Posts
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! :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Relief
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!
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!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
What's worse than a major hurricane? Tropical storm Noel!
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tropical Depression Noel
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Video
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!
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!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tropical weather
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.
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.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
New school--off and running
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.
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.
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