Summer break is ending

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!