For a long time, Walter’s classroom was a screen. Walter is Agape Way’s Board Chairman, and since last November he has taught English online to students in Cambodia from his home in America — voices and faces in little boxes, week after week, through Agape Way’s Online English Classes.
On October 3, Walter arrived in Cambodia. And for the first time, the little boxes became real people.
In Walter’s own words:
“My passion for teaching English as a second language became a wish come true as I was able to teach my Cambodian students finally in person. What a joy to finally meet them in person. I was also able to make contact with many new students. What an amazing and inspiring experience for a teacher to have.”
The photos tell the rest. Walter at a real whiteboard, writing the day’s words — everyday words like water, apple, rice, bread — and, just to give his students courage, one of the longest words in the English language. Students greeting him outside under the painted Bible stories on the classroom wall. A yard full of young people lined up for a game, laughing. And a classroom of students beaming at their desks, flashing peace signs at the camera — their teacher finally in the room.
He also met many new students who hope to join the classes — a reminder that this small classroom keeps outgrowing itself.
And on Friday and Saturday, Walter’s classroom was a church.
Pastor Sinath fosters a group of young people at his church, Love of Jesus Christ Church — the boys sleep on the bottom floor, the girls on the top. They, too, are Walter’s online English students, and for two days he taught them face to face, in their own classroom, with their pastor beside him.
What he found there was a family. In his words:
“It’s truly amazing how these students have formed a family and care for one another and how Pastor Sinath cares for them with what little he has.”
“I am truly blessed to able to spend some time with Pastor Sinath and his children.”
This is the first of Walter’s letters from Cambodia. In the coming days he’ll report from the churches he is visiting with Pastor Say Yon and Pastor Phearum — including families still waiting for food and shelter after the floods.
Pray with us: for Walter’s students, that English opens doors for their futures — for the new students waiting to join — and for Pastor Sinath and the young people who call his church home. To support Agape Way’s Online English Classes and education work, visit https://agapeway.org