Dan Gingrich

Dan teaches English to the internationals and immigrants who study at the MIH English Language Institute. In addition, he serves as a satellite English teacher for adults at the Family Life Center of a Hispanic church in Lancaster.

As a teacher, Dan's objective is to be a positive witness for Christ. He not only teaches language skills, but also helps the students with practical needs as they adapt to life in America. Dan keeps in touch with many of his students after they leave MIH. Sometimes, they will send him essays for feedback.

Through the ongoing personal contact with his students, he often has opportunity to share his faith in Christ.

Besides his teaching duties, Dan helps organize activities for the MIH students, especially the men. At the beginning and end of each semester, Dan and Laurie host a Men's Coffee Night at their home. Laurie makes some of her favorite desserts for the guys.

Once or twice a semester, he leads Saturday bike rides for the MIH students. He has found that the best way to get acquainted with the students is through conversations during lunch in the MIH dining room. His objective is to serve as a mentor for his students and point them to Jesus Christ.

Dan's wife Laurie is his biggest supporter. She works full-time at Lancaster General Hospital, which allows Dan to contribute many volunteer hours at MIH.

Praises

1. 1. Two of my students, an immigrant from Ethiopia and a refugee from Bhutan, completed CNA(Certified Nursing Assistant) at HACC in May.
2. 2. Ongoing contact with Bhutanese and Iraqi students; taught Bhutanese husband of CNA student to drive.
3. 3. Ongoing e-mail contact with a pastor and a Christian brother in India.

Prayer Requests

1. Financial sponsors for the DREAM RIDE Bike Ride on Saturday, July 23, which I will participate in.
2. My goal is to raise $1500 a month to support the work in the English Language Institute. My current level is $400 a month.
3. Opportunity to return to Manipur ( India) in March 2012 for teaching English and mentoring.

I spent three weeks (March 19-April 9) traveling in India with Jiten Singh, who is my English student and a graduate student at Lancaster Bible College. I spoke at a two-day leadership conference in Jiten's home state of Manipur. I also gave the morning message in two churches and taught an English class. A major part of our trip was encouraging pastors and young leaders as well as visiting in homes.

We spent the first week in Bangalore in southern India, where we stayed with a Manipuri couple, Doren and his wife Gune and their young daughter Emiya. While in Bangalore, Jiten and I visited the church of Pastor Zachariah. Read about weekend at his church.

Then, we flew to Siliguri, a city in the northern part of the state of West Bengal in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains near Nepal and Bhutan. Jiten envisions a training center for Christian leaders in this centrally located city.After three days in Siliguri, we went to Manipur, a state in NE India near Myanmar(Burma).

View my FACEBOOK photos to get a glimpse of what I experienced in India. Likewise, view the video that includes a sharing time in the Children's Home of Marong. India Video

Jiten, who has a vision for leadership development and Business as Mission (BAM) has invited me to join him in March 2012 in Manipur for teaching English and mentoring. My Indian visa is good until 2021!

Tuesday was a special day for two of our students. Yeshi and Lok completed the CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) program at HACC (Harrisburg Area Community College. The program included classes at the HACC-Lancaster Campus as well as clinical training at the Conestoga View. Let me introduce them to you.

Yeshi comes from Ethiopia and has been meeting with me for tutoring on Wednesday afternoons at the Alpha and Omega Community Center(AOCC), one of our satellite locations. Although AOCC is an outreach primarily to the Hispanic community, Yeshi lives nearby in the neighborhood. Actually, I had tutored her husband a year ago. When he finished, he said his wife wanted to meet to improve her English skills. Yeshi expressed desire to take CNA training. In our session, we studied medical English vocabulary and watched online performance skill videos. Then, she put plans to register for the CNA class on hold and concentrated on reading comprehension as well as writing stories about persecution of Christians in Ethiopia during her youth.

Lok and her family are Nepali refugees from Bhutan. Having arrived in the USA in December, she and her husband came to the MIH English Language in January through Church World Service. In our discussions in class, she expressed interest in working in healthcare. When I asked her why she was interested in that field, she replied that she cares for her husband's elderly grandparents and enjoys serving people. She started preparing for the CNA program at HACC before I left for India in March. She did her FBI fingerprinting, criminal background check and registered for the May classes. While I was gone, she continued to study vocabulary and do online practice.

When I returned from India in April, Yeshi told me that she had registered for the CNA class in May- the same as Lok! Then, I introduced Yeshi and Lok to each other, and they quickly became friends. Soon, their short but intense three week course of study began. We met numerous times during the month for study sessions and review of the material. Then, on Monday, they called to say they had passed their exam, and Tuesday would be their graduation.

Yeshi and Lok are good friends. Yeshi's husband, who is involved in Christian ministry, would like to continue working on his academic writing skills. Lok's family has a garden plot at MIH. Her husband started working at LGH. He's taking his driving test on Thursday. May the Lord use our relationships with one another for His glory. Your prayers and gifts are appreciated as we serve in the ELI and at AOCC.

In His service, Danny Gingrich,
English teacher
MIH English Language Institute
Alpha and Omega Community Center