Posts Tagged ‘english as a second language’

Missions at San Diego Christian College

Posted: January 30, 2013 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , ,
6
San Diego Christian College, David Diaso

Dave & David Jr. at SDCC

Dawn and I had the privilege of participating in San Diego Christian College’s (SDCC) International Outreach Festival. We enjoyed interacting with the students and meeting with some of the other missionaries.

The thing that we enjoyed the most is that our son, David Jr. attends the school. It was fun being with David and his friends. The Lord has blessed David at the school. Some of David’s teachers came up to us and told us that they think very highly of him. They told us, “your son is a leader and an impact student.” Since Jon and Hannah just left it makes it extra special that we could spend time with David today. Thank you, Lord for comforting us!

We took the opportunity while at the school to encourage and motivate students to get involved in missions on the border. One of the ways we could use their help is to go out into the community of City Heights to promote our ESL class. Another opportunity we are exploring is for students be involved in outreach with our church plants south of the border.

We pray that the Lord will raise up all kinds of different workers to serve with us.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Related articles

Giving Thanks for 2012!

Posted: December 31, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Family Happenings, Journey, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, Reflections & Musings, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
7
Jon, David, Hannah, Dave & Dawn at Hannah's graduation

Jon, David, Hannah, Dave & Dawn at Hannah’s graduation

Even though I am ending 2012 in bed with a cold, it has been an outstanding year! We have experienced more change this year than we have since we left Mexico in late 1999.

I praise the Lord along with my wife, Dawn, for all He has done in and through us in 2012.

“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!”

–Psalm 100:1,2

The biggest event in our lives this past year was selling our house in Colorado and moving to the San Diego-Tijuana border. Dawn and I had been working towards this goal for two years. It took us longer than we thought it would take to sell our house. We know God’s timing is perfect, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to wait.

The wait has made it all the sweeter, though. We love being here, and we are so thrilled with all that God is doing.

After living in Colorado for 12 years it was hard to say good-bye to all our friends. We will always cherish our time in Colorado Springs. God brought healing and provided some wonderful fellow sojourners.

The most difficult thing about leaving Colorado was leaving two of our children, Jonathan and Hannah. We miss them dearly. It’s not easy being instant empty nesters. After all, aren’t we too young for that? 😉

It does make it easier knowing that our loving Father is watching over our children, and caring for them. We are grateful that our oldest son, David Jr. lives close to us as he goes to school in El Cajon at San Diego Christian College.

All three of our kids are doing well and they love the Lord.

  • David is on the student council at his school, and he’s excelling in his courses. When I visited the school recently one of the professors from the school told me David was a high impact student! Thank you Lord!
  • Jonathan began working at Wells Fargo Bank as a teller in June. He just went through their banker’s training, and he is exploring the possibility of getting a job transfer that would put him close to us. O, Lord, we pray you would open the door for that to happen soon.
  • Hannah graduated from high school in May. She is working at Big Lots and going through many adjustments being on her own in Colorado. Hannah will fly out to visit us this next week, so we are super excited about seeing her!

We have much to be thankful for in 2012! Even in the short time Dawn and I have been here, we’ve seen the Lord do some wonderful things. In late October and early November we partnered with Harbor Church and Lo Mejor Del Trigo to start a new church.

God’s encouraged us as we launched the English as a Second Language (ESL) outreach last April. Oliva came to Christ through ESL, and is now growing in her faith. We are getting ready to launch a second ESL class next week.

Dave & Dawn at San Diego Harbor

Wishing You A Happy New Year!

This is only a small sampling of the many marvelous things that God did in 2012. Praise him with us!

“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5, ESV)

Thanks so much for joining us on this journey!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Giving Thanks for Our Intern: Emily Gryder

Posted: November 24, 2012 in Christianity, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , ,
5
Emily with Edgardo Avila pastor of the Spanish church

Emily with Edgardo Avila pastor of the Spanish church

Our intern, Emily Gryder has served with us since July 7th. She will be leaving this coming Friday. The Lord has used her to connect with many of the Hispanics that we are working with. We are so encouraged by how Emily has served.

We started the summer with our first intern, Zach Lutz. Zach did a great job as well, and he opened the door for many of the things that Emily is now doing.

Zach and Emily started up a weekly VBS for neighborhood kids in City Heights. Emily has kept that going with an after school kids club.

Another area where Emily has really helped us is with our English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. She has been our main teacher over the last several months. Oliva, who I wrote about in a recent post, came to Christ through Emily opening the door with ESL classes, and then inviting Oliva to the Spanish service.

Emily has also befriended and discipled, Hilary, one of the youth in the church.

She’s had numerous experiences such as building a home for the homeless, building a church, feeding the poor, etc. You can catch up on more of Emily’s exploits on her blog: Chosen by Grace.

Emily with Oliva and Elizabeth

Emily with Oliva and Elizabeth

I’m amazed that Emily has been able to do so much at her young age. She’s still a teenager herself.

Dawn and I believe in the importance of building into young people, and giving them opportunities to serve in missions. Their time on the border gives them a broad and unique experience.

We do give thanks for Emily, who’s been living with us since mid-September. When Emily first came Ray and Michele Call spent a lot of time with Zach and Emily. We are grateful for all the time and energy they gave to both of our interns. We are also thankful for Tom and Debbie Steller, who provided housing for Emily until we arrived.

Join us in thanking the Lord for Emily, and praying for her as she heads back to her family in North Carolina. Pray also that the Lord raises up more workers as we work to see a renewed San Diego-Tijuana border.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

God Opens Hearts Through ESL!

Posted: October 25, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Prayer, San Diego
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
8
Oliva - God is doing a good work in her life

God is doing a good work in Oliva’s life

The Lord has done a good work through our Friday evening English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Two woman have come to faith through our ESL ministry. Last spring an international Korean college student, Tesory, came to Christ and was baptized into the church.

Recently, Oliva, a Mexican woman started coming to ESL classes. She learned about the class through a newspaper ad.

As a part of the class, Ray Call leads a devotional time in English to encourage their English and to share the love of Christ with the students. Our intern, Emily Gryder is also involved in ESL. She has been teaching the classes while she’s been with us. Emily took the initiative to invite Oliva to the Spanish service we have on Friday evenings.

While Oliva was at the service she met Edgardo and Elizabeth Avila who lead the Spanish ministry. Elizabeth explained the gospel message to Oliva, and she gave her life to Christ.

Oliva has been faithfully attending Harbor Mid City on Sunday. The Lord is drawing her nearer and she is considering making a deeper commitment to Christ and his church.

It’s so encouraging to see the Lord at work!

A huge need we have now is to build up our teaching team. Emily has done a great job, but she is leaving in about a month, on November 30th. We are talking to some other friends about teaching English. Pray the Lord raises up a good team, and that he continues to use ESL to be a blessing to the City Heights community.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Taking Jesus to the Streets!

Posted: October 10, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, Reflections & Musings, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
11
Pastor Leo & Gloria with Vicente & Billy with Dave in the middle

Pastor Leo & Gloria and Vicente & Billy with Dave in the middle

Yesterday Ray Call, Emily Gryder, Vicente Salinas and I took Jesus to the streets in City Heights. We paired up and walked the streets. As we  walked along we prayed for the city, and we invited people to our English class. We offer English to the many Spanish speakers, and others who don’t yet speak English.

I walked with Vicente and it was a great experience. He was very bold as he invited people to come to the English class. I enjoyed ministering in the city with him.

Another cool connection with Vicente and his wife, Billy is that they have some friends in Rosarito. You might remember that Rosarito is where Leo and Gloria Nevarez work on the new church plant. Vicente and Billy were so excited when they learned about the new church, because they are concerned for the welfare of their friends.

When a group of us went down to Rosarito last week we tried to call Vicente and Billy’s friends, but we weren’t able to get in touch with them.

This past Sunday at church Pastor Leo and Gloria came and I was able to introduce them to Vicente and Billy. They were able to explain to pastor Leo where their friends lived, and they also made sure that he had the right phone number. It will be interesting to see how the Lord works through these relationships.

It’s so good to see the Lord open doors and build bridges across the border. I was thinking earlier today that maybe our ministry should be called some like, Bridge Builders for the Border. That’s part of what our mission is. “O Lord, grant us huge success for your glory.”

Please pray for me as I attempt to build more bridges across the border this Thursday. I will be preaching in the mother church in Tijuana of “Lo Mejor Del Trigo.” It’s been a while since I preached or taught in Spanish. Pray with me that the Lord speak through me, and use us to love on and minister to the people of Tijuana.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

God uses English to Touch Lives!

Posted: April 25, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , ,
7
Ray Call has done a great job with our ESL!

Ray Call has done a great job with our ESL!

We launched our ESL (English as a Second Language) class on April 13th. The first day of class there was a huge rainstorm, so that ended up not being the best day to start. We have a small, but good group.

There are some very encouraging things that give us hope that this outreach will be a success. Ray Call has done a wonderful job of coordinating our ESL. He arranged for all our teachers to be trained ahead of time. We have a great group of committed teachers. The Lord has really blessed as the foundation for this outreach is established. As we see God working it inspires us. I’m thrilled with the work Ray has done, and the team he has recruited minister to the community in this way!

Hannah and Ray practicing teaching with other participants

Hannah and Ray practicing teaching with other participants during ESL training

One area that I’d like to ask you to continue to pray with us about is that the Lord would bring more students. Often when a new ministry is launched it can take time for word to get out. I think that we will see our attendance grow as more people in the community hear about the opportunity to learn English.

I’ve prayed that the Lord will use this time to help the teachers become more comfortable and confident with the material that they are teaching. Also that the Lord will help us to build a solid foundation for the ministry to grow.

We are planning to continue the ESL classes until the end of May. Then take a break over the summer and start up again in the fall.

Thanks for standing with us through prayer, and your loving support.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Interns, Video & Prayer

Posted: April 19, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana, Video
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
2

One of our summer interns, Zach Lutz just posted a short video interview to help us to get to know him better. It also gives us a better idea of how to pray for him, and who we are praying for. We are enthusiastic about Zach joining us in a little over a month.

Here’s some of the ways you can pray for Zach’s experience. Zach mentions on the video that you can find more prayer requests and updates on his blog site: zalutz@blogspot.com. You can also pray for our other interns, Emily Gryder and David Diaso Jr. in the same way.

  1. Pray for Ray and Dave as we plan out Zach’s schedule.
  2. We are still working on finding the best housing situation for our interns.
  3. That they will raise up all their funds before they arrive on the field.
  4. That the Lord would help us to work together and be unified.
  5. That God would use us and the experience to build into the life of our interns.
  6. That the Lord will touch the lives of many through the ministry of our interns.

I’d like to ask prayer for some other needs we have that aren’t necessarily related to the interns.

  1. Ray and Dave at Border Crossing

    Ray and Dave at Border Crossing

    Ray Call had to go to the hospital in Mississippi Wednesday morning, because of the pain he was experiencing. They found out that he has kidney stones. He’s been having stomach problems for a couple of months, this is part of the reason. It maybe the main reason. Pray for his healing.

  2. The Call family has had nonstop problems with their van and car since October of 2011. I think this is an attack from the enemy, seeking to discourage them as they serve the Lord, and help us open a new ministry on the border.
  3. We’d appreciate continued prayer for our ESL classes. We began registration last week, but with all the rain the turn out was lower than we had hoped. It may take some time to build the attendance. Pray that more show up this week, and that the Lord uses this outreach for His glory.

Thanks for your faithful prayers!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Introducing Intern – Emily Gryder

Posted: April 11, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Journey, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
12
Emily Gryder

Emily Gryder one of our summer interns

Last week I introduced one of our interns, Zach Lutz. The Lord has blessed us with two other interns, Emily Gryder and David Diaso Jr. Today I’d like to highlight Emily.

We give thanks to the Lord for giving us such amazing interns. It is surprising in some ways that we already have a growing internship ministry, since our team is still young. We are thrilled that we can build into their lives. As they serve the Lord will use them to touch the lives of people they meet and minister to on the border.

Emily Gryder is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is the oldest of one brother, and two sisters. She is presently majoring in Spanish and minoring in Biology at UNC Chapel Hill. The Lord has given her a love for missions, and given her opportunities to go to the Dominican Republic with her youth group. Emily has a long time boyfriend, named David.

One of the ministries that she has enjoyed is children’s ministry. She’s been involved in outreach to children and tutoring elementary students.

Emily recently wrote about her experience in missions, and her opportunity to serve with BEAMM.

“As some of you my know, I have loved missions for a long time. This was first kindled at a young age and grew dramatically during two short-term missions trips to the Dominican Republic in 2008 and 2010. I am writing to let you know about another exciting opportunity that I have and to invite you to partner with me in it.”

We are glad that the Lord is working in Emily’s heart, and preparing her for the chance to minister with us this summer and fall. She brings excitement and energy to our team. You can learn more about Emily and her journey through her blog: egryder.blogspot.com. She will be with us from July 7th till November 30th.

We believe that our interns are an answer to our prayers. Join us in prayer that Zach, Emily and David will have an outstanding experience with us. Continue to ask the Lord of the Harvest to raise up laborers to work in and reap the harvest.

Have big dreams and don't live on the safe side!

Dream Big - don't live on the safe side! Come check out BEAMM San Diego - Tijuana

Speaking of the need for workers. This Thursday, April 12th, I will be at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis presenting our ministry to the seminary students. Pray that it goes well, and that the Lord would work in calling some to join us on our journey on mission with Jesus to serve on the border.

Ray Call and I would also appreciate your prayers for the ESL (English as a Second Language) launch this Friday, April 13th. Ray has been working hard with our friends at Harbor to promote and invite students. We are anxiously awaiting what the Lord will do through this outreach.

Thanks so much for praying for us, and for our growing team.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Great Weekend of ESL

Posted: March 25, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
7
Kristy Holliday leading the training

Kristy Holliday leading the training

ESL (English as a second language) training got us off to an outstanding start this weekend. Thanks so much for praying for us. Kristy Holliday did a great job leading our teachers in training in anticipation of launching ESL on April 13. My BEAMM teammate, Ray Call promoted and organized the training. Congratulations to Ray and Kristy for such a commendable job.

It was so encouraging to see the Lord working through the ESL training. It was a major blessing for me to not only be at the training with Ray and Kristy, but also to have my family with me.

Dawn, David, Jr. and Hannah attended the weekend event! We missed Jonny Boy, but somebody had to stay home to take care of princess (our dog).

Hannah and Ray practicing teaching with other participants

Hannah and Ray practicing teaching with other participants

Successfully starting ESL classes with a good group of students is our next big goal. To achieve this goal we obviously need teachers. Good, godly teachers. Thank you Jesus for the those that received the training. The other huge need is students. April 13th is less than three weeks away.

We pray the Lord brings us many students. It’s a way for us to bless the community, and share the love of Christ with those who come.

In preparation for the start of the ESL classes we will follow-up the training to get the right teachers that have a heart for loving the immigrants and refugees that come. It was encouraging to get to know those that came to the training. They definitely have a strong love for Christ. We are not sure yet, how many of them will help with teaching. We need six teachers, and someone who will organize and administrate the classes.

As my good friend, pastor Stephen Phelan said, “Please pray that this will be a common grace for the common good of our city and also a way that immigrants and refugees meet Jesus.”

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. This morning Dawn, Hannah and I are going up to Escondido to speak at New Life Presbyterian Church. We appreciate your prayers.

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

ESL Growing as the Launch Date Approaches!

Posted: March 14, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , ,
3
Dave with Daniel Nuñez

Dave with Daniel Nuñez

In my last post I announced the launching of our upcoming English as a Second Language (ESL) training. The training will start in just a little over a week on March 23 – 24. I asked you to pray. We are already seeing some encouraging answers to your prayers. Praise the Lord with us as we have at least 22 signed up to come to the training!

We are still praying for at least six teachers and one administrator to come from this group. We already have four committed teachers, and we may have more. Additional people have signed up in the last couple of days!

I just met with Daniel Nuñez and his wife Yolanda. Daniel is planting churches in Tijuana. I encouraged Daniel to invite some people from his church to come for the training, and it looks like they will have two or three coming. It’s great to see how the Lord opens doors and works through relationships.

We started the ESL training mainly as an outreach for Harbor Mid-City. The ministry is now extending to other churches, and even into TJ. Our hope is that many will come to take the ESL classes, and that eventually they will be forever changed by the love of Christ. Learn English and get to know Jesus! What a great opportunity.

Daniel Nuñez is such a great friend and partner in ministry, I’m praying ESL will be a blessing to those he is working with in TJ as well. In my next post I’d like to highlight the new church plant Daniel is working on!

There are some challenges as we serve, and seek to make a difference in people’s lives through the life changing power of the gospel. If we pay attention we notice God is moving on the border. The gospel in making a difference. It doesn’t always turn out the way we thought it would, but we are encouraged by what He is doing.

Dawn and I along with Ray and Michele Call appreciate your prayers as we head into the last week before the ESL training. I listed some specific prayer requests here…

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org