Framy update

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

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

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

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.