There are many needs throughout the North Olympic Peninsula, including increasing issues related to homelessness, suicide, drug use and addiction. Youth may feel “stuck” in small communities and need safe and beneficial options. In 2010, there were 50,498 people (70.7%) stating they had no religion. Some churches struggle to meet the needs of their congregation and the surrounding community due to a lack of workers and resources. There is opportunity to minister to non-English speakers (mostly Hispanic).
Local Reach
Along with InFaith co-worker Leeann Deutsch, June teaches English to adult speakers of other languages in Forks and Sequim, Washington. She typically offers in-person and group classes and tutoring, or online classes when needed and the student has access to the internet. Students come from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Venezuela, each with his or her own story that may include extremely hard life experiences. Learning a new language is usually difficult and intimidating, especially when working full time to support a family. Students often feel isolated in a strange country and culture, wondering if their neighbors “see” them. Offering free English classes (and subsequently other practical help requested by students) follows Jesus' example of meeting real needs at a personal level. It builds relationship bridges allowing the love of Jesus to be experienced and the gospel and Biblical truths to be shared with people who are often religious but may lack a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ—or may be saved but untaught Biblically and/or lacking discipleship opportunity. Inclusion of Bible verses, stories, and songs with English instruction (when appropriate—some students prefer to not have Bible content) has resulted in requests for Bibles, audio Scriptures, Bible study, and/or discipleship, and proven a fantastic way to come alongside and encourage the local Spanish-speaking Body of Christ.
Students’ educational backgrounds vary from no schooling to college degrees. Guatemalan students are typically from an oral culture, speak one (or more) of several tribal languages, and are often learning Spanish, English and literacy skills to survive and thrive in their new community. Reading even a simple Spanish Bible or understanding a Spanish-speaking pastor may be very challenging. These challenges can open doors to share audio / internet Bible, New Testament, or Bible teaching options in a student’s heart language (or closest dialect possible).
June has served as InFaith field staff since 2002.
June grew up in an ASSU Sunday School near Forks. (ASSU, American Sunday School Union, and AMF, American Missionary Fellowship, are two former names for InFaith). She trained as a nurse, believing God was calling her to be a missionary to Central or South America to meet both physical and spiritual needs. After nurse’s training and Bible school, God redirected her life to serve with Leeann as a youth leader at a local church. Searching for a local Bible camp for their youth brought her back into contact with, and eventually to join, American Missionary Fellowship (now InFaith).
Then God called June back to her hometown of Forks, where she serves people from Central America. Forks had very few Hispanic families when June left home to prepare to become a missionary to Central or South America. She never dreamed that in twenty years she would return to Forks as a missionary to the Spanish-speaking community! And then, God has expanded that ministry to include Hispanics in Sequim, WA.