Fun in the park

We took the children to the park on Friday. Several parents came along as well. The kids had lots of fun. They got to see large iguanas, and of course the ducks and geese who came up begging for scraps.

There was swinging, sliding, jump-roping, bike riding, and one of the favorites, an egg race. The competitors had to carry a raw egg on a spoon in their mouth, to the end and back. The little ones played with the parachute and beach balls. Baseball was another activity.

It is seldom that these kids get to have a day like Friday was. Even when their families go to the  beach or the country during the holidays, these children are only on the periphery, because most cannot communicate well with their families.  Sharing activities with friends who understand is golden. We are blessed to be able to participate in one of their pleasant memories of childhood, that we are sure they will be looking back on for many years to come.

Engels' Story

Engels is a child with some real problems. It's very possible that he is somewhere on the autism spectrum. He has both communication and social issues, and is obsessive about certain things.

He loves to draw. He usually draws pictures of things like ghosts, graveyards, bats, and other things from the scary movies he watches. (Those are part of his obsessions.) He likes to explain what he draws. Last week he showed me one picture with a ghost in a graveyard. He pointed out carefully that there was a moon, showing it was night. "That's when the ghosts come out," he said, "at night."

I told him the story of Jesus walking on the water, and how his disciples were frightened, thinking it was a spirit. He was interested in that. I drew him a picture.

Engels was drawing again today. His picture is above. He beckoned me over and said, "This is me." He indicated the person on the right with a big smile, who was literally shining. He showed me the cross above the picture. He told me that he was happy, because he prayed to Jesus the Lord.

Michael's story

 When Michael's mom first brought him to us to see if he could attend the school, I didn't really have a lot of hope for him. He had never been to school. He was already past the age he could become fluent in a first language, at fifteen.

But his family had just lost everything; their house was one of the ones that was completely underwater during the floods of Noel a couple of years back. His mom pleaded for him; they were now in a bad neighborhood, and if he wasn't in school while she was working, he might begin to hang out with guys who would be a bad influence on him.

So we let him come, although we told her we could not guarantee how much he would learn.  He turned out to be a pretty calm young man, easy going, and friendly. But he would do things he shouldn't do, and then when he was caught, would show no remorse at all; in fact he would usually just continue to deny he had done anything wrong. He didn't seem to have a conscience.

Recently I began to notice a difference in him. He still does things he shouldn't do sometimes, as we all do,  but now he admits it when he is wrong. He seems to be truly repentant. His mom told me that he is behaving much better at home, and is much more helpful than before. I knew that this could mean one of two things; he is either a new Christian, or he is about to become one! One of the teachers informed me that yes, he recently became a believer.

Pray for his growth in grace. It is more difficult for Michael in some ways, because his language skills are still way below average, because of his late start. This means a good part of the Bible is not going to be accessible to him. The good news is, that the Spirit of God is 100% accessible to a believer, and he is obviously working in Michael.

Victory

Thanks for your prayers. They made a difference. Today the decision was reversed, and it was reconfirmed that the center will be for the deaf. PTL. We are rejoicing in the Lord for the quick and amiable resolution he gave us.

Please pray

Our school, once it has been renovated, has been promised to someone else.

Please pray that this can be resolved. The funding for the renovation was given on the basis of it being for a deaf school, but now that the funding is in hand, they don't want to use it for the deaf children. We were promised it would be renovated for the deaf school.

Move again!!????

Yes, it's true, we have to move again. In fact, twice more! But this time it is somewhat good news. We are moving out just for a few months, while the school gets renovated. We had hoped to stay in the school during the renovation, but the construction almost took over the site, and it just became too dangerous for our students to be there. We will be relocating to a nearby vocational school temporarily.

Please pray that the construction will be done well and finished in a timely fashion, and not run into problems that cause it to drag on and on. December is traditionally a month where not much gets done here. At the same time, it is one of the coolest months of the year, and really an excellent time for outdoor work like construction.

The school day will be shortened from the normal 9 to 4 to 8 to 1 while we are at the other school, since we are sharing the classrooms with a vocational school that needs them in the afternoon. This is actually good news, in a way, because it allows us to give our new teachers some additional training that they need.

Moving is not much fun, and doing it three times in half a year's time even less, but we are thankful that we have the promise of a much improved facility once this trial passes. We are trying to take just the bare minimum of teaching materials with us, since we don't have secure storage areas at the temporary location.

The new location is just a short walk from the current location, so our students will not have difficulty in getting to school.

The children are progressing in their studies. We are blessed with teachers who truly care about their students. Every Monday, Pastor Eric comes over and gives the kids a Bible class, followed by a basic Sign Language class for interested parents.

Some of our little ones came pretty wild. They have calmed down a lot as they began to adjust to the routine of school. We are concerned about the move undoing some of their progress in good behavior, as their routine is disrupted. Please pray that behavioral difficulties as a result of the move will be minimal, and that the children will quickly adjust to the new hours and location.

Join with us in thanking the Lord for his constant care and provision.

Qualified teachers?

It is really difficult to find qualified teachers of the deaf here. Usually they either meet the Secretary of Education's definition of qualified--being licensed to teach in a specific area of education-- or they meet our criteria: a Christian who knows how to communicate and work specifically with deaf children. Don't get me wrong; we want our teachers to be licensed to teach as well. And each that does not have a teaching license already, is in Saturday college, finishing the courses needed to get one.

We need specific prayer that the Secretary of Education will recognize our teachers as qualified. Otherwise they may insist they be replaced with teachers who are licensed, but have no experience working with deaf children, and are not able to communicate with them. In that case, no education would actually be happening. We currently have three teachers who are being trained; we don't want to lose those who are already trained, and experienced. This would be a step backward. Please pray with us. Deaf education is in its infancy here, and there is a lot that is not understood yet.