Love spoken here

I spent the afternoon in the beginner's class at the deaf school. There is a student, Leslie, who has only been there a couple of months. She is in a wheelchair and has CP, in addition to being deaf. But the children treat her just as well as they would any other friend. They include her in everything. They fight over who can push her chair for her. Some of the older kids have to pick Leslie up and carry her when she needs to go up or down the stairs, and they help her willingly.

Leslie's teacher, Maria, told me of how she put the girl on the floor one day, during break, so she could stretch out after such a long time seated. Leslie started to roll around; she doesn't have the motor skills to crawl. All the other kids started to roll around too, and made a game of it!I know she feels loved and accepted, as do all the children in her classroom. School is a safe haven for her.

Maria has taught this love and acceptance to the children, for the most part not with signs, but by example. It is more important than all the reading, writing and arithmetic she can ever teach them.

I can't tell you how great it felt to see Engel doing his math. The first time I met him he threw a cup of water in my face, and punched me in the arm. He punched another teacher in the stomach. He was a little terror. Back then, if you put a puzzle on the table for him to do, he would shove it onto the floor. With patience and love, he has conquered a lot of his behavioral issues. He has come to love school. He has a new language, and can communicate well now. He has friends like he has never had before. He is a happy and confident child.

Telling the love of Jesus is important. But the deaf need visuals; showing it makes it so much clearer.