Amanda's Story: Unexpected Rewards of Cross-Cultural Service

Amanda was looking for an opportunity to practice her Spanish while using her gifts as a teacher. Through ChristianVolunteering.org, she found that Iglesia Bautista Shalom was looking for a teacher's aide for their ESL class.

Amanda committed to volunteering each weekend for several months, and found it was a great opportunity both to "interact with those of different socioeconomic or ethnic backgrounds" and to share her knowledge with others. As a volunteer, she helped the ESL teacher manage a large class of 25 beginning English students. She "gave vocabulary lessons and checked students' work to ensure comprehension" and "also conversed with students informally to encourage them to practice speaking."

Through her volunteer experience, she "came to see the need for ESL classes in the immigrant community." She hopes that her "involvement encouraged the students to continue studying English and in some small way, helped bridge interaction between the Latino community and groups that [she] represents (i.e. Asian American, Christian, University graduate, young professional)." Finally, she hopes "that more people like [her] will be inspired to do the same and step outside their comfort zones to serve the urban community."

Amanda strongly encourages others to volunteer at Iglesia Bautista Shalom. As she says, "Pastor Jose Flores and his wife Maria are warm and selfless people that were a joy to get to know. They currently are in need of a teaching assistant, and the continuance and success of the ESL classes depends heavily on that need."

"For those considering volunteering" in general, she says, "I would strongly urge them to get involved as soon as possible-there are so many needs in the city, and the personal sacrifice (in terms of time and effort) is quite small, in the whole scheme of things...There are few things that I regularly invest myself in that I feel have nearly as lasting or largely influential an impact as simply volunteering on the weekends. Whether it be ESL classes, mentoring a child, administrative work at a non-profit, or what have you, contributing out of the kindness and passion of our hearts is always the most fulfilling. You never know when you may touch a life, so my motto is to make myself available for such an opportunity as much as possible!"