April 12th, 2016

​I met Juliana and her 13-year-old son Erick through an access ministry we have here in NYC. Juliana responded to the free English conversation classes offered by GCMI, but she was hoping to find help for her son too. You see, Juliana and Erick have recently moved to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic and Erick is having a hard time in school as his English is not very advanced. Although he speaks better English than I expected, he still struggles with grammar and with his English pronunciation in general.

Upon our initial meeting, I visited their home to assess where Erick’s language was at and begin forming a relationship with the family. This included intentionally making spiritual statements within our conversations to 1) communicate that I am a Christ follower and that having a relationship with God is important to me and 2) gauge where they were at spiritually. Through this I learned that this family does have a Christian background but since being here in NYC they have been unable to connect with a Christian community.

Please pray for my time with Juliana and Erick as I continue to build relationships with them and their community, help Erick with his English, and invite them to gather a group together to form a Discovery Bible Study. Pray that they respond to this invitation and will be able to experience the love and freedom Christ has to offer through studying His word in community.