph Hostel
Mavelikara PO Alappuzha
Kerala 690101 India
As always, thank you so much for reading this blog and for your thoughts and prayers!
