Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas play

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.




Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas & Update on Framy

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 YoselĂ­n 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.