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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.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
What do missionaries need?
This blog focuses mainly on the school, but I hope you won't think it a diversion to talk about the overall mission. Without the mission, the deaf school doesn't go on. Without the missionary, the mission doesn't go on. Read on.
This week I had the opportunity to go to a seminar on mission support with Agape Flights, my mail service. Now if the first thing that popped into your mind was finances, let me just say, that is only one part of the equation.
An all-around support for a missionary includes four principal things: prayer, participation, advocacy, and financial support. I need all these things from other Christians, if I'm to be successful in the work with these deaf children. Missions don't just consist of the missionary. It is a team effort. It is the church who works, one in one way, one in another, to accomplish the goal of reaching the world. I'm not doing missions, WE are.
Prayer. That one is obvious. Prayer for all kinds of things. In my case, for continued health and strength to do the job, for wisdom, for the Holy Spirit's guidance, for lives to be touched, for these children and their parents to come to know the Lord, for provision for all of my needs, and the needs of the ministry here. I could go on. But you get the idea. No prayer, means nothing worthwhile ever gets accomplished. The whole thing turns into social work, rather than mission work.
Advocacy. Telling a friend about the work with the deaf here. Would your friend be interested in being part of my support team in these four ways? I do enjoy visiting the US, but my time there is very limited. You who live there can make introductions for me so that I can keep on doing the work that needs to be done here.
Participation. This would include sending work teams, or individuals coming for long/short term missions. Being a helper from the US in some way: whether maintaining a website, doing some needed shopping, providing lodging or a car when I'm visiting the US--there are many many ways to participate.
Financial support. Here's the part not too many people like to talk about. Me neither. You'll notice I left it till last. But I do want you to give. Why? Because it is an opportunity for you to further the work of the kingdom. Because it allows me to keep working toward the church's goal of telling every person about Jesus. Both of us get blessed, the giver, and the receiver. And without financial support, let's face it, the whole thing falls apart. I want you to give, because I know that where your treasure is, is where your heart will be.
Thank you to all of you who are supporting me in these four areas. If you are not involved in these ways, would you like to be? After prayerful consideration, you may contact me at deafschool, followed by @gmail.com.
Blessings!
Peggy
This week I had the opportunity to go to a seminar on mission support with Agape Flights, my mail service. Now if the first thing that popped into your mind was finances, let me just say, that is only one part of the equation.
An all-around support for a missionary includes four principal things: prayer, participation, advocacy, and financial support. I need all these things from other Christians, if I'm to be successful in the work with these deaf children. Missions don't just consist of the missionary. It is a team effort. It is the church who works, one in one way, one in another, to accomplish the goal of reaching the world. I'm not doing missions, WE are.
Prayer. That one is obvious. Prayer for all kinds of things. In my case, for continued health and strength to do the job, for wisdom, for the Holy Spirit's guidance, for lives to be touched, for these children and their parents to come to know the Lord, for provision for all of my needs, and the needs of the ministry here. I could go on. But you get the idea. No prayer, means nothing worthwhile ever gets accomplished. The whole thing turns into social work, rather than mission work.
Advocacy. Telling a friend about the work with the deaf here. Would your friend be interested in being part of my support team in these four ways? I do enjoy visiting the US, but my time there is very limited. You who live there can make introductions for me so that I can keep on doing the work that needs to be done here.
Participation. This would include sending work teams, or individuals coming for long/short term missions. Being a helper from the US in some way: whether maintaining a website, doing some needed shopping, providing lodging or a car when I'm visiting the US--there are many many ways to participate.
Financial support. Here's the part not too many people like to talk about. Me neither. You'll notice I left it till last. But I do want you to give. Why? Because it is an opportunity for you to further the work of the kingdom. Because it allows me to keep working toward the church's goal of telling every person about Jesus. Both of us get blessed, the giver, and the receiver. And without financial support, let's face it, the whole thing falls apart. I want you to give, because I know that where your treasure is, is where your heart will be.
Thank you to all of you who are supporting me in these four areas. If you are not involved in these ways, would you like to be? After prayerful consideration, you may contact me at deafschool, followed by @gmail.com.
Blessings!
Peggy
Monday, October 15, 2007
New teacher, Secretary of Education, musings
We have a new teacher, Eunice (pronounced "Ay-oo-nee-say"). She is taking over the class I've been working with. She has wanted to come to work with us for a while. Like Maria, she teaches mornings at the National School, another private school for the deaf, and loves the Lord.
Last week she worked alongside me, to learn the general routine, and this week she is teaching on her own, while I am busy prepping for the new classes in Sabana Perdida.
Monday will be our first day of classes at the other school. Please pray for our new teachers, that they will catch on quickly. Pray they will be creative. Pray they will be filled with love for these children, and see their potential. Pray that these children will respond to our love, and recognize its source, the Lord of love. Above all, we want them to know him.
Pray also for me, for wisdom in so many decisions being made, and for my health to hold up under all the extra work the new school brings.
A woman from the Secretary of Education came by today. Now we've been trying to get them to come for over a year, but when do they come? The day I leave to work on the other school! :) This visit is part of the process for having the school recognized by the government. I think I mentioned before, that that is how it's done here, in general. You start the school, then you work on recognition.
We do have a few things standing in our way. One is that they want us to have a library--as in a room dedicated for that purpose. Now that is kind of funny, because even most of the public schools don't have as many books as we do--two small bookcases full.
Another thing is that they want us to have an office. Sadly there is no space available. Our secretary works at a table out in the hall, and the file cabinet is in one of the classrooms. This is somewhat inconvenient, but actually functions, since there are only 41 students.
One other thing they would like: they want the teachers all to be working toward their masters degree. We would like to offer help toward further education as a job benefit at some point, but that may be a while.
All of our teachers are at the educational level called "technico," which is about the equivalent of an AA degree. (The children are in beginning levels, equivalent to preschool through about second grade.) We believe our teachers are the best in the country. Very few teachers can sign fluently, and even fewer have the amount of experience our teachers have in working with deaf children.
One of the distinctives of our school is that we are constantly working on our own teaching methods and materials, developing more and increasingly effective ways to reach these children. We don't consider ourselves to have arrived. We press on.
I remember a quote at a workshop I attended years ago. The presenter, speaking of teaching experience, said that some teachers have taught for 15 years, and others have taught one year fifteen times! We want to be the former, not the latter.
Last week she worked alongside me, to learn the general routine, and this week she is teaching on her own, while I am busy prepping for the new classes in Sabana Perdida.
Monday will be our first day of classes at the other school. Please pray for our new teachers, that they will catch on quickly. Pray they will be creative. Pray they will be filled with love for these children, and see their potential. Pray that these children will respond to our love, and recognize its source, the Lord of love. Above all, we want them to know him.
Pray also for me, for wisdom in so many decisions being made, and for my health to hold up under all the extra work the new school brings.
A woman from the Secretary of Education came by today. Now we've been trying to get them to come for over a year, but when do they come? The day I leave to work on the other school! :) This visit is part of the process for having the school recognized by the government. I think I mentioned before, that that is how it's done here, in general. You start the school, then you work on recognition.
We do have a few things standing in our way. One is that they want us to have a library--as in a room dedicated for that purpose. Now that is kind of funny, because even most of the public schools don't have as many books as we do--two small bookcases full.
Another thing is that they want us to have an office. Sadly there is no space available. Our secretary works at a table out in the hall, and the file cabinet is in one of the classrooms. This is somewhat inconvenient, but actually functions, since there are only 41 students.
One other thing they would like: they want the teachers all to be working toward their masters degree. We would like to offer help toward further education as a job benefit at some point, but that may be a while.
All of our teachers are at the educational level called "technico," which is about the equivalent of an AA degree. (The children are in beginning levels, equivalent to preschool through about second grade.) We believe our teachers are the best in the country. Very few teachers can sign fluently, and even fewer have the amount of experience our teachers have in working with deaf children.
One of the distinctives of our school is that we are constantly working on our own teaching methods and materials, developing more and increasingly effective ways to reach these children. We don't consider ourselves to have arrived. We press on.
I remember a quote at a workshop I attended years ago. The presenter, speaking of teaching experience, said that some teachers have taught for 15 years, and others have taught one year fifteen times! We want to be the former, not the latter.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
New School
Maria (the teacher who co-founded the school) and I have been talking about a school in an area of the capital called Sabana Perdida for a couple of years. We have half a dozen students from there, and they have an hour commute each way. Well, our prayers have been answered.
There is a church there that invited me to do a presentation on Deaf ministry last year. They now have a couple of deaf children who attend, with no special help or interpreter. The mother of one of our students is a member of the church as well. The area has a large number of Deaf adults, and a very active cult recruiting them. The nearest Deaf church or ministry I know of is over an hour away from them, so there is no Christian witness to the Deaf people in the area.
About ten days ago, I received a call from a friend who works in the (hearing) school there, offering us two classrooms, free of charge. I made her a counter offer. Since her church is interested in working with Deaf ministry anyway, how about if I help them get a school started, and train their teachers? It would be their church's school, rather than an extension of this one. She presented this idea at their church council, and they agreed.
There is potential for a large group there, as many deaf children in the area are unschooled. I'm hoping it won't grow too fast, however, because I need to be able to train the teachers well before we get too busy.
Several of our students who live nearby, will be transferring to that school, enabling us to open up spaces for those children on our waiting list.
This means a very long daily commute for me, but that's okay. The deaf children in that area have been on my heart for so long.
The other significant thing is that I will need to hire another teacher to teach in my stead, while I am working at the other school.
We will appreciate your prayers that all the needed preparations will go smoothly, and especially that many Deaf people will come to know the Lord through the ministry of the church and school.
There is a church there that invited me to do a presentation on Deaf ministry last year. They now have a couple of deaf children who attend, with no special help or interpreter. The mother of one of our students is a member of the church as well. The area has a large number of Deaf adults, and a very active cult recruiting them. The nearest Deaf church or ministry I know of is over an hour away from them, so there is no Christian witness to the Deaf people in the area.
About ten days ago, I received a call from a friend who works in the (hearing) school there, offering us two classrooms, free of charge. I made her a counter offer. Since her church is interested in working with Deaf ministry anyway, how about if I help them get a school started, and train their teachers? It would be their church's school, rather than an extension of this one. She presented this idea at their church council, and they agreed.
There is potential for a large group there, as many deaf children in the area are unschooled. I'm hoping it won't grow too fast, however, because I need to be able to train the teachers well before we get too busy.
Several of our students who live nearby, will be transferring to that school, enabling us to open up spaces for those children on our waiting list.
This means a very long daily commute for me, but that's okay. The deaf children in that area have been on my heart for so long.
The other significant thing is that I will need to hire another teacher to teach in my stead, while I am working at the other school.
We will appreciate your prayers that all the needed preparations will go smoothly, and especially that many Deaf people will come to know the Lord through the ministry of the church and school.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Floor, strike, video, new student, surgery, work teams
We went into the school today, and over the weekend the beautiful tile floor had buckled in several places! (The tile is over cement, and this is on the second floor.) We had two theories: a mild earthquake, and intense heat. But it's always hot here, so I don't know why all of a sudden it would do that! We don't really know what happened, we just hope they can fix it. The problem isn't in the classrooms, but in a large room (church's fellowship hall) that we pass through to get to the classrooms.
We use the facilities of a local church, and they told us to try to keep the kids from walking on the parts that are sticking up, in order not to break the tiles--like I can keep 41 deaf children walking around an obstacle course to get to their classrooms, LOL! I'm going to do my best.
We also had a new five year old come register today. We just have to figure out how we can get her into the school. She lives a whole hour away, but her mom is willing to bring her daily.
Tomorrow is a national strike for higher wages, so there are no classes. (I should say "today" since it is after midnight. ;)
We have a young man here who is going to do a short video of the school ministry for us. Once it is done, it will be posted on the internet, and you can have a more close-up look at what we are doing.
There is one hard-of-hearing child who attends school with us who is going to undergo surgery next week on Tuesday, to correct his hearing loss. This is very unusual; most deafness cannot be surgically corrected. In this child's case, he has a syndrome that causes malformation of the ears, and results in hearing loss. The surgeon believes his hearing will be normal post-surgery. He's just a little guy, four years old. We ask your prayers for him.
There are some possibilities for work teams coming this year. In January a team will be here as part of a college & seminary program. They will be doing some cultural studies in the country, as well as spending a few days working with our children. There are several Signers among them. Some of the people on the team came last year, and the children are looking forward to seeing them again. There are others are talking to us about coming, and we look forward to seeing what the Lord has in mind for all of us. We hope to be of mutual benefit.
We use the facilities of a local church, and they told us to try to keep the kids from walking on the parts that are sticking up, in order not to break the tiles--like I can keep 41 deaf children walking around an obstacle course to get to their classrooms, LOL! I'm going to do my best.
We also had a new five year old come register today. We just have to figure out how we can get her into the school. She lives a whole hour away, but her mom is willing to bring her daily.
Tomorrow is a national strike for higher wages, so there are no classes. (I should say "today" since it is after midnight. ;)
We have a young man here who is going to do a short video of the school ministry for us. Once it is done, it will be posted on the internet, and you can have a more close-up look at what we are doing.
There is one hard-of-hearing child who attends school with us who is going to undergo surgery next week on Tuesday, to correct his hearing loss. This is very unusual; most deafness cannot be surgically corrected. In this child's case, he has a syndrome that causes malformation of the ears, and results in hearing loss. The surgeon believes his hearing will be normal post-surgery. He's just a little guy, four years old. We ask your prayers for him.
There are some possibilities for work teams coming this year. In January a team will be here as part of a college & seminary program. They will be doing some cultural studies in the country, as well as spending a few days working with our children. There are several Signers among them. Some of the people on the team came last year, and the children are looking forward to seeing them again. There are others are talking to us about coming, and we look forward to seeing what the Lord has in mind for all of us. We hope to be of mutual benefit.
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