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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.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
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!
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!
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