Deaf School, Dominican Republic

Revisiting the school

2011-06-23T19:39:00.000-05:00

This blog hasn't been updated because my last year was spent largely outside of Santo Domingo. This may be the last blog, as the school is now completely in Dominican hands, and they are doing a blog in Spanish.

It was a blessing to visit the school once again for the last three weeks of the school year. I was amazed at the progress of the students. It was more than just not seeing them for a long time...cognitive issues they have had for years have been resolved or improved upon this year.

For example, most of the children (other than the preschoolers) can tell you the day and date now. In the past, even after three years of work, most students remained unable to do so. Why? Well, first I would say it was the effects of severe language deprivation on the cognitive processes. But now I have to wonder if that was the cause after all. What was different this year? The biggest difference perhaps was that the students had lunch every day at school. The students had vitamins daily. (Normally they don't eat a very balanced diet.) They were given parasite medicine from time to time. There were some new teachers and some older teachers, but the improvement was across the board. God certainly coordinated the combination of causes for their improvement, in response to the prayers and gifts of his people.

Whatever the reason, the students showed a marked improvement in their thinking. They were reading more, although they are still way behind in reading skills. They understand questions better. Previously this was a tremendous difficulty for most. Now, they are frequently able to answer the specific question, and if not, at least they do recognize that a question has been asked!

Thank you Jesus!

Christmas play

2010-12-20T17:19:00.000-05:00

A note from the director...

Today we had our chapel service as always, but this one was very special because the students dramatized the birth of the baby Jesus. It was a real blessing for us to see the students enjoy this drama, as well as knowing that some were learning about his birth for the first time, in a form they could understand.

Christmas & Update on Framy

2010-12-17T02:41:00.000-05:00

Christmas in the Dominican Republic is a time spent with family. Normally the people who live in the larger cities, like Santo Domingo, return to their native towns to visit friends and relatives there. There is lots of drinking and dancing during the holidays. You hear music everywhere. Children do not get their gifts on Christmas day. Rather they receive them on Three Kings day, January 6th. (Not all children get gifts; if they are very poor the family may not exchange gifts.) It is always difficult to get school going again, as many families take an extra week for their visits in the country. School does not restart until after Three Kings day, so they already have a pretty good break.

Teacher Yoselín has recently married. Teacher Marleny will be getting married tomorrow. She also just graduated, cum laude with her degree in education that she has been finishing up on Saturday. We ask your prayers for these new couples, that the Lord will be their strength and guide, and bless their families richly.

Update on Framy: Framy came back to school for just a day. He was able to talk to the kids, and the director was able to get better first hand information. My new info is that he does not have to use hand on hand sign (PTL), as I was told before, but he does have severe limitations on his vision. He has tunnel vision, from Retinitis pigmientosa. That means that his vision will worsen over time, the tunnel closing up little by little. Normally this takes years, but no one can really predict how long. It has dramatically worsened since May. And he only has one eye with vision, at all.

The director reports he is afraid to walk around with out someone to guide him, so he will need to learn to use a cane. Please keep him in your prayers.

He will come to the Christmas party and will return to school in January.

Thank you for your continued prayers for the school, its students and personnel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:50:00.002-05:00

Framy

2010-11-15T21:27:00.001-05:00

You may remember a while back, talking about a teenage boy named Framy. He was having problems with his one good eye. Now, he is legally blind. Apparently his retina slowly detached over a period of time, but none of the eye doctors he went to recognized or dealt with it, even though they did give him cataract surgery. [Because I was out of the country for this post, I depended on reports from the DR, rather than giving you first-hand info. As time passed and I was given more accurate info, I updated it here in brackets.]

Going blind is one of the greatest fears of a deaf person. Framy is having a hard time adjusting. He refuses to use a cane, although he really needs to have mobility training. He is way ahead communication-wise, of the kids in the deaf-blind classes across town, and the teacher there says he is better off in the deaf school because of that.

Please pray for Framy. He is going through a very difficult adjustment. Pray that he will put all his hope in the Lord, and that he can learn to live as independently as possible, and maintain relationships with the other deaf. Deaf-blindness is very isolating.

The other kids can communicate with him with hand on hand sign language. It will take him a while to become as fluent in that as he has been in regular sign. [This was inaccurately reported. New info on this is that he is able to use the tunnel vision he has still to understand visually.]

The deaf-blind class across town is sending over someone later this week to give his teacher and classmates orientation on how best to work with Framy in class. The school does not have the advantage of the technology that deaf-blind people use in the US. Most likely, his classmates will be watching their teacher and taking turns interpreting to Framy what they are seeing. [This really depends on how constricted his tunnel vision is, which is unclear at this time. The more limited it is, the more likely that he will not be able to understand the teacher.]

Burglars

2010-11-10T08:55:00.000-05:00

The police recently released several local thieves, and now they are trying to get into the school. Although the Secretary of Education should have a night watchman posted at the school, they no longer have one. As a result, there have been several attempts recently to break in.

This brings the director to some difficult decisions. We have recently installed an backup system that allows the school to have lights when the city electricity is off--which is most/all of the school day. This would be one of the prime targets for the burglars. Should she take them all out for safekeeping? Then there would be no electricity once again. Should she leave them in? Then they will most likely get stolen, and once again there will be no electricity. There are no funds to hire a night watchman privately. Then there are the other supplies used in running a school that will also be attractive to burglars.

Please pray that the Lord will provide a resolution to this problem, so that it will not be a constant burden on the school.

Vision Trust medical team

2010-11-01T07:49:00.000-05:00

This past week the school welcomed a medical team from Vision Trust. The children received checkups, and were given toothbrushes and toothpaste.

But the team didn't stop there. They presented Bible stories for the children as well, and spent some time playing with and getting to know them. The kids were thrilled, of course.

We thank the Lord for this team, and their work with us here in Santo Domingo.

Team members

New toothbrushes for all!

Thanks

2010-10-20T21:19:00.000-05:00

The principal ("director") was invited to speak to the mayor and city council among other government officials about the educational needs of the deaf. She feels that the meeting was productive and a sign that the government is taking more interest.

The new children were recently evaluated as to progress, and the teachers are pleased to report that they have surpassed expectations. Their sign language is steadily improving, and that is the basis for everything they learn.

From the school a big thank you to all who have supported us thus far with your prayers and with your offerings. Vision Trust has been an incredible help, and we thank also Calvary Deaf Church in Riverside for their help. The groups from Florida and Rochester are others who have consistently prayed and been available to help on site at summer camps and other times. From time to time we have had individuals and small groups come to work directly among us at the school, giving up personal vacation time and money in order to support us. There is a prayer warrior in VA who always holds us up before the throne of God. I don't like to name names on the internet, just know that every one of you is appreciated. There is a saying often heard in Dominican Spanish "¡Dios se lo repaga! ---"May God repay you. And we know he will.

But don't give up now! We've only just begun, stand beside us as we continue to fight the good fight. Continue to keep the school in your prayers, that the children will progress, and that they will grow mighty in the Lord.

Blessings!

Twins!

2010-10-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

Today deaf twins, Diomery y Diomary, came for the first time in their lives to school. They are nine years old. Their teacher, Yoselín, knows just what to do. She is experienced. Only one of the 8, 9, and 10 year olds in her class has ever been to school before, and he is autistic. The rest are all in their first year, learning to sign, learning their names, and all the basics of kindergarten.

The second picture is from this week. (Excuse the wrong date; they have a hard time resetting it each time they put in batteries!)

Blessings!

Día de la Raza--Columbus Day

2010-10-13T07:26:00.000-05:00

Día de la Raza in the Dominican Republic is a celebration of ancestry. It is a time that Dominicans remember their roots. They remember Christopher Columbus who was the governor of the island at one time, and the natives that were on the island, as well as their own Hispanic heritage.

Yesterday the kids enjoyed celebrating their history. It is always fun to dress up!

Still coming in...

2010-10-12T20:30:00.000-05:00

Every week that has passed has seen new children signing up for school. We rejoice in this, that they will have the opportunity to come, but at the same time, we recognize that this puts added work for the teachers, whose classes are already at capacity.

The issue of teachers is always a difficult one. The fact is, trained teachers of the deaf are not usually available to hire. It's easy to find someone with a teaching license, but s/he will not know Sign Language.

Every deaf child needs an education. Without it, in most cases, the child will not ever be fluent in any language. Imagine living without anything but a limited system of home-invented signs.

It's very important that deaf children not be turned away. On the other hand, if you put too many deaf children in a classroom, you end up with a day-care center rather than a school. It's very difficult to explain this to people who are used to working with hearing children in packed classrooms.

The greatest need continues to be educators of the deaf, and we continue to ask for your prayers and if you are a teacher of the deaf, your participation if you are able to come.

New kids

2010-09-14T17:58:00.000-05:00

We welcomed three new students this week. We have over a hundred students now. Our little school is already running out of space! The Secretary of State of Education has asked us to add Saturday classes for adult deaf who need remedial classes in reading. Please keep praying for us.

We have been greatly blessed with a donation for buying batteries to go with the inverter. Very soon we will have electricity for all or most of the school day. Up till this point we have had only very limited electricity daily. This is how an inverter works. When the electricity is on, the inverter charges up the batteries. When the electricity goes off, the inverter begins drawing on the battery power that is stored, and provides electricity until the city electricity comes on again.

Now we begin the task of getting and installing fans in each classroom. The classrooms are quite hot, although they are much better since the renovation.

Every Monday we are having chapel services for the children, and they are enjoying it very much. The parents are reporting to us that their children are learning much from these services, and they are pleased. The children give their prayer requests, and learn all about trusting in the Lord for their needs, and the grace of living in obedience to him. They are even going home and teaching their parents about the Lord!

A note from the principal's office

2010-09-01T11:45:00.000-05:00

Update from the Principal's office:

We will be resuming our regular school hours of 8-4 this week. The first couple of weeks we had only half-day classes while we continued teacher training, as attendance was poor--typical of August here.

The children are happy to be back at school after their summer vacation. The students who were studying with us have been longing for the beginning of school because they generally have very little communication at home.

This year we have a lot of new students, and especially little ones. There are 20 children who are from 2 to 5 years old!

Maria, the assistant principal, spends her days in the classrooms, training new teachers.

Note: If there is a volunteer who would like to work alongside us here, please contact us. The school may be reached at 809-590-8666 (Spanish, voice) Emails in Spanish can go to gmail.com to the name paulinacolegio. If you write in English, just allow a few days extra for us to get it translated.

The hurricanes haven't arrived, but are passing by close enough to cause us some torrential rains.

We ask for your continued prayers for the school and its students, and we appreciate the help you all have given, especially for your prayers. We know that the Lord is able to supply our every need.

Staff picture

2010-08-19T23:14:00.001-05:00

Here is our teaching staff. The assistant principal and the principal are the two ladies on the right end.

This photo is really from this month! Honest! The green shirts are the new school uniforms, by the way.

Tuesday is the first day of the new school year

2010-08-15T03:44:00.000-05:00

Tuesday is the day! CCES will be beginning the new school year with lots of new teachers, and lots of new students. There are over a hundred students signed up now, and if this year is like previous years, they will continue to sign up students well into September. After that, new students will still come, but not daily.

This promises to be a very difficult beginning. CCES has several new teachers who have minimal Sign Language skills and no experience teaching deaf children. You may wonder why we would hire such.

It comes down to this: there really are not any qualified teachers of the deaf available. CCES looks for Christian teachers--and thankfully, they are abundant. But there are more qualifications. The Secretary of Education will hire only teachers who have been licensed through the university system and passed an exam given by the Secretary of Education. (Only a small percentage of licensed teachers pass this test.) Teachers who know sign language are scarce. Teachers who have a degree and know sign language, scarcer still. Teachers who have a degree, can sign, and have passed the test given by the Secretary of Education are almost non-existent--and the few that exist are already working in schools for the deaf.

So the choice they have is to either have no education for the deaf, or to hire unskilled, unqualified teachers, train them on the job, and hope they succeed. This sounds terrible, and it is, because it means that deaf students will not be getting the quality education they should unless they get one of the teachers who has been trained in previous years. Why even bother?

It is worth it for several reasons. First, the very most important thing we can do to prepare these children for life, and especially for coming to know the Lord, is to give them a language. Most who don't attend school will not learn a language. Even with inadequate teachers, deaf children learn a language just from being around other deaf children.

Second, the teachers who start out knowing nothing, often end up being excellent teachers within a single year or two. It's a sink or swim situation. Many learn to "swim" beautifully. Each year new teachers are added, and each year more are trained, so progress is being made.

If you are a teacher of the deaf, and you would like to come and participate as a volunteer in the training of new teachers in Santo Domingo, let us know. CCES needs you! Spanish is nice, but not absolutely necessary. ASL is required. You can offer a school year, a semester, a month, or just come for a few days and give a workshop. Interested? See this page for details about volunteering.

As always your prayers are desired. Please pray that teachers and students will settle in quickly to the work at hand, and that in everything God will be honored and glorified.

Getting ready for back to school

2010-08-02T12:39:00.000-05:00

Today begins our teacher training for the new school year. We are also signing up quite a few new students.

Our teacher training includes a course in Cued Spanish given by Marleny, one of our teachers. Maria, the assistent director, will be giving workshops on new strategies for teaching content with the use of Sign Language.

You may notice that we have mentioned two different language methods. That is because our goal is for the children to be bi-lingual. First of all, we use Sign Language, the preferred language of most Dominican Deaf people. Most of our communication and content is conveyed in Sign.

We also use Cued Spanish to teach the students Spanish, mainly for purposes of literacy and knowing how to write effectively. This allows them better communication with the hearing world. That is important for jobs, family, and societal interaction.

We encourage parents to choose either of these options for their home communication, and provide training for those who choose to do so. Still, did you know that the majority of the parents of deaf children, even in the USA, never learn to communicate effectively with their children? If you'd like to know why, here is a good article on it: Why parents don't learn to sign

Camp

2010-08-02T12:38:00.000-05:00

Camp was a success. Children learned more about Jesus, and some came to know him personally. There was too much fun to be believed, even though it poured down rain every day. The kids still had time to get in the pool.

Framy, who has been dealing with visual problems, at first didn't want to come, because he cannot see at night now. We assured him that we would assign someone to him, if necessary, to make sure he didn't have any problems. He decided to come. His classmates were happy to see him, and fought over who would be his guide.

The children had a bunch of new American friends to get to know, and American friends who they knew from last year to catch up with.

Several weeks later...oops! I just realized that this post was written but never posted. So here it is, better late than never!

Congratulations to our principal (director)

2010-06-04T01:54:00.000-05:00

This past week, a little over a thousand public school teachers and principals took the state mandated testing for their positions. It is a grueling test, covering quite a broad spectrum of knowledge, including knowledge of education law. Less than 90 people passed. Our director (principal) Paulina, was among them. God has prepared her well for her position at the school. She was in the top ten percent of all scores.
We will be getting three of the teachers who passed, to work at the deaf school next year. This is a great blessing. The new teachers come in without Sign skills, or experience with deaf students, and will need on the job training. (Note: There is really no choice in this; teachers who already know Sign and have experience are extremely rare.)

On a personal note, I (Peggy Blevins) will be returning to the US for the next school year. This mission is complete and in the hands of Dominicans who are capable and trustworthy. I'll be leaving after camp, on July 1st. While on furlough, I will attend some conferences, the Voice for the Deaf board meeting, visit some churches to give them a report on the work here, and of course, see my siblings, and many dear friends, most of whom I haven't seen for the past six years or more. Did I mention that there will be some R& R in there too?! While stateside, I hope to do some work on the curriculum as well, but perhaps that is being too ambitious. We'll see. This year will be a time of seeking God for his plan for the next mission. When I return, God willing, I will be working in an area outside of the capital, possibly on the Haitian border, where there is almost no education for the deaf, nor churches, and most of the deaf don't know Sign even as adults.

The director has asked me if I will continue to do the English blog for them, and I have agreed; they will send me the info and I'll write it up in English to keep you all posted.

Camp is coming up soon, the third week in June. Keep us in your prayers!

Elections

2010-05-14T00:24:00.000-05:00

The elections for senators, and other government posts (but not president) are being held on Sunday. For this reason all schools and colleges are canceled for tomorrow afternoon, and for Monday. This is nationwide, announced by the Secretary of Education.

Pray for the Dominican Republic, that Sunday's elections will be fair, and peaceful, and that God will guide in the choice of those who are to govern.

Framy update

2010-04-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

We hear from Framy's mother that Framy is doing well and that he had light perception today at least. It is not really clear what surgery they did! They have said it was for detached retina and they have said it was for cataracts. I hope it is the latter, as that is much easier to deal with, although the symptoms he described (sudden pain, a lot of floaters, and inability to see), seem like the former. Whatever, we are glad to hear that he is doing well, and will give him a few days of recovery before we visit. Thanks for your prayers.

Okay, it is officially hot here! Today we had a few tarps put up for shade, since the tree we used to have was taken down during the construction. At lunch time, when the kids have a little extra time to play outside, it is just too hot in the sun, so we hope this will help.

Framy's Surgery

2010-04-27T01:18:00.000-05:00

Today, (student) Framy underwent eye surgery on his one "good" eye for a detached retina. As far as we know, it went well, but of course today it is patched up with gauze. Imagine being deaf and having no vision even for a day. It is a deaf person's worst nightmare. Tomorrow we should hear if the surgery was successful.

Vision Trust helped make the surgery possible. The doctors had said that they would not do the surgery until the mother came up with several thousand pesos--not an easy thing for her. She is very thankful for their help, as are we who work at the school.

Your prayers are appreciated.

Daily snack & Time

2010-04-21T16:18:00.000-05:00

The students are very much looking forward to VBS camp, coming up in June. Those who attended last year have heartily recommended it to the new students, and daily we are asked, "When is camp--tomorrow?"

Many of our older students have been language deprived and have great difficulty with the concept of time. Most of them understand tomorrow and today. "Yesterday" to them means anything in the past, and they are often unable to be more specific than that. They will tell you their birthday was "yesterday," when in fact, it was three months ago, but they still remember it well. Explain that something will happen next year, next week, or next month, and it is beyond their comprehension.

Students who have spent a few years with us usually catch on a little better to time concepts. But even then, if they started school in their teens, they usually cannot grasp the idea of something even as simple as next Thursday. It isn't just a matter of learning the signs; it is understanding the whole concept of time.

It is difficult to invite them to church. If you tell them on Friday, they may show up on Saturday. For those who understand, we say to come on Sunday. To the others we usually say, "Come in two tomorrows."

This week the government began providing the students with a pint of milk and either a roll or a cupcake for morning snack. We are thankful that this is available, because most Dominican children have very little milk in their diet.

Teacher Melandina will be leaving after this week for maternity leave. In the DR maternity leave is six weeks before the expected birth of the child and six weeks following the birth, paid leave. Her class will be divided between two other classes, for the remainder of the school year.

back to school

2010-04-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

Well, Easter week is past, and the children are drifting back in to school. This is something we experience every time the children have a week or more off; they don't come back all at once! Many go off to the country for a couple of weeks during the break. They are always glad to see each other again, after their time apart. It's so nice to be able to communicate fully with friends.

We have a few special problems right now as well. One teacher is out, because two of her own children have come down with viral hepatitis. We aren't sure how long she will be out. It can take from a few weeks to several months to recover from hepatitis. Meanwhile, the directors have divided up her class among the other classes.

One student, Framy, had a problem before the break. He has only one good eye, and began experiencing severe pain in that eye, and seeing a lot of floaters. It sounded like his retina was possibly detaching. We got him off to the doctor quickly. They basically said it was nothing, but his mom had the wisdom to take him on to the eye hospital. Still, even they were not sure. Meanwhile, Framy has not returned to school. His vision has been severely impaired these couple of weeks, and at night he's pretty much blind, according to his mom. He doesn't want to come to school because of this. The eye hospital is discussing possible surgery. Imagine how terrifying it is to a deaf child who uses his vision to understand others! Please pray for Framy, and especially pray that the Lord will give the doctors wisdom how to save his one functioning eye.

The church is meeting on Sunday afternoons, and a local pastor of the deaf comes to present preaching/teaching for the children who come. He teaches at another deaf meeting in the morning. The students know and like this pastor & his wife, and we are blessed to have their help. Pray that the children will see the importance of church participation, and that their parents will allow them to participate as well. Several live in the area, although there are also quite a few from outside the area.

Word of mouth is your best recommendation here, and news continues to travel that we are here in Sabana Perdida. Even though we are approaching the end of the school year, we still have children coming in to start school.

Please pray for God's provision of personnel to work with the ever-growing student population. Many of our students have problems in addition to deafness; dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders, vision problems, difficulties walking, among others. Nearly all come in with severe language deprivation as well. For this reason, it is quite a challenge to find teachers who can meet the needs of this population. We are thankful that the Lord continues to make it possible for these children to come to school.

And we are thankful to YOU! Your prayers make a difference.

Back to our routine

2010-03-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

We've enjoyed a couple of very special weeks, with visitors from the US. It's been a great experience for the children. Watching people on TV really doesn't give you an accurate assessment of their culture like meeting them can. It was especially nice that we had several Christian teens here working with us. There is nothing like a good role model.

Now the days are settling back into their normal routine. The students are glad to come, to see each other, and to learn. I've always been amazed at how very rare it is for a deaf student here to be shy at all! Ask a question, and every hand goes up! Who wants to read the book to the class? All hands go up again--even those who aren't really able to answer the question or read the book!

The weather is hot once again, after a brief reprieve of cool and breezy days, when it was down to the 70's. The heat can be a distraction.

Next week the directors will begin a deaf church service which will meet on Sunday afternoons. We'll be able to use the school lunchroom for this meeting, and it will be open to deaf people from the school and the community. Although we do have devotionals and weekly Bible study with the children, we see the need for something more in depth for those who are wanting to grow in the Lord. Deaf children are not able to fully participate in their parents' church because of the language barrier.

We hope to have a local deaf pastor preach at the meetings. He is currently out of work, so it will depend somewhat on the job he eventually gets, if he will have the time free to preach twice on Sundays. He already preaches for the deaf at another location on Sunday mornings.

Please keep this new ministry in your prayers. We believe that feeding the spirit is as important as feeding the mind and the body.

School is open and we are at work!

2010-03-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

The school is open at last! Only a few kids per class arrived the first day back, but by yesterday we had three-fourths of the students. Some are hard to contact, so we have to wait for them to get in touch with us, in order to let them know that school has reopened. This is due to the fact that people change cell p hone numbers almost constantly. Often cell phones are stolen, and other times they simply haven't put money on them recently and lose the number.

We have a work team here of four adults and six teens. They are doing a great job, but I'm going to let them speak for themselves. You can read the blog of one of the teens, at this address: DR blog. He has even posted some video.

Thanks for your prayers. We are all so pleased to be in our renovated space. It is wonderful to have bathrooms with running water! And it is great to have a little more space to move around in. We are still getting the walls decorated. We want this to be a haven for these deaf children, a place where they can be at peace, a place where they know they are loved. All this for Jesus' sake.

Did I mention that we were starting school again?

2010-02-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

Well we didn't. Unfortunately, promises were not kept, and the day we were to begin, found us still with no bathrooms ready for use. The principal had to send the students back home. They say we are really going to start next Monday. And yes, this time the bathrooms are finished!

They've made a lot of progress this week. At least that's what I've heard. I haven't been over to see it. Instead the teachers have been coming to my house for workshops, so that that cement could be put down in the courtyard without our being in the way.

So, I believe that this time we really are going to begin...I know they are planning an inauguration of the site for Monday. We did this before, as the school began on the site, but this time it is to re-open the newly inaugurated site. There are still things to be done, but my understanding is that we will be beginning the full day session right away on Monday. Thank you Jesus!

Moving Day

2010-02-13T00:06:00.000-05:00

We are moving back in, to start school on Monday! I'm sorry to say that the school renovation is still not finished. But we cannot delay any longer. There have been several promised deadlines, each one arriving with an excuse for why the school is not finished.

On the bright side, the school is very nearly finished. In fact, it could easily be finished with a week of concentrated effort. But that seems unlikely. Instead, it may drag out over several more weeks or months.

What is lacking now are mostly the finishing touches. The walls are all up, but not painted. The electrical wiring is in, but the outlets and lights are not yet installed. The bathrooms are ready for the installation of the sinks and toilets. The septic tank has been built, but not closed. There are new floors all over, but the edges aren't yet finished, and they must be gone over with a machine that will sand them down. The courtyard hasn't been done at all. The new roofs, many of the new doors and most of the windows are in.

What we'll be doing is going back to limited classroom space, to allow them to finish off rooms, and then moving into finished rooms as they become available, so they can finish the rooms we are using.

The children are very excited, after the seemingly interminable wait.

Once again we will be limited to mornings only, while the construction goes on, but will switch to a full day as soon as they finish.

Please pray with us, that we will stop hearing excuses and soon see the work finished up!

During this unwanted break, we spent many, many hours training our teachers. I'm confident that we have some of the best teachers of the deaf in the whole country! They are dedicated Christians, creative, enthusiastic, and excellent teachers. The school is blessed to have them.

They are all looking forward to getting back into the classroom on Monday.

Meet Sofia

2010-01-21T17:26:00.000-05:00

When the earthquake in Haiti happened, our students were still on break. Most go "home" to the countryside where many of their relatives still reside. Sofia also went home--to the capital of Haiti, to visit her father. Sofia is a new student of ours. She had only been with us a month or so when Christmas vacations started.

We are happy to report that Sofia is now safe and sound. The fifteen year old was in her father's house in Port au Prince when the earthquake happened. A few younger children (relatives) were at home with her at the time. She quickly got everyone out of the house, before it collapsed.

Her mother, back in the DR was frantic. She went to Haiti and spent eight days searching for her child, even checking corpses in the street before she found her, alive and well, although a bit skinnier.

We would appreciate your prayers for Sofia, that the Lord will help her, and help her family as well, to deal with the trauma of what they have just passed through. We are so relieved to know that she is okay.

Not quite ready

2010-01-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

The construction is moving along. We are hoping for the beginning of February, and it is looking like it may be possible--at least if they continue to work the way they are doing now. The main structures are up on added classrooms and bathrooms, there are new roofs where they were needed, and floors and windows are being installed. There is still plenty to do. Will it be done on time?

Meanwhile, the teachers come to my house for more training. Today each teacher signed up for an email account and learned how to send and receive email. Apart from Sign Language and Cued Spanish, and getting familiar with teaching materials, we've been working on basic computer skills--simple things like turning the computer on and off, opening a program, and cutting and pasting in a word processor. Even though all of the teachers are currently in college, or have graduated from college, they are not computer literate. Imagine it! But they don't have a lot of access to computers. Once the school is renovated, we'll be able to use the computer occasionally, when we have electricity. Usually that is a few hours in the morning.

We know the kids are as anxious to get back as we are. We are all missing each other. Such a long break is often a setback for children new to language. They revert back to home sign, and must be retaught. They usually pick it up a little faster the second time around. It's also a setback to the teachers who were not fluent in Sign at the beginning of the year. They all need that daily practice to maintain and develop their skills.

Blessings!

Our neighbor

2010-01-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

In response to several inquires, here is short summary of what happened yesterday: Our neighbor, Haiti, as you know, had a serious earthquake. It was felt here in Santo Domingo, as tremors, and we had a brief tsunami watch. The tsunami did not materialize, thankfully. To the best of my knowledge, the Dominican Republic had no earthquake damage, although the quake was felt more strongly on the border areas than in Santo Domingo.

Ten percent of the population here is Haitian, so you can imagine that there is a lot of concern for relatives.

According to our local news sources, the Domincan Republic is sending aid (water purifiers, search dogs, workers), and receiving patients from Haiti for treatment here, notably injured UN workers.

Back to school...school recognized.

2010-01-07T01:32:00.000-05:00

Kings Day is over and Dominican children have received their gifts and had a few days to play with them. The long Christmas season will be winding down over the next couple of weeks. It's Dominican winter, and although the mid-day sun is still scorching most days, the evenings are very pleasant.

We had hoped to be back to school mid-January, but the construction is not going to be finished by then. It's looking more like February. We are asking the builders to finish off at least a couple of classrooms for our use by next week, but not sure if that will happen yet.

Since most schools only have classes three to four hours daily, and our class hours are extended, we can make up the time needed to satisfy the requirements of the Secretary of Education. But we would like to get going ASAP, and would appreciate your prayers for us on this point. Meanwhile, we will be concentrating on teacher training.

Most Dominican students will be returning to school this coming Monday.

The school has finally received the code that proves it is recognized by the State. It took us about four years to get through the process! Thank you to those who prayed with us for this. We know that it is truly the Lord who saves us, and despite opposition and obstacles, he is able, and got us through this. Now we are asking the government to pay teacher salaries. This could take years, although they are able to do it any time they want. It's a very political process. Pray that the Lord will give us favor with the officials, and will remove those who are our enemies without cause, who seek to block this work at every turn.

In local news, the price of gas has gone up, and public transportation cars and buses are trying to raise their prices by 25%. This kind of situation usually means a series of transportation strikes that shut down the country, and can be violent. A strike was called for today.

We are looking forward to what the Lord will do in 2010. Please stand with us in prayer for the deaf children, for their understanding of the gospel, their commitment to Jesus, and that they will grow in wisdom and knowledge of the Lord this year.

Adios 2009

2009-12-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we finished up the 2009 part of our school year. You may notice that it is rather early yet. The construction workers that are renovating the site asked us to give them some extra time, extending the break somewhat, so that they can finish by mid-January. It's been difficult for them having to watch out for kids on their construction site, and difficult for us as well. The director agreed to an extra week.

School days required by the education department will not be a problem, since we will be returning to all day classes, rather than just the state required morning or afternoon session.

We ended the week with the traditional party. There were crackers, salami, cheese, and candies for all, and the children played party games. Everyone enjoyed the free time together with friends.

Assuming that the construction is finished on time--and we have no guarantees-- the students will be going back mid-January. We would appreciate your prayers that there will be no delays in getting started again.

¡Feliz Navidad!

More construction and reminiscing; thankfulness

2009-12-02T22:19:00.000-05:00

Having school in the middle of a construction site isn't easy. We are so looking forward to January. We've been assured by mid-january we will be in our renovated classrooms. We sure hope so!

School is almost finished for 2009, and we have much to be thankful to God for. We are very thankful for children who have come to know Jesus. We also are thankful that we are able to play a part in the lives of children who come to us with little or no language. It is a blessing to be able to participate in the wonder of their first language.

I'm reminded of Meriluz. A few weeks ago I ran across a video from a couple of years ago, when she was just beginning school. Each child at the table would look at the video and spell their name. When it came to Meriluz, she just "spelled" about ten random letters. She knew it was something to do with letters that everyone was doing, but didnt quite understand just what it was.

I showed her the video. "I didn't know!" she signed, laughing uproariously. She has come so far in such a short time.

Then there is Bryan. He is not only deaf, he is autistic, and cannot walk unaided. When he first came to us a few years back, his response to just about everything was violence. Whatever you handed him he would throw. He completely avoided looking directly at anyone. He wanted nothing but to roll around on the floor. Now he puts puzzles together, participates in many class activities, and is even using a little sign language. His communication has improved tremendously. He spends a lot more time upright, walking while hanging on to whatever is at hand. Today he will look you in the eyes, for increasingly longer times, give you a big smile or a hug or stroke your arm affectionately. What a difference!

We are thankful for Vision Trust who has stood with us, contributing to the support base needed to run a school, and standing with us in prayer, and many other ways.

We are thankful for teachers. God has sent us quite an amazing group. Just the fact that they have stuck with us through the tremendous inconveniences of construction--like over 80 people sharing a single bathroom (with no running water), and their classroom space being condensed more and more almost weekly--shows they have a real heart for these students.

And we are thankful for you too, for your prayers, your encouragement, and your participation.

We will be finishing up school one week early for the Christmas break, at the request of the construction crew. Making up the time will not be difficult as post-construction we will return to a full school day, while most schools have only a half a day. From now till then, we will be in increasingly worse conditions due to the construction, so keep us in your prayers.

Not crazy

2009-11-22T18:11:00.000-05:00

We remind you all that we very much need your prayers. Satan always attacks when he sees God at work, and the school has definitely been under attack.

One specific that we need prayer for is that we are able to get our permanent code. This code is something that is needed for many things. We have a temporary code, but our permanent one keeps getting held up for no good reason. Until the permanent code comes through, there are certain things that we cannot do.

We also would like prayer for our neighborhood. One neighbor actually wrote a letter to the Secretary of Education saying that he doesn't want our school in his area, because it is a bunch of crazy people. Not so many years ago deaf people were considered to be crazy here, and there are many of the older generation that still think that way.

We did not have phone service for a few days this month, because someone cut our phone lines.

The renovation is plodding along. Some days it stops completely, because money has not been disbursed as it should be (even though it is fully funded).

We have had various things stolen from the school as well.

Please do keep holding up the school in prayer, so that Jesus will be glorified and Satan will not get any victories on our turf.

Fun in the park

2009-11-15T19:17:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-11T17:18:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-04T20:31:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-30T16:55:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-28T17:48:00.000-05:00

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!!????

2009-10-23T20:57:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-10-13T16:35:00.003-05:00

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.

Lots more students!

2009-09-28T22:14:00.002-05:00

Almost daily we have new students applying. We have added a new teacher to our staff. She doesn't know any Sign Language yet, but we will begin training her. As I mentioned before, there just isn't anyone to hire that does.
As we have grown, we've added students one by one to classes, until the class size became very difficult to manage. We are finally able to take a few students out of each overcrowded class, and put them with the new teacher. I'll be working with the training of three teachers, and possibly four, if we can add another soon.

The children are improving in behavior. It is a long road for some. One of the best things is that we have children that have been with us for years, and are good examples to the new children coming in. They encourage the new children to obey, by word and deed.

Three of the teenage deaf students came to the deaf ministry at the church I attend last Sunday. The school kids have a weekly chapel service as well. Most don't have the opportunity to attend a church.

Please keep personnel on the top of your prayer list for us.

Toes and Chairs

2009-09-14T17:54:00.002-05:00

We have a three month volunteer, Karen, a deaf woman from Florida, who is helping us by teaching math in several of the classrooms. On her second day, one of our little wild boys ;) threw a rock the size of a football, and it hit her foot. Ouch. She was limping around for a few days, but nothing was broken, just bruised.

This year we have about five kids that are new to school, and used to being on the street unsupervised most of the day. They fight each other constantly, and they don't fight gently. Fortunately they are still little guys, so they usually don't hurt anyone seriously. We have had kids like this before, just not so many at one time. They gradually calm down and adjust to having to obey a teacher. Pray for these kids. They need most of all to know the Lord. Right now they are learning a language for the first time, and will be able to understand the gospel before long.

One little boy in the first grade class likes to break things. He prefers to break crayons in small pieces then throw them at other students, but he will break pencils to throw if crayons aren't available. He also enjoys tearing things, like flashcards. He draws pictures of monsters and tells me that they like to come out at night. There is always a moon in the picture to indicate that. He is wonderfully creative, and he is intelligent, but probably has ADHD. The other kids lose patience with his throwing things at them, and then there are fights. These kids don't know how to talk anything out. Every little offense calls for revenge, preferably way out of proportion to the original offense.

The children were so happy when they came in and saw new desks and chairs this morning. And the teachers were happy to see new high quality blackboards. All of these were provided by the Secretary of Education (like the Dept. of Education in the States.) We are so happy to see the government taking responsibility for deaf education.

They are also committed to giving the kids bread and milk, for a morning snack each day.

We are up to 65 children right now, and more are still signing up. We know this means having some teachers start without a knowledge of Sign Language. That is upsetting, but the fact is, that there just aren't any teachers to hire that do know Sign. So we take them in and train them on the job. The older kids are good teachers for their teachers. But we would love to have more signing volunteers to come over and help out.

Here are some prayer requests: Pray for personnel, for those we have, and those we need. Pray for the new kids to be able to adjust. Thank God for his provision of much-needed school furniture.

Blessings!

Opening Ceremony

2009-09-01T19:34:00.004-05:00

This morning we had the opening ceremony for the "new" deaf school. It is new, in the sense that for the first time, the government is providing classroom space for the deaf students. I suspect it is the first time in Dominican history that that has happened. At least I don't know of any other school that gets that kind of help. And we do want the government to help, because they have a responsibility toward their deaf citizens.

Some Dept. of Education officials were present, and spoke. Afterwards, one mom stood up and explained how she had tried other schools to get help for her multiply handicapped daughter (she's deaf and has CP), and our center was the first that was able to help. Now they have better communication at home, whereas before she and her daughter didn't understand each other.

Several moms who were there for the first day came up to me and told me of how their children always pray at home.

J.P., a deaf student, has started coming to the deaf ministry of the church I attend. He was telling me about all the girls who had asked him to be their boyfriend. He turned them all down. He told me, "I can't just make the commitment that easily. I have to pray about it first."

Someone asked me to post the "after" videos, when the school was ready to open, so I'm going to add those in here for any who would like to see them.

Almost there

2009-08-28T22:37:00.002-05:00

Well, Tuesday is the day. Are we ready? Well, I guess we will be ready enough when Tuesday rolls around. We are all looking forward to seeing the kids, new students and old. Jesus died for each one of these kids, and we want to be sure they know that. We want them to grow up knowing they are loved.

So...there is a coating of new paint on most of the classroom walls, courtesy of the older deaf students and one or two adults helping out. There are alphabet posters and calendars on the walls, and brightly colored pocket charts. There is a sense of anticipation among the staff, and the children are very much looking forward to classes starting. Deaf children may look forward to school even more than hearing children, because often they are isolated from other deaf children during the summer, and have no one around who knows how to communicate with them in sign language.

Some of you know one of our older students, Juan Pablo. He was in the hospital briefly this week, when he had a very high fever that caused him to go into convulsions. He is okay now. From what I understand, they don't expect him to have any lasting problems from that episode.

Another student, ML, came in this week to register for classes. She normally is very cheerful,mischievous, and full of energy, but she was obviously very depressed, and lethargic. Please pray for her and also pray that we can figure out what she is so sad about. Sometimes poor language skills make it difficult for the children to explain and for us to understand.

Major prayer requests: We are on the verge of finally getting the official code that says the school is recognized by the Secretary of Education. We've been working on this for years. Pray that it will go through soon. This could mean that the government would give more direct support, like paying for some salaries.

Pray for the Lord's provision for all the needs of the school and the children.
Pray that new children will quickly adjust to school, and will begin to develop their language skills.
Pray for the teachers to be very close to God, so that they may receive grace and wisdom to teach these children, and to present a good example to them of a mature walk with the Lord.

Blessings!

Video of the new CCES

2009-08-20T22:31:00.003-05:00

If you wonder what our new digs look like, here is some video. It is shaky, because it was just done on a regular camera, walking through, but should at least give you an idea. It's in three parts, the first longer than the other two.

I was rather shocked to hear my Spanish accent on some of my words! That can happen sometimes, as I pick up accents very easily, but it comes right back off again when I hang out with Americans. :)

We aren't finished moving in, so you are going to see that things aren't yet organized. There is also office space. I didn't include that on the tour, because there were parents there talking with the director, and I didn't want to interrupt.

We are on our way!

2009-08-19T20:17:00.004-05:00

Well, this week has seen us really into the new school facility. The teenage boys have been working hard, helping us get everything in shape. They have painted some of the rooms. We are waiting on paint for the others. Yesterday they came over to my house and took a truckload of bookcases, table & chairs, books, and teaching materials. Today they put up two blackboards, and helped to begin unpacking and sorting what they brought yesterday.

The teachers came in the afternoon, and began sorting materials and putting everything in order. For the moment it looks like we are going to have about 60 students. With five teachers, and a maximum class size of 12, every class may be full.

The Lord is providing...Today we got a sink. We basically have no functioning plumbing. The toilets flush with a bucket, and there are no sinks installed yet. We don't have electricity yet, but we are fairly used to living without it if we have to.

We have a promise of at least one door, and a few other things like that from a church that is doing some remodeling. Two of the classrooms don't have doors, real windows (just some criss-cross boards) and have zinc roofs. Because of this, they are too insecure to leave materials in them. They need a cement roof, and bars on the windows and doors. (Since the robbers aren't behind bars, we have to be!) There are lots of robbers in this barrio, but everyone knows who they are.

One of the them was over today, asking to get some water from the school's cistern... and keeping his eyes open while he did it. Please pray for our protection; the teachers and the students will be walking through a few drug-infested blocks to get to school. Pray that the Lord will protect the school from break-ins, as well, and that the "watchyman" as they call him, will be honest. Often the watchmen are in on the burglaries here.

Most schools have a night watchman, who basically lives at the school, in order to keep people from breaking in. We are supposed to have one provided by the school sistem, but we don't know when he will start.

Here's what happens when it rains--and this was just ten minutes of hard rain!

I'll introduce you to some of our new teachers in a later update.

Another good-bye

2009-08-11T16:37:00.002-05:00

Last year we lost one of our best teachers, when she moved to the USA. This year we are losing one of the two I spent the year training; she is moving to Spain.

From the middle-class on down, pretty much everyone wants to leave the Dominican Republic. If you ask ten people, probably at least 9 of them will say they want out. And a good proportion of the population is in process of getting a visa. The US consulate is deluged with applicants. As a matter of fact, last I heard, Santo Domingo is the second busiest in the world, behind the leader, Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.

This affects us greatly in terms of teaching staff. We invest a lot in training teachers, only to see them leave.

I asked Maria, the director of the school, what her biggest need was at the moment--what she wanted me to tell you we need. Now, understand, I was sitting in the office at the new location, where the walls need painting, the classrooms don't have any doors or windows, the bathroom has no sink, and the toilets only flush with a bucket. She responded, volunteers to come and teach.

So there you have it. Please pray for workers. Or, pray and come yourself, if the Lord leads you that way.

Public school teacher workshop

2009-08-09T20:14:00.002-05:00

We recently had a three afternoon workshop for public school teachers, at the request of the local public school district. It was basically an orientation to deafness. One of the recent issues in deaf education here has been the new buzz word "inclusion." In a developed country, it means that everyone is allowed in the classroom, and you include the necessary aides, interpreters, and specialists. Here, what it means is that you open the door, push the special ed student in, and close the door. He is now officially "included."

The teachers had a lot of complaining to do. "They expect us to work with a full class (30 or more) of the children we already worked with PLUS kids who are blind, deaf, unable to walk, mentally challenged...having any kind of special needs in their education." These teachers not only don't have the training for this, they don't even get so much as a teacher's aide, or a planning hour!

While there are some children previously excluded who will do fine in the regular education classroom, when it comes to deaf children, putting these kids in a class with hearing children simply dooms them to failure. Worse than just academic failure; they probably never even learn a language at all, as they are isolated from Sign Language, and they don't have speech therapy.

So a lot of what our workshop was about was telling them how it was not a good idea to have deaf children in their classroom, and to send them to us! But that if they must have them, here are a few tips. (Don't talk to the class while you are writing on the board, etc.)

A visit to Elias Piña followed on the heels of that workshop. Elias Piña is right on the Haitian-Dominican border. You can throw a rock to Haiti from a few blocks away from the house I stayed in. There are lots of deaf kids. According to the deaf in the capital, the deaf in EP don't know Sign Language.

I visited a family with a five year old son who is deaf. There is no school for deaf children in EP. His parents don't want to send him away to the capital at five years old. They want to learn to communicate with him, but there is no one available to teach them how to Sign.

I worked with them for a few days on Cued Spanish, knowing that they could learn that on their own in much less time, if necessary. But it is a difficult situation any way you look at it.

Teacher workshop

2009-07-23T19:34:00.002-05:00

Monday through Wednesday we had a workshop for teachers of the deaf, sponsored by Vision Trust. There were teachers from all over the country. Each of the three days we had about thirty participants.

The team that came did an excellent job. This kind of training is much needed, and much appreciated. The teachers participated with enthusiasm. All went away from the workshop with new teaching materials in hand, many of which they had made themselves at the workshop, and fresh ideas for teaching their deaf students.

There was a lot of interest in having more workshops next year.

Maria and I have been asked to present three days of afternoon workshops for the public school teachers in Northern Santo Domingo, many of whom are Christians, interested in working with the deaf. Those will be next Wednesday through Friday. A few of these teachers actually have deaf students in their classes, with no interpreters or support services at all--not a good idea. There are also a couple who have deaf children themselves.

Now you cannot prepare teachers of the deaf from scratch in three days, but we will give them a basic orientation to deafness, and some survival signs. We hope that we can pique their interest to follow up and get more training.

New Location

2009-07-18T19:56:00.003-05:00

It looks like the school will have a new location. It is, in fact, the same place they were talking about before. They keep changing their minds! Last I heard, however, is that there are going to be some offices there for their education dept., and the school will have the needed classrooms, all day long. Keep this in prayer, because the time is getting short; at this point Maria, the director, needs to know for sure that she has classrooms.

Now that place is in very very bad shape. But if they are going to put their offices there, the chances are pretty good that they are going to give it a once over. They even had an engineer over looking at it the other day. This is another one of those times that I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch! Things change too much here to depend on them until someone has signed on the dotted line. :)

The place is on the market however, so if it should be sold sometime during the school year, next year the school will be looking for yet another place. I told Maria that we should call it the Mobile School for the Deaf, since we move so much! :)

Monday-Wednesday Vision Trust is sponsoring a workshop for teachers of the deaf. We've invited teachers from as far away as the Haitian border, and expect to have a good group. Teachers from the US will be sharing some of their teaching techniques, and also helping the participants to make some of their own teaching materials.

Summer camp, upcoming workshops, location search

2009-06-29T15:11:00.003-05:00

Thanks for your patience. The blog didn't get much activity because I had no internet at home for a month, due to my move, but I'm finally back on line, PTL>

We ended the school year as planned, with a five day camp for the children. It was great having deaf people and some signers come through Vision Trust; they also helped us out with transportation. And we sure do appreciate the folks from Florida who sponsored the camp.

The kids absolutely loved it. It was wonderful for them to have a whole week where they knew they had enough to eat, were surrounded by friends and adults who could communicate with them, including some deaf adults, and that they were able to have daily exposure to God's word.

Swimming was a big hit. The kids cheered, and the adults cried, when Leslie, who is wheelchair bound, came down the pool slide.

There were the normal VBS activities of learning Bible verses and making crafts. One night there was bobbing for apples and another time a team had to find bubble gum in a pie-plate full of whipped-cream---no hands allowed! Elizabeth was the first to blow a bubble, winning the race.

We thank the Lord that there were no broken bones, and no homesick kids. One of my favorite things was to see how loving the kids are to one another. Oh, they have their little spats, but for the most part, they take care of each other, and accept each other's strengths and weaknesses. The older ones watch out for the younger ones. Our students are mostly obedient to authority as well, which made for a very pleasant time for all of us. We did have a few new students who haven't quite gotten that part down, but are confident that the example of the others will be their best teacher.

If you'd like to see pictures of the camp, drop me a line and I'll send you a guest pass. You can reach me through gmail. My account name is deafschool.

Now we are looking forward to a small group of teachers who are coming here through Vision Trust to do three days of teacher workshops for us in July. We are inviting Christian teachers of the deaf nationwide to this activity.

Maria is actively looking for a place for the school. This is a very big issue. It is hard to find a location, given our special needs and limited funds, and we don't have much time. to do it in. Please pray that something will open up. The government had offered us some classrooms previously, but it seems the person who owns that private school they were to rent for us, has put it up for sale, so we are back to our search.

Please pray for: a good location, workers for this harvest, and our upcoming teacher workshops.
Blessings!

Moving

2009-06-10T19:05:00.002-05:00

Friends,

You haven't heard from me in a while because I've been in the process of moving.

I haven't had internet for close to three weeks, and probably won't have it for another couple of weeks at least, despite the fact that I'm told "3-5 working days" each time I go to the phone company. :( Please pray that I'll be able to get that soon. I have a friend who has been waiting two months for hers!

The apt. I moved into had some major problems upon my arrival. During the first week, as the landlord was putting finishing touches on the plumbing, he managed to cause a major water leak which caused water damage to every single room--ruining the recent paint job. So the whole place needs repainting! It took about a week for the walls to be mostly dry. During that time, every door in the house, and the refrigerator grew a fine dust of mold over them. But thankfully, the walls didn't. So a little lysol did the trick, getting them back to normal.

Next there was a power surge that burned up my refrigerator motor. That took three days to repair, because the electricity must be on when the technician comes. The electricity is very unpredictable. Unfortunately, he would come, and it would go off. He would leave, and it would come on again!

Then came dealing with the rats, cockroaches, and the swarms of mosquitoes with bug spray and rat poison. The rats are still there, and they are big ones. I have found that they like spaghetti, crackers, and pretzels, because that is what they opened in my closet.

After that, the pump that pumps the water up to the rooftop tank needed fixing...I was using buckets meanwhile, in place of running water.

All of my plumbing had to be pretty much redone, with external tubes running around the outside of the house, and the plumber is only a part-timer, so he could only work on weekends. So every weekend he comes over and does a little more. Most of it is done, although dripping pipes and faucets remain.

And so it has gone, on and on.

In school news...

School is over at the Ozama campus, and on its last week, doing final exams at the Sabana Perdida school.

The kids are very excited about their week of camp coming up the 15th through 19th.

One of the children came to school with welts across his back from being beaten by his dad. There isn't much you can do about that here, except talk to the parents.

Another child was in an automobile accident in which his eye was injured, but I understand that he will not lose the vision in that eye, thankfully.

Our current biggest prayer request is for a new location (or locations) for the two schools. We definitely will need to leave both places. Sabana Perdida is no longer going to offer afternoon classes, and their mornings are full. The school in Ozama has needed to move for a couple of years. The Secretary of Education insists that we have more space, in order to have an office and a library. That's not possible where we are at.

We've been offered some space at two different small private schools, which the public school would pay for. Maria went and looked them both over, and said they were not adequate to the needs of the school. One was located in a high drug area. The other was simply too small.

Dominican schools generally pack kids in with large numbers in small spaces. You cannot do that with deaf children, because each has to be able to see the other children, as well as the teacher. (Imagine this: the teacher asks a question. A student in the back row answers it, but those in the rows in front of him/her are unaware of the answer.) So classrooms for deaf children must be larger, to allow more of a semicircular seating.

Prices for renting have skyrocketed, but parents have less money than ever, because of the tremendous inflation going on here. Many of our students have a partial scholarship through Vision Trust. This is a tremendous help, but for deaf students this does not pay the entire cost. Deaf students are much more expensive to educate, both because they need smaller class size, and because they need much more visual materials, as opposed to the normal chalk and chalkboard method used here. Specially trained teachers must be paid reasonably or they will move on to the public school. The parents pay an additional supplement to tuition as they are able. Many pay nothing at all. It is hard to raise the payments when most cannot even afford the minimal charges. This very much factors into finding a new location.

Eventually, we will either need to get our own classrooms, or we may end up having to close the schools, as the economy worsens. All these are in our thoughts.

I'll try to get another blog post up in the next month. :)

Thanks for your prayers.

Moving

2009-04-28T20:36:00.002-05:00

A personal note...Not only are both schools moving next fall, I'm also moving into a new apt. shortly. This one is larger, which is a good thing. We have very little storage room at the schools, so my house ends up being a repository for our materials. I take them back and forth, swapping them around between the two schools and my house. The school stuff has been slowly but surely taking over my place.

Last week I was given the opportunity to look through bunches of boxes and take what we could use at the school. We got some picture books--okay, they are in English, but mostly pictures--and some math manipulatives, wooden toy trains...lots of cool stuff for the kids. Most of it is sitting in boxes in my living room right now! I don't want to take it to the school just to have to bring it back, as we are nearing the end of the school year.

Moving in the DR is tricky. There are all kinds of pitfalls you have to watch out for, and strange things you have to arrange. For example, I have to buy a pump to pump my water up to a storage tank. This is because we only have water for maybe an hour or so every day or two. Then I have to buy and arrange to have a meter installed for my electricity. Oh, and the hook-up to the house. The electric company doesn't do that last little bit, to hook it up; you have to get an electrician to do that. Then there is the inverter, which is my back-up system, that has to be installed through the breakers, so that when the lights go off, mine stay on--except any kitchen appliances. These days almost everyone has inverters.

I can hope that the phone company will take less than three weeks to actually install my phone this time.

The new apt. is a short walk from the church that I've been attending, where we have a new deaf ministry. The location seems like it will be good, based on the areas I expect to work in next year. A friend from church lives just down the block.

There is a hair salon the next apt. over, and that is about as good as having a security guard. The neighborhood is supposed to be fairly calm. The place is on a dirt road, so it is muddy when it rains, and dusty when it doesn't, but probably doesn't get much traffic coming through.

Some of the boys from the school have promised to come over and do all the carting of boxes for me, and that will be a great help.

Thanks to all who have been praying for an appropriate apt. to turn up. Please pray that the move will go smoothly now.

Good progress

2009-04-16T17:55:00.002-05:00

Some of the teachers have begun to use Cued Spanish with their classes during the part of the school day they teach Spanish, reading and writing. Sign Language is here to stay--that goes without saying. The students have a great desire to learn to read, which is the point of their becoming bilingual via Cued Spanish. All the teachers are reporting surprising progress for just a few weeks of work. The kids themselves, are enthusiastic and hungry for more.

Today a mother came in and asked about signing her son up for classes. He is ten years old. He's never been to school. But the unusual thing is that he became deaf just a year ago, due to a high fever.

According to the mom, he is of normal intelligence. She will bring him in on Monday so we can get acquainted, and evaluate what his particular skills and needs are.

The new deaf ministry in Invivienda is doing well. It is totally Deaf-led. I attend the hearing church which meets at the same time, and my role is to be the interpreter as needed for communications between the hearing members/leadership and the deaf members/leadership. The church is also asking me to teach a Sign Language class. I've agreed to do that once I find an apt. and get moved in.

One of our teachers has volunteered to be the Sunday School teacher for the students who attend church in Sabana Perdida.

Most, but not all of the students are back from Easter vacation. It's not at all uncommon for parents to keep them out an extra week at both Christmas and Easter.

Chicken pox!

2009-03-24T18:48:00.003-05:00

We had several of our little ones out today. It seems they've come down with chicken pox. Several of the hearing kids at the school have it, so I guess we are going to have a mini-epidemic. Probably for the next couple of weeks attendance is going to be down--maybe longer, since the incubation period is two weeks.

Frequent hand-washing is recommended to keep the virus from spreading. Well, our kids probably don't wash their hands twice a day! I know that sounds awful, but they are not taught to do so at home. At school, as at home, bathrooms often do not have any running water. We have to open a heavy cistern door in the floor, and pull water up with a bucket. Younger kids cannot do that. That's just one of the realities of living in a developing country.

Sadly

2009-03-24T11:28:00.002-05:00

Dominican culture has long regarded deaf people in a negative light. Many times I have been with deaf people on the bus, signing with them, and been mistaken for being deaf. And in this situation, I've heard the ugly comments.

I've seen deaf children be ridiculed--not only by other children, but by adults, who should know better.

But the most difficult blow is always when it comes from the church. Christians here often don't see the need for deaf people to participate in the church. We've been told we are "profaning the temple" for having a group of deaf children doing a daily 15 minute Bible study in the church building. Announcement: deaf people also have souls that need Jesus.

Twice we've been invited to leave for only one reason: because the children are deaf.

This is one of the reasons we've always wanted to have our own school building. We want a place where the children will be safe, and will not have to leave due to someone's prejudices.

For now, we have a place alloted to us. It's not a really nice place. It's not in a good location. But it has four walls and a roof, and we are grateful that the dept. of education has at least allowed us that.

We don't know if we will have it for a year or for ten years. It all depends on the person who comes into power next, whether s/he be favorable toward the deaf.

Freduar

2009-03-22T21:11:00.003-05:00

One of the most rewarding things for a teacher is to have the opportunity to see her students all grown up, and with a fond memory of being in her class. This happened to me today at church, when I saw Freduar, whom I hadn't seen for about 15 years.

When he was seven, I taught him how to sign. He learned his name at school. All the things that hearing kids know by that age, he learned with us. The alphabet, colors, counting, and so much more. Amazingly, he can remember all this! He even reminded me of exactly how I taught him the days of the week!

But the best thing of all was to see him in church. The most important thing he learned, was about Jesus.

The chickens have hatched!

2009-03-17T20:30:00.002-05:00

We have classrooms for CCES at last! The director (principal), Maria, plans to first paint, and clean up the place a bit, then move over after Easter week. The Sabana Perdida school will join them later, probably in the fall. Thank you for your prayers.

Lots has happened in the Deaf world here lately.

The World Federation of the Deaf has two days of meetings here in Santo Domingo this week.

A new Baptist Deaf ministry (with separate meetings taught in Sign, by Deaf leaders) was initiated by Bob Bell of Voice for the Deaf, this past week. The Deaf finally have a church service on this side of the river, which has a huge Deaf population, previously with no Deaf church/ministry in the area.

Educators working in the government are showing more interest in training teachers of the deaf, and we've been invited by two different government organizations to help with the training.

On a personal note, I have been involved in so many things, along with the regular responsibilities at the schools, that I haven't had much time to go apt. hunting. Pray that I'll find something appropriate and soon! I need to move this month.

Vision Trust's board was here this week, and we had a pleasant meeting with them. They asked what some of our greatest needs were. My response...workers! If I were triplets I couldn't move on all that needs to be done! That's another prayer request: That the Lord of the harvest will send out workers.

One down, one to go

2009-03-10T19:04:00.002-05:00

We think we may have a place for the deaf school. We've been talking with the Dept. of Education here, and they say they are willing to help. They took us around to several possibilities. Most of the places were way too small, and in a location too far from our current students. But there was one that we thought would be okay.

It is very third-worldish, you might say, with a zinc roof that made the classroom hot, and this is the cool time of the year. But there was more space than we've had, and the promise of being able to switch to a full day schedule next year, which is important to us. Mornings there is some electricity there, but usually none in the afternoon.

The classrooms look like they haven't had a paint job for quite some time. In fact the whole place could use renovating. If all the final details get worked out, CCES will probably go ahead and move over there this year. The school in Sabana Perdida has a less urgent need to move, and will finish out the school year and move in the fall.

I do remember the saying "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." A lot can happen. The people in charge are regularly replaced, so if you get help from one, you have to hope s/he stays in "power" till you get what you were promised!

The Dept. of Ed. is also offering us another location in a nearby city to start yet another deaf class. They are trying to work it out for us to do some teacher workshops for a local college so that some teachers will graduate with at least basic Sign Language skills and some understanding of what it is to teach deaf children. It is really a good opportunity, if it works out. In fact, another dept. in the government is also asking us to contribute to their own teacher-training post grad class.

More trained teachers means more deaf people who will learn a language, and get educated. Without language, deaf people don't have access to the gospel. Without education, they don't have language. That's the major driving force in the mission here: providing that opportunity for deaf people. And for those who become Christians, wouldn't it be nice if they could read their Bibles?

Love spoken here

2009-03-03T17:50:00.003-05:00

I spent the afternoon in the beginner's class at the deaf school. There is a student, Leslie, who has only been there a couple of months. She is in a wheelchair and has CP, in addition to being deaf. But the children treat her just as well as they would any other friend. They include her in everything. They fight over who can push her chair for her. Some of the older kids have to pick Leslie up and carry her when she needs to go up or down the stairs, and they help her willingly.

Leslie's teacher, Maria, told me of how she put the girl on the floor one day, during break, so she could stretch out after such a long time seated. Leslie started to roll around; she doesn't have the motor skills to crawl. All the other kids started to roll around too, and made a game of it!I know she feels loved and accepted, as do all the children in her classroom. School is a safe haven for her.

Maria has taught this love and acceptance to the children, for the most part not with signs, but by example. It is more important than all the reading, writing and arithmetic she can ever teach them.

I can't tell you how great it felt to see Engel doing his math. The first time I met him he threw a cup of water in my face, and punched me in the arm. He punched another teacher in the stomach. He was a little terror. Back then, if you put a puzzle on the table for him to do, he would shove it onto the floor. With patience and love, he has conquered a lot of his behavioral issues. He has come to love school. He has a new language, and can communicate well now. He has friends like he has never had before. He is a happy and confident child.

Telling the love of Jesus is important. But the deaf need visuals; showing it makes it so much clearer.

Looking for a place

2009-03-02T20:12:00.002-05:00

Today the principals of both schools, and I, went out to look at a house, with the possibility of renting it for school next year. Both schools really need to move.

The Sabana Perdida school is located at a church which has built on classrooms for the school. The church has decided it doesn't want any classes in the afternoon next year. That means both deaf classes and three hearing classes will be displaced or closed down.

The Christian Deaf Education Center has needed to move for a couple of years, but now it is more critical than ever. The dept. of education insists that we have a separate room for a library. That's pretty unnecessary for three classrooms of kids who are all beginning readers--they will use the books much more if they remain in the classroom. (It isn't like in the US, where the kids can check out books. If we did that, then within a month, we wouldn't have any left!)

They also want us to have an office. Right now our office is a small part of a larger room that is sectioned off. And I think they are right that we need an office, because there is a lot of paperwork to be done.

But the biggest reason for the new place is that we cannot add another classroom.

Back to the house we looked at. It was in so-so shape. It needs a lot of work, and some amount of remodeling to make it work for us.

But I noticed next door on both sides, and another house down the street, all for rent or sale. Why was everyone leaving, I wanted to know. What was wrong? Oh nothing really...just that every time it rains, the whole street floods. But they are going to fix it. It's the government that would have to do that, and as elections aren't happening right now, the fixing may have to wait.

Well, we wouldn't be moving till July or August anyway, so perhaps they will fix it before then. I'm not holding my breath. The house next door was a palace! It had three or four large bedrooms with cedar lined closets, marble counter tops in the kitchen, beautiful tiling everywhere on the floors. All for less than $500US a month "negotiable." But in a flood zone.

I'm also continuing my search for a new apt. It's tricky to find one that meets my security requirements. It almost needs to be a second floor housetop apt., because then the people below naturally inhibit burglers from breaking in. If I have a ground floor house or apt., burglars can easily wait till I leave for school, and clear out the whole place. This is a city with more than its share of break-ins.

Please pray for a suitable place to be found for me, and for the schools. We could merge the schools if the place is in certain locations, or they can remain separate, in which case they'll need two locations. We need to consider location, security, safe neighborhood, price, and condition.

Blessings!

Where did the pics go?

2009-02-11T08:43:00.002-05:00

Perhaps I should stick to text--my pics in the previous post have disappeared! Oh well, perhaps they will reappear later.

Yesterday I spent three hours standing in a line to get the required new ID card. Someone could've made some money renting out chairs. My reward was to get a piece of paper and to be told..."Maybe" in August, it will be ready, at which time I will have to go wait in another long line to pick it up. Long waits in lines are the norm, and everyone hates it, but no one does anything about it.

There will be something you have to do, and it will involve a long wait, and there is usually no way around it. Unless, of course, you have a friend or relative that works there...in which case they will get right in, and make everyone else wait longer. The only other way to get around it is to pay someone to go do your errands for you. There are even people who work as line place-holders, who will stand in line for you, and then call you when your place is close to the front.

(I just heard the children at a nearby school cheer. That means the electricity just came on!)

As soon as I arrived at Mi Esperanza yesterday, they wanted me to take a profile pic and send it off immediately. That meant a trip back home, and school was over for me for the day. It takes so long to get around that it isn't easy to get to the school twice in one day.

So yesterday I got some important things done, things that were necessary, it's true. But the day felt wasted, because everything took so long. I spent probably almost two hours of my time on public transportation. I was able to get several hours of computer work done, but any day I don't get to spend much time with the deaf students/teachers, feels like a day I didn't get much accomplished.

Ah, but that's American thinking. If I go into Dominican mode, I can be much more relaxed about a day like today. Because here we are not obsessed with time.

2009-02-06T23:15:00.003-05:00

A girl's 15th birthday is very important. She has a big party, and she is dressed up like a princess, with crown and all. She has a cake that would rival a wedding cake. Her friends, relatives, and neighbors all come.

These days, one of the biggest features of the party is the picture taking. The birthday girl must pose with almost everyone there!

Usually a meal is provided. In this case a plate of various delights, among them empanada (dough wrapped around a filling and fried), spaghetti, potato salad, chips, and an apple slice.

And then there is next year

2009-01-26T11:28:00.002-05:00

There is lots to do for next year. Most critical:

CCES school: Find a new place that will allow space for an office and additional classrooms. This is critical to government demands.

My Hope (Sabana Perdida School): The church is having some conflicts with the school. (Not the deaf classes, but the school as a whole.) They want to shut down the afternoon session next year. Both deaf classes and three hearing classes meet in the afternoon, and the morning session has no open classroom space. The church board is meeting on this issue today. They could decide to rent additional space elsewhere, or just eliminate the afternoon classes.

The director resigned this week. She has been a strong advocate for the deaf classes. We aren't sure how this will impact us.

another little one's story

2009-01-16T08:39:00.001-05:00

One of our younger students frequently came in with painfully infected earlobes from cheap earrings that she reacted to. Her aunt says she insists on wearing them. But no one at home teaches her anything about removing and cleaning them, and when she has an infection, they don't do anything for it.

I took her old earrings off, and told her to please not wear them, that I would bring her some that would not infect her ears. I bought the better quality earrings at about four dollars. I gave them to her, knowing that there was a good possibility they would be taken away, but hoping they wouldn't.

Sure enough, she is now without them. When asked where they are, she just tells me she lost them. And that is what she thinks. She doesn't know how it works. Often when we give an item to a child, the parent or other relative will take the item and either keep it for herself, or sell it. I can still remember when I bought a little 3 years old boy, his first underwear. I gave him 5 pairs. By the next week his brothers had stolen and sold all but one, and that was only because he was wearing it.

Then there was the teen who received a new bed after the floods ruined his. His step father, tied him up in a chair and beat him because he wouldn't let him have it.

This just shows how we absolutely must be able to interact with the family as well as the child. The family needs the Lord too.

A home visit

2009-01-14T17:39:00.003-05:00

Today the director (principal) of the Sabana Perdida school, and I, went to visit one of our students. This young man is 13 years old, and in his second year of school. He is a hard worker. His mom came to the school one time to complain to his teacher, that he was studying too much math at home. His mom is poor and doesn't really see the value of education.

At any rate, the mom was asleep when we arrived, late afternoon. She doesn't work, because she "cannot find a job."

We found Fredery skinny and depressed. I was surprised to see the boy who was always so excited and happy, now with no enthusiasm for life. His mom said she can hardly feed him. I think he has lost several pounds since I saw him just before the Christmas break.

Why am I telling you this? Well, this is the sort of situation I find myself faced with frequently. This mom is doing nothing to help herself or her son. She hasn't lost any weight, however, so obviously she is getting the food she needs. She isn't out looking for a job. She is at home waiting for one to come knock on her door and fix all her problems. She has the victim mentality. Meanwhile, her son cannot go to school, because she will not or cannot pay his tuition.

The director, however, says that the neighbors told her that the woman is not, in fact, the child's mother, that his mother is in the US working, and that she sends support to this woman to take care of the child; that the woman chooses to spend the support on the medical costs of her own aged mom, instead of providing food for the child who lives in her house. It's obviously a difficult situation. We have no CPS to send to find out what's really going on.

I don't know who is telling the truth. I only know that I cannot fix it.

The director upon seeing how bad the situation is, has invited him back to school. She is even talking about making sure he gets a good meal from the school kitchen before he starts each day. Since lunch is the main meal of the day, that might actually work.

For about three years I've been pondering and praying over one thing. We need the finances for the children to go to school. The teachers must be paid. But I don't like to make the school dependent on others for everything. I have often thought if we could have something the students could make and sell as a fundraiser, it would be perfect.

Everyone here sells things. Even people who have full time jobs, sell things to their neighbors on the side. The tuition costs for a child who is unsponsored right now, are about $35-40 a month. This means that with only $10 a week in profits, a student could basically pay his/her own way. Not only that, he/she would be developing small business skills, that are practically a necessity of life here.

What could we make?

It needs to be something:

the teens can learn to make
of good quality
useful or decorative
not something everyone would be able to make, so it couldn't be easily copied (as in the process/recipe is secret, or requires tools not readily available)
made in a reasonable amount of time

Inexpensive jewelry is a favorite here, so that would be a possibility, although I rather favor something that would be useful to make the lives of poor people a bit easier. Any ideas?

We also need someone who can teach them how to make their product.

It's the teach a man to fish plan. One of our students cleans house just once a month, to earn her tuition for the month. But I cannot hire all the kids! :)

Feliz Navidad

2008-12-27T11:13:00.003-05:00

Or Merry Christmas!

Please keep us in your prayers even during this break from classes. The barrios where many of our students live can be dangerous places during the holidays, even moreso than during the rest of the year. There is a lot of drinking, and with so many people armed, sometimes things get out of hand.

Also pray that the students will be able to come back to school on the appointed day! It is considered totally normal here to take an extra week or even more, during the Christmas vacation. Parents often take their children back to their native town, and the kids really have no say about getting back to school on time.

School was scheduled to start on January 7th, the day following Three Kings Day, when children traditionally get their gifts. But that would fall on a Wednesday, and the logic would be, "Why bother when there are only a few days left in the week? We'll send our child back on Monday." Probably only a few students would show up. (This is in ALL the schools here, except the private schools for the wealthy.) So we decided to make Wednesday through Friday a special time of teacher workshop and prep for the second semester, so as not to waste the time.

We wish you a joy-filled time with family and friends during these holidays.

2008-12-15T23:19:00.002-05:00

The kids in Sabana Perdida are enjoying their rehearsals for the Christmas event on Friday. Each class does a song or something, so we put together a brief Christmas play.

At the bottom of the picture you see three teachers: Mela, who teaches the older kids, Yulissa (deaf) who teaches Bible and acts as a TA at both schools, and Yoselin, who teaches the younger kids in Sabana Perdida.

Most of the students are in this photo, although there are a few absent.

2008-12-09T08:48:00.002-05:00

There is a new missionary family working with the Deaf in Santo Domingo. This is great news! Santo Domingo is a city of 3 million people and counting. The deaf population is double what you would have in a more developed country, so you can imagine that we are continually short of workers.

We have invited them to do a weekly mini-church service with our students, since most of the students aren't able to get to church on Sundays. We do have Bible studies a couple of days a week too, but this will be more like a church service. Several of the students have come to know the Lord at this point, so the timing is good.

The deaf pastor from another church sat me down on Sunday, and said "We need more missionary workers." Enough said. Please pray for God to send these workers. Life is difficult here, and it isn't easy to find people who are willing and/or able to come, and even harder to find people who will stay long term. But we put that in the Lord's hands where it belongs; he is the one who calls.

There is a new Christian school for the deaf in Hato Mayor, established by a short term (one year) missionary . Every city does not yet have a school for the deaf, Christian or otherwise, and we are all concerned that each city have at least one; we are rejoicing over the new one. We look forward to the day when every deaf child will be able to attend school, and learn a language through which they can understand the good news.

Our new teachers are working hard at improving their Sign Language. Many of the newer students came in without Sign, and are already communicating in formal SL at a basic level.

The hearing school where we have two self-contained deaf classrooms has been having some serious problems. They have lost two teachers as a result. The director and admin. have taken over teaching those two classes till January at least, as it is too close to vacation to hire a teacher immediately. They've brought the classes downstairs as a result.

This is causing some problems with the deaf classes, as there is so much noise and confusion going on, it makes it difficult to teach. Our facilities are very basic. Most of the classrooms consist of a large room that has been subdivided with thin plywood. It doesn't reach to the top, and noise travels. You might think it wouldn't bother the deaf children, but it really does. It distracts them greatly.

The children are practicing a Christmas song at one school, and a drama at the other, to present to friends and families.

Please pray with us that God will continue to supply all our needs, and that is so much more than just finances; needs for dedicated workers, qualified teachers, classroom space, and all the other things that belong in a Christian school are on our prayer list. We want to see these kids come to know the Lord. That is our heart.

Sign language classes are just around the corner in January!

Back at last!

2008-11-25T10:52:00.002-05:00

It is so good to be back at school on a daily basis! My arm is officially healed, although it is going to take some work to get back my full range of motion. The important thing is that I can now sign two-handed again, pretty well, as long as the sign doesn't involve lifting my left hand very high.

The new teachers are still working on their Sign Language. If you can imagine, it is like it was in the USA 20 years ago, where basically there were no Sign classes, and no hearing people except those with deaf parents knew Sign. (Here even a lot of CODAS (Children of Deaf Adults) in their 20's don't know formal sign.) So we have to hire people with no Sign skills and get them signing as well/fast as possible. If there were deaf college (or even high school) graduates available to hire as teachers, we would gladly hire them. So please pray for our teachers: to learn well and quickly, to be teachable, and to have a real heart for their deaf students. Also pray for the Lord to send more workers into the Harvest.

In January we'll be having a Sign class co-taught by Yulissa (deaf) and myself. This will be for parents, and other interested parties.

This Friday is our monthly teacher workshop, where we invite teachers of the deaf from the various little Christian schools around the country to come and learn how to do their job more effectively.

One of the deaf students had a problem recently. Her cat had disappeared. She searched and searched for it with no result. When she asked her mom if she had seen the cat, her mom told her that her grandma had eaten it! Not too many people eat cats here these days, but 20 years ago it wasn't uncommon at all. Grandma was from that era. I hear they taste like chicken.

Although the economic crisis has presented many difficulties, it has helped us in one way: gas has gone down, and thus bus fares, have gone down. Since many of our students take public transportation to school, low fares are essential to their coming. Right now it is 45¢ to take most buses, and 39¢ to take a public car (just like a bus but smaller--goes on a regular route.) Some students take more than one vehicle to get to school.

We are getting close to the Christmas break. There is so much to teach, and so little time! Thank you for your prayers for us.

Popping in and out

2008-10-17T12:20:00.002-05:00

Here's an update on my broken arm: At today's Dr. appointment, although I had hoped to be able to begin therapy, I was told that it would be at least another two weeks.

Popping in and out is about all I can do right now at the schools, and of course we can communicate by phone. I try to get into the schools at least once a week. Yesterday we accepted a new 7 year old (girl) student in Sabana Perdida. This is her first time at school, and she will be learning Sign Language with us this year.

We are working on plans for a week of camp at the end of the school year.

broken

2008-09-29T09:34:00.004-05:00

Well, if you are wondering why you haven't had an update in a bit, I'll tell you why: I broke my arm! That was about a week and a half ago. I was just leaving with the deaf pastor and his wife, to go pick up some boxes of school materials I had sent from the US from my recent visit. I tripped and fell, cutting my head badly (9 stitches) and breaking my left arm high up on the humerus. The doctor said it would be 6 weeks before I could use it and it had to be immobilized during that time. Because of the location of the break, I have a sling rather than a cast, and a strap that goes around my arm & body to keep my arm from moving much.

You can imagine that I haven't been able to work much lately. The Lord has a plan in everything, and I can only think that he is taking our new teachers through something they need to learn, and the same for me.

The doctor says I must sleep sitting up. :( Very uncomfortable. But my friends have a recliner, and so that has become my bed for the time being. I think his point is that I will not be able to turn over and hurt my arm while I'm asleep.

For a few weeks, I'm back in the same house where I was previously housesitting. My missionary friends are helping me out, as I'm pretty limited in what I can do for myself.

At last I've gotten to the point that I can type with more than one finger, using a laptop.

The Wycliffe missionaries are in the country doing their survey of the Sign Language here. I was able to meet with them on Friday at our monthly teacher's workshop, and they got to interview some of the teachers as well. We desperately want a Sign translation of the Bible, and have been waiting already for three years for the process of translation to begin. Please pray for a translator for us.

I cannot yet go out on public transportation, because there is too much jostling around, and the old sardine can approach to filling the cars and buses would be painful and not good for my arm. Taxis are okay for an occasional trip, but too expensive to use daily, so getting to the school is practically off limits for the time being. I'm staying in touch by phone. It's just as well, because my signing abilities are severely impeded by this sling.

The country is having an epidemic of conjuncivitus. Last week in Sabana Perdida, both teachers of the deaf had it, along with four of the teachers of the hearing kids, plus innumerable kids. Classes were cancelled for two days. It is everywhere, and a particularly bad strain.

The school in Ozama is doing well, and has about 38 students now.

Our storm season continues with tropical waves, storms, and disturbances, passing through on a regular basis, leaving behind lots of rain and flooding. This happens yearly at the beginning of school. I think maybe they should just make August and September our school holiday months, so that so much school will not be missed due to hurricane season!

Please pray for a good recovery for me. In a few weeks I will begin therapy. I don't know what that entails, whether weeks or months, but hope that I'll be able to be back at work at the school while that is going on. Now that I have the go-ahead from the doctor, and my arm is less painful than at first, I'm starting to work on the curriculum on my little laptop. Almost two weeks of forced sitting around has been very annoying!

Blessings!

Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

2008-09-04T08:30:00.002-05:00

School started on Monday for the Sabana Perdida group. Returning students were very glad to get started at last, as happens with children all over the world.

We have several new students, and went to work right away teaching them Sign Language. They seemed to enjoy this very much.

We have two new teachers, both with minimal Sign Language skills. One worked with us last year, so she has been signing for a year, but is still limited in her skills, especially of understanding the children. The second teacher is just a beginner, and is paired in the classroom with our deaf TA while she is learning. Both will be heavily supervised, to enable them to improve their teaching skills, and avoid lack of progress in their students.

This is not a matter of not hiring qualified people by choice; there simply are no qualified people available. Our choices are either that the children have no school at all, or that they have school with less than adequate teachers. It's the old sad song of "better than nothing." However, the second verse is, that we are committed to constant improvement.

My job this year is largely centered on teacher training and curriculum development. We are already receiving requests for Sign classes for parents, so that also is in the works.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the storms moved in. The weather was very severe, with wind gusts up to 45 mph reported at our airport. The rain came down in buckets. Tuesday only a handful showed up, and Wednesday school was actually cancelled.

We are in the height of hurricane season, the time when we usually get our most dangerous storms. There is a category 4 (that's very strong) storm heading our way, but it is too soon to know if it will hit land or not. Right now we are in the best guess trajectory, but that may well change. Unfortunately even if it misses us, it is big enough to cause us torrential downpours, and--you guessed it---absences and/or cancellations.

I'm beginning to think that they should change their summer vacation months to Aug. and Sept., as this pretty much happens every year.

School opens next Monday and some personal notes

2008-08-26T22:44:00.003-05:00

Can't wait! This last week and this week have been dedicated to teacher training and getting materials in order. Several new children have come in to sign up for classes.

We think we will have three classrooms at Sabana Perdida "Mi Esperanza" school this year. We cannot make the final decision until we see who actually comes!

Some of the kids from last year have expressed their great desire for school to start again. Like most kids, by the summer's end, they've had enough of vacation, and want to study and to see their friends again.

Please pray for us as we begin. We especially pray for our new teachers to become very competent in their new work.

We've had lots and lots of rain from Tropical Storm Gustav, and there seem to be a few more tropical storms in the making coming on Gustav's heels. School starts right in the height of the season.

This year I will be in the classroom as a teacher trainer, working alongside the new teachers, but not having my own classroom. This is important, because some of the teachers are new signers and have not worked with deaf children before.

Cell phone number four was stolen this past week. The phone company gave me a five page list of phone numbers the thief had called since stealing the phone. But when I took it to a government office as instructed, I was sent to another place quite far away, then from there to another. Everyone said it was someone else's job. After talking with people at three different places, I ran out of time. No one seemed even the slightest bit interested in catching the guy, even though they could easily track him down with all the phone numbers. That is life here.

I'm in my new apt., still trying to get settled in. As one visitor said "Everything takes so much longer here." So true! For example, getting my electricity turned on took three visits to the electric company, plus hiring a man to hook it up, once the company installed the meter! Now I'm working on the phone. Tomorrow will be visit number two, trying to get that installed.

Summer break is ending

2008-08-17T18:35:00.003-05:00

The summer was great. I flew to the US, for the first time in a couple of years, and visited some of my family, and church friends.

It was a blessing to be able to meet the members of three deaf churches, and to share with them about the deaf schools here. I was also able to visit a church in FL that is very interested in deaf ministry, and to sit down and talk with their youth pastor about an upcoming work team visit.

Upon my return, I had to hit the ground running. With just a couple of days to spare, I had to quickly put some final touches on my new apt., and prepare to teach some teacher workshops.

The deaf camp here had over 300 people in attendance, mostly deaf, some children of the deaf, and a smaller amount who are hearing teachers, interpreters, and church workers. There were two deaf pastors from the US who preached, and their ministry and message was well-received, as always.

I don't want to go into great detail about my new apt., because this blog is more about the schools, but let me slip in a couple of paragraphs.

My first week here included a brush with tropical storm Fay. Now my apt. is not quite finished. It is missing a couple of windows, as well as a front door. (They have bars where the door and windows go, so it isn't as much a security issue as you would think.) When Fay came along and it poured down rain all night, I had a friend, an NTID interpreter here for the weekend. She and I scrambled to close the windows with a patchwork of cardboard, awning tarp, garbage bags, and clothespins. It was an interesting experience. We also had no electricity for over 24 hours, and were doing this by flashlight and lamplight. Towards the end, we also had no running water, since the water is pumped up to a rooftop tank, and it requires electricity to do so. It was an interesting experience.

Tomorrow teacher training begins at the schools. This is a very important time, and we would appreciate your prayers.

We've had several new students come, and really need to open up a new classroom, if we can find a teacher for it. We are still short one other teacher, and may have to hire a non-signer to work alongside the deaf TA. We don't want to do this, but it is very difficult to find a signing teacher, and of course, we add to that that we expect the teacher to be a committed Christian. I will be in the classroom many hours a week, working alongside the new teacher however.

Maria has taken over as director of the school in Ensanche Ozama (Christian Deaf Education Center), and I will be working in Sabana Perdida again this year for the foreseeable future. My new apt. is much closer to both schools, and I can get to either in 15-20 minutes by bus.

The students will begin at the beginning of September in Sabana Perdida, and one week later in Ensanche Ozama.

After a couple of weeks with no internet, it is good to at last have it installed in my apt. It only works when there is electricity, but I hope to soon have an inverter that will allow me to have electricity most of the time. This area is plagued by daily blackouts of several hours.

Please pray for all the many details of getting the school year started again, and especially that God will give our children understanding of his grace and love in this coming year. And pray the Lord of the Harvest will send workers!

School is out

2008-06-21T06:41:00.002-05:00

The kids had a wonderful time the last few days of the year, with a team from Vision Trust headed by my friend Andy. He was the only nonsigner on the team of four deaf and four hearing. Andy frequently heads teams, and it was a rather unusual experience for him; this time, he was the one most in need of a translator when working with the local folks.

The team chaperoned the kids on a trip to the Colonial City. Amazingly, some of the kids had never been there before! The Colonial city has a wealth of historical sites, from as far back as Colombus' days. I was especially glad they were able to see Independence Park, one of the most famous sites in the country. There independence was declared from Haiti, and the DR became a country in its own right, and there the fathers of the country, Duarte, Sanchez, and Mella have their tombs.

The highlight of the week, though, was the day the kids had the opportunity to go for a day of camp. They had races, swam, played basketball, had a Bible study, sang, prayed, watched some mimes do drama, and ate till their heart's content. The very next day they were asking me when they get to do that again!

It was excellent having the team here. There are very few educated deaf adults here, and even less who follow the Lord. It makes a big impression on the children when they meet genuine Christians who are deaf. They are wonderful role models, and the students value their opinions greatly. They also love to be able to talk with hearing people who sign; rather unusual here. It broadens their world.

There is a lot more to say, but I'll hold off for a while, so as not to make this into a book!

I'm heading to the US on the 4th of July, and hope to see many of you who read this blog. I wish I could see ALL of you! Thank you all for your prayers and support this past school year. Now let's get going on the next one! :)

Here's the article

2008-05-29T08:23:00.001-05:00

Here is the article referred to in the previous post. I just found it in an English translation. Article

An interesing but sad article

2008-05-29T07:19:00.003-05:00

The front page of El Día newspaper today declared that 57% of the Dominican people want to leave the island to live and work.

Here are a few more points in the study, which was done by an outside agency.

"The limited development...is the result of a style of economic growth and institutional arrangements that creates wealth by reproducing misery."

Having access to the Internet last year cost between 43% and 57% of the minimum wage, depending on the company.

The average daily classes taught in public schools are [a total of] two hours and 36 minutes long, ie 65% of the scheduled time. In Santo Domingo is where less class time is issued: 2 hours and 22 minutes.

___________

One of our students just underwent a quite unnecessary surgery. His mom had the strange idea, that repairing a small crack in his skull, which he has had since he was 10 months old, would restore his hearing. It had nothing to do with his hearing, and was not recommended by most doctors she consulted, as he had no symptoms, but she continued to shop around till she found someone who would do the expensive procedure.

School continues. There is so much more to teach, and so little time left! We are looking forward to an American team of 8 coming for the last week of school. The team includes both deaf and hearing signers, so they can communicate directly with the kids. It is especially nice to have them here the last week of school, since that is a week that parents often opt to keep their children home. We can be pretty sure of their attendance for this event, and we know it will be a benefit to them.

Learning to pray, elections, photos

2008-05-09T09:59:00.003-05:00

It's important for children to learn to pray. They need to see prayer as more than just some ritual before they eat or go to sleep. They need to see it as a way to speak to God. They need to see that God will answer their prayers.

When Yulissa was out with the chicken pox, we were praying that her young baby would not get it. He didn't.

A classmate didn't show up for a few weeks. His mom had been sick and not working, so there was no money for busfare. We prayed for him to be able to come. He was back the next day.

We are praying for more teachers now.

The presidential elections are next Friday. All schools will be out Thursday and Friday, (some Wednesday and Monday as well) because many of the parents have to return to their own native towns to vote. I hear arguments over politics going on in all the public transportation. There are traffic jams everywhere, caused by political rallies. So far, the polls have the incumbent with a strong lead--unbeatable. Traditionally the military is out in full force to protect the election process, although military personnel are not allowed to vote, nor to participate in any way in politics.

See our new pictures at www.flickr.com/alabemos.
Blessings!

April highlights

2008-04-26T17:40:00.003-05:00

We enjoyed having a team from Florida this month. They did a variety of things while they were here, including participating in medical operatives, one of which was in Sabana Perdida. While part of the team worked at that, our teens worked alongside their teens under the direction of other adults on the team, to build a much-needed storage cabinet, and do some painting at the school in SP. The teens also had the opportunity to strike up a few friendly games of chess, battleship, and connect four.

Later in the week, the team invited students from both Sabana Perdida, and CCES to go to the science museum. This was a special treat, and the kids enjoyed it a lot. We adults enjoyed just watching the kids having such fun. Afterward, in the courtyard, one of the team members showed the students how to make little rockets out of film cannisters, vinegar, and soda.

We look forward to their return next year.

The students are progressing in their studies. We have two classes at SP. One is for the students who are totally beginners--that don't know Sign, can't count, don't know the abc's etc. The second is all those who do know those things. This past month we've been able to move two students from the first classroom to the second. They are very excited to be with the more advanced group.

Our more advanced students learned this month how to find a Bible passage by chapter and verse. They are learning to read some simple verses, and they highlight them so they can find them again. These are very important baby steps. Several of them attend the Sunday School as well.

We made a trip to the annual Dominican Book Fair this week. Our SP students went along with the hearing students and teachers, for a total of about 100 people in a single American style school bus. The book fair is mainly a large book sale. There are vendors from Central & South American countries, and Spain. Field trips here are quite different from in the US. The children aren't nearly as closely supervised. Yet, when it was time to go, no one had gotten lost, even though there were hundreds of other school children in the same kind of uniforms. Any time we get out of the regular classroom is special. Twice in a month is unheard of!

This Friday we had another teacher workshop. It's encouraging to see that the teachers really want to improve their skills. We are also getting lots of requests for a Sign Language class, from parents, siblings of the deaf students, teachers, and people interested in deaf ministry. We have been trying to put it off until the summer, as there is so much going on. There are probably enough students for two or three classes.

Please continue to remember us in your prayers. The DR presidential elections are just a few weeks away. Politics affects everything here.

Book Alert!

2008-03-27T10:41:00.002-05:00

Our beginners class in Sabana Perdida is showing progress. Yesterday I told the children a story with a picture book, Good night Gorilla. In the book were animals, and one was an armadillo. Now in the DR, you won't find any armadillos. I decided to fingerspell the word, rather than invent a sign, because I want them to know that sometimes that is the best choice.

When I finished the story, I asked who wanted to retell it. Almost everyone did! I chose Meri Luz first. She went through the story, doing an excellent job for someone who has only been signing for a few months. When she got to the armadillo, she spelled random letters. F-L-X-Y. I was very impressed to see her try her hand at fingerspelling. Her doing that is very similar to baby sign language, where babies wiggle their fingers to indicate they are spelling something. It's a good sign that she gets it.

The kids loved story time. Unfortunately, I only have a couple of picture books for that class. We really need to add to the collection. There are no libraries to visit here, and good children's books are very rare. Dr. Seuss hasn't come to the DR. So if you have picture books your children have outgrown, that are still in reasonably good condition--even board books--we would be glad to provide a new home for them. Let me emphasize that the books I'm looking for are specifically for the beginner group. They should be either totally wordless, or just have a few words per page (English is no problem when it is just a word or two.) The preferred book size is large enough to read to a group of 4-5 students.

We have a new teacher trainee. Well, we did have one for a day! One of the hearing teachers is out sick, evidently with something serious, so they pulled our trainee to go work with her class. Silvia will be working with the teens, if she ever comes back to us.

But we do have another one starting at the beginning of April. Her name is Julia. She has a deaf brother, but she does not sign yet herself. She is a Christian. She would like to learn Sign. She has a teaching degree. She'll be working with the younger class.

We are still turning away students for lack of qualified teachers. I hope I'll be able to fully train Silvia and Julia to be ready for the fall semester, but even so, we will need at least one or two more, if we are to avoid turning students away.

We are beginning teacher workshops tomorrow, to enable current teachers to improve their skills, and allow new teachers to learn the basics. There will be teachers of the deaf from several cities outside of the capital attending. We plan to have these half day workshops twice a month.

A little of everything

2008-03-03T08:03:00.002-05:00

We were very blessed to have two teachers here from the NC school for the deaf this past month. They were a great help at both schools. Jana worked primarily with teaching the students how to use the video camera, and making some videos of them. Mary Jo worked with individual students on cognitive skills, and gave me a personalized teacher workshop as well.

The audiologist is visiting today, to do whatever is necessary (new audiogram, earmoulds etc.) for any children who are in need of a hearing aid. There is a group that comes from the US annually, that provides this for the deaf students here in the DR. They will be coming soon, so all the preparation must be ready, in order for the children to be eligible for the hearing aids.

We are still suffering from a shortage of teachers in the school in Sabana Perdida, and turning away children as a result. Please pray that the Lord will send us workers. There are many more deaf children in the area in need of an education.

The church services for the deaf in Sabana Perdida have begun, headed up by Yulissa, our deaf TA. There are 8-10 attending weekly right now, which is a good beginning. They are telling me that they are learning a lot, and are enthusiastic about the meetings. A few have made professions of faith. This is the first time they have had the opportunity to attend church services in their lives, apart from the Bible studies which we offer them at school. This is a reason for great thankfulness to the Lord.

The Assembly of God has several small schools for the deaf sprinkled around the country. Many of the teachers are untrained, but have a heart for working with deaf children. As a rule, these schools are the only option available for these children. We are planning to begin bi-monthly workshops with some basic teacher training, to help support these schools. Our teachers will participate in attending and/or giving workshops monthly.

Many of these schools have as their main materials, chalk and chalkboard, and not much more. We hope to actually make some good usable, inexpensive materials in the workshops, so that teachers will take away a knowledge of how to make and use their own materials, without breaking the bank. We want these workshops to be very hands-on and practical, but not devoid of underlying teaching principles.

Our prayer requests:

That the children will come to know the Lord, and that those who know him will grow in His grace and knowledge
That we will have the teachers and funds needed to maintain and expand the ministry to deaf children
Electricity! We have had almost zero electricity in the SP school, and CCES has electricity only 2-3 days per week. As the temperature rises, we need fans, and it is very nice when we can use the computer to teach.

All eyes

2008-02-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

Today we took the deaf students from both schools over to have their eyes checked, by an work team of American eye doctors who were visiting here. Glasses were provided for those that needed them. Some kids were rather disappointed to find that they didn't need them!

I had the opportunity to talk with one of the doctors about our deaf-blind student, to see if anything could be done to improve her vision. He gave us a new Rx, as her glasses were not strong enough. Her mom told us that she had been told to have a procedure done about four months ago, but because it would cost 4000 pesos, she hadn't done it. (That's $130US.) The procedure will allow more light into her eyes, because they have clouded up. So we are going to see that that gets done soon. When she is full grown, she can have lens implants, and that will also make a world of difference to her. So all in all, it was good news.

Tomorrow, the hearing school that hosts two deaf classes for us, has an all-day-in-the-park activity. The kids are looking forward to this break from their studies.

I like the fact that the hearing children are going to get the opportunity to interact more with the deaf students. They are all very curious about them. They often stand outside the classroom and look in at the students, fascinated by the Sign Language. I shoo them away with a smile and usually try to teach them something on the way, whether it is a new sign, or something about deafness. So far all the relations have been friendly, and that is important.

Things are happening there in the administration of that second school, which could cause some changes for us. We are waiting for the dust to settle on that. I can't go into great detail here, but my one hope is that it won't mean moving soon. We don't have any conflict with the school, but if the administration changes, it is hard to say if they will still want the deaf classes to be part of the hearing school.

We do long for the day when we will have our own building, and all the moving will be over. Meanwhile, I'm taking advantage of learning what works, and what doesn't, in a building. When we are ready to build/get one, we'll know better what we need.

January

2008-01-28T10:34:00.000-05:00

January has been a wonderful month for us. We enjoyed the visit of a "two-in-one" team from Baltimore. About half the team were seminary students, and the other half Sign students from a Baltimore college. All could communicate in Sign. Their leaders, Mark (from the college) and Peggy (from the seminary) are experienced Signers of many years.

The children are always excited to meet new people who can speak their language. They crowd around, and ask with interest what each person's name and Sign is, and other pertinent questions.

The visiting team presented crafts, Bible stories, fairy tales, and just fun in general for our students at both schools.

The team brought an extra blessing in bringing a gift from the church of one of the team members. This was a great help. We were able to buy a much-needed cabinet to store our supplies securely. (We were carting them in and out daily with a suitcase!) It also is helping to pay the salary of our new deaf teacher, Yulissa, and for some needed supplies. We received ASL books, which we will use in teaching ASL classes for workers and parents. The deaf students are very interested in the books as well. Thank you!

The team brought in supplies and a special treat of some toys for our deaf blind student Alexa, to better develop her skills. Alexa is having lots of fun with them, as are the other students.

I joined the team on an out of town trip where we visited a children's home, and later a school for the deaf. The team was saddened by some of the conditions they saw at the school. We spent the night in chilly Jarabacoa. I've never been so cold in the Dominican Republic!

One of our greatest needs is for teachers. It isn't just a matter of putting an ad in the paper and hiring some more. It is very difficult to find qualified teachers. As a result, many schools must hire teachers without Signing skills, and hope that they will learn on the job from the children. This is especially difficult when the children themselves are not usually fluent in Sign, and may not know Sign at all.

We may need to consider a solution for the immediate present of temporarily using foreign teachers until adequate teachers can be trained. Please pray about this possibility.

Meanwhile, we are making plans for teacher training and workshops for this summer and January.

I have a couple of college students who are helping in Sabana Perdida classes from time to time. They are both in the process of learning Sign Language.

The church there is planning to begin a deaf ministry on Sundays, beginning in February. Yulissa will be heading this up. There has been no church available for deaf people in the area up till now. They will meet at a separate time from the hearing congregation, so that they may worship in their own language.

Visitors from afar

2008-01-07T22:17:00.001-05:00

We are looking forward to a team coming in Wednesday from Baltimore. They will be visiting a local deaf church, a school in Santiago, doing some cultural studies, and best of all, spending three days with us at the schools in Sabana Perdida and Ozama, in Santo Domingo! The children are excited, of course.

School restarts tomorrow, after the long holiday. Dominican children get their gifts on Three Kings Day, January 6th, so they always get those extra few days off. Usually when school restarts after any vacation, especially an extended one such as at Christmas, the children trickle in over a week's time. By the second week, most everyone will have returned. Many of the children go to their parents' home towns, or out in the country for the holidays.

During the break the teachers came to my house for one-on-one computer instruction. We also purchased a much-needed supplies cabinet for the classes in Sabana Perdida with a donation that came in. I was able to get quite a lot of errands done, that are hard to take care of during school days. Our older emac is at the mac store for possible repairs. They said they would look at it, but tentatively pronounced it dead--as in not worth fixing, suspecting the power supply was bad. We are still waiting on confirmation, but very blessed because we were given a new imac the same week the emac broke down.

The weather has been very strange lately. It's been cooler than it has been for years. At night, the lows were actually down to 66, which is quite rare. We still have hot days, but when the temperature here gets down to 70, we all put on jackets!

We've also had an unusual amount of rain in the last few months. Rain always affects school attendance. Even the teachers have a hard time getting to school during torrential rains, because none of us drive to school. Many roads flood. Public cars (shared taxis on a regular route) often have broken or leaky windows and doors, and get off the road when it begins to rain, leaving passengers with insufficient transportation. The plus is that the temperature is much more pleasant during these bouts of rainy and cloudy days.

Update on Agape Flights

2007-12-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

The week in review

2007-12-21T19:36:00.000-05:00

Sunday
I was in a car accident, while riding as a passenger in a friend's car, a few minutes after leaving Sunday church meeting. Thankfully, no one had any serious injuries, although we certainly have had our aches and pains this week from the battering we took in the crash.

Tuesday morning
We have received five used macs (computers) which were donated to the school by some dear friends of mine in California. The children at my church there had raised the money to ship the computers during their VBS last summer. Tuesday morning I went down to the airport where the computers were being held in customs to pick them up.

The teachers are very excited about having a computer in each classroom now. During the Christmas break, I'll be doing some training with them to show them how to use the computers effectively. We hope to have a computer at each teacher's house, eventually, so that they can develop their computer skills, and create new curriculum.

Tuesday
The children's Christmas program at the school was wonderful. The children themselves enjoyed it very much. The next day the parents were calling and even coming by, to thank the school for this special program. Most, if not all, of the deaf students, had never participated in any kind of program on stage. Being deaf means being excluded often, and a lack of opportunity to do the normal childhood things. The parents had tears in their eyes, seeing their children up there for the first time. The deaf students signed "Joy to the World."

Wednesday
We had our annual Christmas party at the deaf school. We brought the group over from the Sabana Perdida school, to reunite with former classmates. There were games, candy, a nice meal and gifts for each student. Vision Trust provided funds for our party, for which we are very thankful. The kids had a lot of fun, and we teachers had perhaps even more fun watching them having fun!

Thursday
Vision Trust provided the fixings for a Christmas meal at the school in Sabana Perdida. Some of the children did not eat all of their food. Instead, they set aside a portion to take home to their moms. It was very touching, and impressive to see how the children were concerned for others. One said "I want to make sure my mom has something to eat when she gets home from work."

A gift arrived designated to helping one or more families at Christmas time. Part of the money went to help the family of one of our deaf students recover from the recent hurricane's effects.

A second amount was given to the mom of another of our deaf students. When she received it, she said that the children had eaten some bread brought over by a neighbor earlier in the day, and she was wondering what she was going to be able to give them for dinner, as there was no food or money in the house. This mom is a faithful worker at the school--the one who is always ready to serve when anything is needed. I was blessed in being able to distribute this love offering where it was very needed.

Friday
The good news is that the pilots are okay. The bad news is that the small plane that brings in our mail and mission supplies went down close to the Bahamas yesterday. Please keep this situation in prayer. Agape Flights hopes to recover the plane.

We are uncertain at this time of exactly what will happen with our mail service over the next weeks, as that is their only plane, but very thankful that everyone was okay. They brought in three plane loads of cargo this week, and were on their return trip, to the US. They usually stop in the Bajamas on the way back.

May you all have a very blessed time with family and friends this Christmas!

A visit from Olga

2007-12-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

We thought we were in the clear, since hurricane season ended a couple of weeks ago. We were surprised then, when Tropical Storm Olga, blew through on Tuesday, and dumped a lot of rain on us.

School was cancelled all over the country for yesterday and today, presumably to resume tomorrow. There was flooding on many of the major streets in the capital, and some of the people who were flooded out by the last big storm had to evacuate once again. The capital wasn't as hard hit as the northern coast was this time, and the death toll, which now stands at 13, is much lower. Santiago, which is the second largest city in the country, was hit with extensive flooding in river areas.

Joy to the World

2007-12-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

That's what we are signing at the Christmas program. Although the song is a mere one minute 39 seconds long, it is going to take a lot of preparation, since some of the children are still new to Sign Language, and all are new to the concept of singing. I'm not looking for just a lot of waving hands. I actually want to try to help them understand what the song means. That is the hardest part, perhaps.

The kids are enthusiastic about participating, and I'm sure no matter how well or how awfully they do, people will be blessed, because they've never seen a song in Sign Language before.

Today a hearing student passed though the edge of the classroom, as she climbed the stairs toward her own classroom. Seeing our students at work, she exclaimed in amazement, that she never knew that "mutes" could write! Okay, we have a lot to teach the hearing children here, but I'm sure she went on to tell her classmates that the deaf children actually know how to write. You see, if you are deaf here, reading and writing is something you probably don't know how to do, and no one expects it of you.

Wycliffe Bible Translators are still interested in doing a Dominican Sign Language translation for us, but haven't got anyone qualified available currently. Do you know anyone who is fluent in English, Spanish, and ASL, and interested in missions?

We signed up another 8 year old girl today. She is our 14th student in the new classes. Although we are turning children away at this point, we had already reserved a space for her when we met her during relief efforts.

This announcement is bit premature, I suppose, but I'm excited. We are looking to add a deaf woman, Yulissa, to our staff. Technically, she'll be a teacher's aide, since she doesn't have the qualifications required by the Secretary of Education. The only formal education she's ever had was at DOOR's (Deaf Opportunity OutReach) school in Costa Rica, learning Bible Storying.

We would like her to help with teaching Sign Language and Bible Storying at both schools, half the time at each. We still have to confirm details with her, but she has wanted to work with us, and we with her, for a long time. I'm very familiar with her work, having worked with her in Church services, and I believe she'll be a wonderful addition.

As the end of another year arrives, I'm reflecting on all that God has done, and I cannot but be amazed. I thank him constantly.

I also want to take the time to thank all of you, for your participation in this ministry. People and church have sent money and teaching materials, replenished items such as pencils, given us needed equipment, and even come here to work directly with the children. (I tend to shy away from putting specific names on the internet, for privacy reasons, but you know who you are.) We also appreciate the ongoing help that we receive from Vision Trust, who supplies partial scholarships for most of our children, as well as other help from time to time.

Many are taking us before the Lord, asking for his blessing on these deaf children and this school. Thank you so much! The Dominicans have a saying "May the Lord repay you [for it]." Amen!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2007-11-21T23:24:00.000-05:00

Even though it is still 90 degrees out here, you can tell the season is upon us. Since early November people have been displaying lights, trees, and other decorations. Here in the DR, there are a couple of unusual customs around Christmas. One is that in December, employees are paid double. Another thing is that not much work gets done. Christmas is a long season, starting in mid-november (although it seems to start a bit earlier every year) and running through mid -january.

But Thanksgiving has to be my favorite holiday of all time.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, so many of us opt for another day, when we don't have work to do. I'm cooking up the big meal on Saturday, and inviting the deaf teacher, the deaf pastor, and their familes.

School is moving along quite nicely. Teaching so many different levels is quite challenging, but I often put the students to teaching one another. As inadequate to the task as I know I am, I still see progress in the students, and that is such an encouragement.

We have a new student, 15 years old, in Sabana Perdida. He came unable even to count to ten on both hands. The other children taught him to count in Sign his first day. His house and all his family's possessions were swept away in the flood.

There is another little girl, 8 years old, who is supposed to come as well. We discovered her when we were doing relief work down in a previously flooded barrio. When we returned the second time, she had a broken arm! She's very bright, and I suspect very mischievous as well.

Both schools are now full and we are making a waiting list for others who want to come.

This past week both school computers died. That's the bad news. The good news is that some new friends came from FL with a brand new one. The Lord knew just when we would need it.

We spent many hours this past weekend, discussing what the needs of the schools are with these brothers, and how we can make their work team's upcoming trip a blessing to the participants, as well as those they will be serving. We headed out to both schools, and into some poor areas, to give them a idea of what they'll be facing, and how they may fit into the Lord's work here. It was a great blessing to all of us, and of course, it's always nice to get to speak English for a few days! :)

Relief

2007-11-05T19:53:00.000-05:00

If you want to see photos of Noel's visit, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/alabemos/

Sunday, I went down into the affected areas with a couple of doctors. They have a work team coming in, and want to see where they can best be used in the relief efforts. Happily, la Barquita was finally receiving some help. Two other areas we visited, el Caliche and Acapulco were in much need.

My church here collected food and clothes, and some members & I took them over to a church local to the affected area for distribution. When you know you don't have enough for everyone to have the same amount of everything, you can't just walk in and start giving out stuff, or you'll be mobbed! So on our Friday visits we took people aside and said, come to the church at 2:30, and then we gave them what we had. Between the two churches who have contributed, we will probably be able to provide clothing for a substantial amount of the community, but only limited food. We bought some food and mosquito nets, but they still need stoves and mattresses. Tomorrow, more distribution of the collected items will go on by the local church there.

Another missionary is going to check out the situation on Thursday; I pretty much have to leave it in others' hands at this point to get back to school.

It is good for the kids to get back into their studies, because it will provide some normalcy after the trauma of what they've gone through.

Personal note: I apparently have a burst eardrum, after a severe ear infection that I've had this past week. I'm rather deaf in that ear. Spanish is tough to follow, and English needs to be spoken on my good side! I went to an ENT who didn't diagnose it, followed by a regular Dr. who did! Tomorrow I need to go to another ENT, and try to find out just how serious it is. Today was a holiday, so no one was working except in the ER. Pray for me, that this will be healed up soon. Apart from the hearing loss, it has been rather painful.

Blessings!

What's worse than a major hurricane? Tropical storm Noel!

2007-11-03T20:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was able to get to Sabana Perdida at last. A group of us from the church and school went to visit three places: a shelter, a neighborhood, and a family from the church that had lost everything in the flood. Before going, I went through my whole house, setting aside things that I could take to the refugees.

The taxi over was "interesting". We got stopped by the police once, but the driver told them that we were bringing in relief supplies so they let us go on. The driver told me that he was sure they were stopping us for a bribe. Sometimes it helps to have an American in the car! It is a long drive, and the best way is to go on a highway which runs out in the country a bit. While in that part, the car began to go slower and slower. We were running out of propane! The driver told me that we were not far from a gas station, but he looked a bit uncertain if we would make it there. We did, barely. I think we were about on fumes, the car was going so slowly.

During the visits our group made, we ran into a group of protesters carrying signs saying "we need food, water, clothing, medical care", etc. We stopped and talked to them for a while, and took their pictures. I'm afraid they put a lot of faith in me, for some reason, like I was going to be the one to fix everything. I tried not to get their hopes up falsely; I didn't know what I'd be able to do; I still don't.

We walked on and came to the next community, one where almost all of the houses were either fully submerged, or nearly so, just a couple of days ago. At the time there was still water in the houses and in some streets, although it had gone down a whole lot. The houses may have had six inches to a foot of water still in them, for the most part. My friend reports that they are still flooded today, because it rained over there again.

These people told us the same story. They have no drinking water, food, clothing, medical care, or mattresses to sleep on. Some are sleeping at shelters (which can be dangerous) while others choose to sleep on the street near their house. Thieves steal everything they can get from the flooded houses; they will even steal light and plumbing fixtures, if the houses are not carefully watched.

We went to a shelter that housed about 67. It was a public school, and they put several women in each room. It was not clear if the whole family stays together or apart, as the men were gone looking for work. Most of the men of this community work as "chiriperos;" that is, they do whatever they can find for the day. The room where the food and any other donations were kept was shockingly bare. There were some small milk cartons from the government school breakfast program, and some bread, and precious little else to be had. People from the community had brought in a few odds and ends. It didn't look like enough for 20 people, much less 67. At the shelters the people supposedly are fed at 11AM and at 4 PM, and that's it for the day.

The moms and children were just sitting around on the floor on very thin mattresses. Some had sheets some didn't. Some of the children were naked. I am not used to seeing children as traumatized as some of these were. While some kids were still happy and friendly as usual, there were others that just looked like they were in shock. There was nothing for them to do, not a book to read or a toy to play with, nothing to distract them from the horror of what they had just been through. There were several pregnant women. One who was due any time, said she had nothing at all for her newborn, when it arrives.

After various phone calls, I was able to ascertain that in the church/school in Bonao, at least three deaf people have lost their homes and are in shelters. One of my students in the capital was from the area where the houses were submerged; he and his family are staying with relatives for the time being. Part of the roof is missing from the house of another student.

A friend who is a medical missionary is interested in bringing a team to help. Another missionary I go to church with wants to work together to get these people some relief. We are forming a quick net of providers, to help fill in the gap. We are going as the hands and feet of Jesus, not any particular denomination.

We are thankful for a Florida church that joined in the battle and send us $300 to help provide for basic needs.

The next two days will be busy ones. I have asked for donations of household goods, food, clothing, medicine and just about anything, from the church I attend here. A couple of people have offered to help deliver whatever is collected from our small church. I'm going over with a medical missionary who wants to look over the situation, with the possibility of scheduling a medical operative for a day next week. One other missionary who attends my church has offered to join in--she knows more than I about relief work.

Then there will be Tuesday. School will start again. It is important that parents get their kids back in school quickly. It will help them to be in their regular routine again, and I'm sure it will be a comfort to them. I hope at that point, that I'll be able to walk away, knowing that there are loving hearts continuing to help these people.

Tropical Depression Noel

2007-10-31T07:59:00.000-05:00

The effects of this tropical depression just won't leave. Yesterday, the rain was intermittent, but mostly light, so it looked like the worst was over. Today I awoke to yet another downpour. I heard on TV that it was supposed to rain for another 24 hours. The Miami Herald has a slideshow at http://www.miamiherald.com/924/gallery/288864.html?number=8 if you'd like to get a look.

We are in a state of emergency here in the capital, and in much (all?) of the country. School, by the way, as been canceled for three days now, but that isn't the worst of it. There is widespread flooding. I don't know how much rain we've actually gotten. The predictions were 10-20 inches in general, with up to 30 in some areas.

Lots of very poor people have lost their homes and all their earthly possessions. So far on record, 30 people have died, thousands are homeless, and many are missing as well. Bridges have washed away, leaving many communities cut off from the rest of the country.

Currently I'm housesitting for a missionary couple who are stateside for a year. I'm in a sturdy cement block house in a good location--as in not low-lying. The fact that I still have running water, electricity (mostly) and internet amazes me. I am aware of the fact that I could lose these at any time.

Much of the city hasn't had electricity for a couple of days. One missionary friend told me their running water is black. So just to put your minds at rest, family and friends, even if you don't hear from me, I'm in a safe place. I may lose basic services at any time, but my house isn't likely to flood. If you don't hear from me, it's because I have no internet.

I just spoke with the director of the school where we have put the new classes, in Sabana Perdida. She said that some of the children of the school come from down by the bridge, where the water is over the rooftops.

No one can go in or out of Sabana Perdida right now, because the bridges are flooded and dangerous. She said she is blessed with phone service, but that the phones are out in most of the area, and the church's internet is down.

Video

2007-10-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

If you go to the above link, then click on blog hispaniola, then the Oct. 30th entry, you'll see a short video about the school that Ryan did for us recently. He plans to polish it up a bit more before he actually calls it finished. Once that is done I'll

You might also like his video "my first two weeks" which gives some shots of Santo Domingo around town.

There are some portraits of the kids under the pictures link.

Enjoy. Thanks Ryan!

Tropical weather

2007-10-29T08:07:00.000-05:00

This hurricane season has been pretty tranquil up to now. Enter tropical storm Noel.

School is cancelled for today in much of the Dominican Republic, and we'll see about tomorrow, as inches of rain fall on us. The forecast is 6-8 inches, with up to 20 in some areas. I think I've already had several inches at my house. It has been raining for two days straight now. This is the kind of rain that inevitably causes several deaths; it provokes mudslides, and people try to cross flooded roads, only to be swept away.

The banana tree in my back yard is now laying on its side. :( The bananas were only a few weeks away from being ready. I hope I can somehow prop it up till they are done. Long palm leaves litter my yard as well, and a piece of zinc roofing has appeared from somewhere, as the winds have been high.

Meanwhile, I have had a whopper of an ear infection since Friday afternoon. Ear doctors don't work on weekends, so I managed to wait till today. Of course I did not know then that the whole city would be flooded by now!

Let me mention how many of the doctors work here. This is a culture where people are relationship oriented, not time oriented. So if they have an appointment for 3, they may show up an hour or more late, and still expect to be seen. Almost no one arrives anywhere on time. So the doctors generally do it this way: everyone gets the same appointment time. Then it is first person to the office is the first seen. Exceptions are made for VIPs and friends of the doctor, of course. There could be a whole roomful of people, and you may wait for hours. On the other hand, you may go into an emergency room, and be taken in before you even fill out the forms!

A lot of phones are out, and many people have lost electricity. My friend says at her house the water is running black. I have electricity, clean water, and even internet, for which I am very thankful.

New school--off and running

2007-10-25T08:39:00.000-05:00

The new school began on Monday of this week. Okay, technically it is not a new school. What we actually have is a new self-contained deaf class in an already existing (hearing) school. Most of the hearing children attend school in the morning, which leaves us classroom space for the afternoon. Some older hearing children are attending in the afternoon, but their classes are upstairs. Translation: We can be noisy! :)

I expected to start with about half a dozen children and two teacher trainees. Instead, we have 11 children currently, and four trainees. It's quite a handful.

The children are from 4 to 14. All of them, of course, are deaf. In addition to deafness we have: one child who cannot walk unaided and is probably autistic, one deaf-blind child who has not yet learned communication skills, one child who is mentally challenged (retarded), another who seems to be have some pretty strong learning disabilities. About half of the children can sign. These are our teens, in their second year. The other half know little to no Sign Language.

We are in far from an ideal situation. If we wait for ideal conditions, however, these children will end up without any schooling whatsoever. Unfortunately it comes down to "better than nothing" sometimes. This is not to say they will not learn, just that we aren't starting out in a fully equipped school with well trained teachers. This is a developing country, and we are a developing school.

The teacher-trainees are learning Sign Language too. What distinguishes our schools, is that we require teachers to be Christians and fluent in Sign Language. Sign Language classes abound in the US, but here, they are very rare. Basically, if you want teachers to sign, you have to teach them.

While training the teachers, I must also be training myself! I have worked with deaf-blind students before, but only at college level. This is quite different. I'm scouring the internet for info, and praying for ideas on how to teach our young deaf-blind student to communicate.

Meanwhile, the Ozama school is doing well. The new teacher is adjusting well.

Alexi, who recently underwent surgery to correct a malformation of his ears is recovering well, and the surgery was a success. He is expected to be able to hear much better than previously--perhaps even 100%.

As for me, I've had a few glitches in hearing myself! I have noticed recently that I was needing things to be repeated much more frequently than before. It seemed like my understanding of Spanish was degenerating, when it should continue to improve. So I had a hearing test to see if that is where the problem lies. Sure enough, I showed a mild hearing loss.

The audiologist said that it is noticeable in Spanish, rather than English conversations, because Spanish isn't my native language. That means it is a language that I must hear in more ideal conditions, and perhaps at a slightly higher volume.

Please pray for me as I continue getting the new classes organized and functioning. Pray that our teachers will love and understand these special children. Pray also that everyone's communication skills will be adequate to the task, and develop into fluency quickly.

What do missionaries need?

2007-10-20T04:32:00.000-05:00

This blog focuses mainly on the school, but I hope you won't think it a diversion to talk about the overall mission. Without the mission, the deaf school doesn't go on. Without the missionary, the mission doesn't go on. Read on.

This week I had the opportunity to go to a seminar on mission support with Agape Flights, my mail service. Now if the first thing that popped into your mind was finances, let me just say, that is only one part of the equation.

An all-around support for a missionary includes four principal things: prayer, participation, advocacy, and financial support. I need all these things from other Christians, if I'm to be successful in the work with these deaf children. Missions don't just consist of the missionary. It is a team effort. It is the church who works, one in one way, one in another, to accomplish the goal of reaching the world. I'm not doing missions, WE are.

Prayer. That one is obvious. Prayer for all kinds of things. In my case, for continued health and strength to do the job, for wisdom, for the Holy Spirit's guidance, for lives to be touched, for these children and their parents to come to know the Lord, for provision for all of my needs, and the needs of the ministry here. I could go on. But you get the idea. No prayer, means nothing worthwhile ever gets accomplished. The whole thing turns into social work, rather than mission work.

Advocacy. Telling a friend about the work with the deaf here. Would your friend be interested in being part of my support team in these four ways? I do enjoy visiting the US, but my time there is very limited. You who live there can make introductions for me so that I can keep on doing the work that needs to be done here.

Participation. This would include sending work teams, or individuals coming for long/short term missions. Being a helper from the US in some way: whether maintaining a website, doing some needed shopping, providing lodging or a car when I'm visiting the US--there are many many ways to participate.

Financial support. Here's the part not too many people like to talk about. Me neither. You'll notice I left it till last. But I do want you to give. Why? Because it is an opportunity for you to further the work of the kingdom. Because it allows me to keep working toward the church's goal of telling every person about Jesus. Both of us get blessed, the giver, and the receiver. And without financial support, let's face it, the whole thing falls apart. I want you to give, because I know that where your treasure is, is where your heart will be.

Thank you to all of you who are supporting me in these four areas. If you are not involved in these ways, would you like to be? After prayerful consideration, you may contact me at deafschool, followed by @gmail.com.

Blessings!
Peggy

New teacher, Secretary of Education, musings

2007-10-15T21:18:00.000-05:00

We have a new teacher, Eunice (pronounced "Ay-oo-nee-say"). She is taking over the class I've been working with. She has wanted to come to work with us for a while. Like Maria, she teaches mornings at the National School, another private school for the deaf, and loves the Lord.

Last week she worked alongside me, to learn the general routine, and this week she is teaching on her own, while I am busy prepping for the new classes in Sabana Perdida.

Monday will be our first day of classes at the other school. Please pray for our new teachers, that they will catch on quickly. Pray they will be creative. Pray they will be filled with love for these children, and see their potential. Pray that these children will respond to our love, and recognize its source, the Lord of love. Above all, we want them to know him.

Pray also for me, for wisdom in so many decisions being made, and for my health to hold up under all the extra work the new school brings.

A woman from the Secretary of Education came by today. Now we've been trying to get them to come for over a year, but when do they come? The day I leave to work on the other school! :) This visit is part of the process for having the school recognized by the government. I think I mentioned before, that that is how it's done here, in general. You start the school, then you work on recognition.

We do have a few things standing in our way. One is that they want us to have a library--as in a room dedicated for that purpose. Now that is kind of funny, because even most of the public schools don't have as many books as we do--two small bookcases full.

Another thing is that they want us to have an office. Sadly there is no space available. Our secretary works at a table out in the hall, and the file cabinet is in one of the classrooms. This is somewhat inconvenient, but actually functions, since there are only 41 students.

One other thing they would like: they want the teachers all to be working toward their masters degree. We would like to offer help toward further education as a job benefit at some point, but that may be a while.

All of our teachers are at the educational level called "technico," which is about the equivalent of an AA degree. (The children are in beginning levels, equivalent to preschool through about second grade.) We believe our teachers are the best in the country. Very few teachers can sign fluently, and even fewer have the amount of experience our teachers have in working with deaf children.

One of the distinctives of our school is that we are constantly working on our own teaching methods and materials, developing more and increasingly effective ways to reach these children. We don't consider ourselves to have arrived. We press on.

I remember a quote at a workshop I attended years ago. The presenter, speaking of teaching experience, said that some teachers have taught for 15 years, and others have taught one year fifteen times! We want to be the former, not the latter.

New School

2007-10-07T23:44:00.001-05:00

Maria (the teacher who co-founded the school) and I have been talking about a school in an area of the capital called Sabana Perdida for a couple of years. We have half a dozen students from there, and they have an hour commute each way. Well, our prayers have been answered.

There is a church there that invited me to do a presentation on Deaf ministry last year. They now have a couple of deaf children who attend, with no special help or interpreter. The mother of one of our students is a member of the church as well. The area has a large number of Deaf adults, and a very active cult recruiting them. The nearest Deaf church or ministry I know of is over an hour away from them, so there is no Christian witness to the Deaf people in the area.

About ten days ago, I received a call from a friend who works in the (hearing) school there, offering us two classrooms, free of charge. I made her a counter offer. Since her church is interested in working with Deaf ministry anyway, how about if I help them get a school started, and train their teachers? It would be their church's school, rather than an extension of this one. She presented this idea at their church council, and they agreed.

There is potential for a large group there, as many deaf children in the area are unschooled. I'm hoping it won't grow too fast, however, because I need to be able to train the teachers well before we get too busy.

Several of our students who live nearby, will be transferring to that school, enabling us to open up spaces for those children on our waiting list.

This means a very long daily commute for me, but that's okay. The deaf children in that area have been on my heart for so long.

The other significant thing is that I will need to hire another teacher to teach in my stead, while I am working at the other school.

We will appreciate your prayers that all the needed preparations will go smoothly, and especially that many Deaf people will come to know the Lord through the ministry of the church and school.