[ Khawla, Ayat, & Jameel ]
Ayat believed life in America was the hope for her children’s futures, so she and her family left everything to pursue it. Years of struggle passed, each nearly driving the close-knit family to surrender and return to Jordan. Just when their endurance was at an end, their ESL community brought the support they needed to reach for each of their dreams.
[ GloirE ]
Driven from his home in the Congo by tribal war, Gloire lived most of his childhood in the refugee camps of Burundi. He spent his days like so many children: learning in school, playing countless games of soccer, and gazing in fascination at the rare airplanes that would fly overhead, wondering what it might be like to be a pilot himself. But when happenstance brought his family to Ohio, the new relationships he formed and resources he found became the stepping stones to make that dream a reality.
[ Asma ]
Despite the promise of opportunity, Asma looked out the window of her new American home with fear. A muslim woman like me could never be welcome. This isolation would be broken by the unlikeliest friend: a Jewish woman, a volunteer at Asma’s English class, who opened her eyes to the goodness that can be found anywhere.
[ THE LOPEZ FAMILY ]
Life in Venezuela was great. But when political turmoil turned the country upside down, the Lopez family was forced to leave behind their high-profile, successful careers for a seven-hundred square foot apartment and the daily struggle to provide. Hope seemed scant, until they connected with a unique family ESL program that laid the foundation for making America their second home.
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A group of immigrant families confront a fundamental need: the ability to communicate. In this new English-speaking culture, limited access to language education leaves them facing a world that’s foreign at every turn. Through courage and unexpected alliances, their journey to learn English through a unique, 3-generation family ESL program leads to something much deeper —lifelong friendships and a newfound sense of belonging.
[ KIM EMCH ]
In 2007, as a wife and mother working in a midwest suburb, she learned there were over 2000 children facing poverty in her suburban town. With a call on her life to love and serve her neighbors and an army of volunteers what started as a free summer lunch camp grew to afterschool tutoring then a three generation family English program. June 2025, she took a trip of a lifetime for month to Jordan with her dear friends Khawla, Ayat, Jameel and their extended family. This social justice, entrepreneur dreams of every major US city having a three generation family ESL program mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Americans to serve our neighbors and build life-changing relationships across the lines of difference.
[ Joyce Gericke ]
When Joyce retired from her career as Executive Assistant, she wanted to give back and volunteer. Her husband suggested she help at a family ESL program at his church. As a Jewish woman, she decided to give it a try. She started helping as an assistant teacher in the adult ESL classroom, never expecting stay for 10 years and to meet friends that would be as close as a daughter and grandchildren.
[ Bob Masheter ]
Bob grew up in a Christian home regularly hearing racist remarks. As an adult, he worked to build relationships across lines of difference. After 911, the feelings about ‘others’ creeped back in. Following his wife, whom he dearly respects, he began volunteering to teach ESL meeting people from around the globe that dramatically changed his life and his heart over the last 10 years He’s learning Arabic, Spanish and Ukrainian to better communicate with his friends from his class.
[ Nick Williams ]
Growing up, he looked into the sky dreaming of being a pilot. His journey took him to the sheriffs office where he has worked for decades, becoming a detective. COVID gave him the opportunity to chase his childhood dream. He became a pilot, purchased a plane and started a nonprofit to help young people dreaming of flying. He is now a mentor to dozens of future pilots.
[ Joseph and Irma Chon ]
Joseph immigrated with his father from Korea, met his wife Irma in California, and earned his doctorate degree in the USA. They pastor a church in Columbus, Ohio, where they met Kim Emch and have been partners in ministry for 18 years. They have started and led partner ministries: a community garden, a farmers market stand where women can sell food to earn income for their family, a daytime conversation class for women and their preschoolers, and a dignity-based Christmas store.