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.

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 Yoselín 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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Framy

You may remember a while back, talking about a teenage boy named Framy. He was having problems with his one good eye. Now, he is legally blind. Apparently his retina slowly detached over a period of time, but none of the eye doctors he went to recognized or dealt with it, even though they did give him cataract surgery. [Because I was out of the country for this post, I depended on reports from the DR, rather than giving you first-hand info. As time passed and I was given more accurate info, I updated it here in brackets.]

Going blind is one of the greatest fears of a deaf person. Framy is having a hard time adjusting. He refuses to use a cane, although he really needs to have mobility training. He is way ahead communication-wise,  of the kids in the deaf-blind classes across town, and the teacher there says he is better off in the deaf school because of that. 

Please pray for Framy. He is going through a very difficult adjustment. Pray that he will put all his hope in the Lord, and that he can learn to live as independently as possible, and maintain relationships with the other deaf. Deaf-blindness is very isolating.

The other kids can communicate with him with hand on hand sign language. It will take him a while to become as fluent in that as he has been in regular sign. [This was inaccurately reported. New info on this is that he is able to use the tunnel vision he has still to understand visually.]

The deaf-blind class across town is sending over someone later this week to give his teacher and classmates orientation on how best to work with Framy in class.  The school does not have the advantage of the technology that deaf-blind people use in the US. Most likely, his classmates will be watching their teacher and taking turns interpreting to Framy what they are seeing. [This really depends on how constricted his tunnel vision is, which is unclear at this time. The more limited it is, the more likely that he will not be able to understand the teacher.]

Burglars

The police recently released several local thieves, and now they are trying to get into the school. Although the Secretary of Education should have a night watchman posted at the school, they no longer have one. As a result, there have been several attempts recently to break in.

This brings the director to some difficult decisions. We have recently installed an backup system that allows the school to have lights when the city electricity is off--which is most/all of the school day. This would be one of the prime targets for the burglars. Should she take them all out for safekeeping? Then there would be no electricity once again. Should she leave them in? Then they will most likely get stolen, and once again there will be no electricity. There are no funds to hire a night watchman privately. Then there are the other supplies used in running a school that will also be attractive to burglars.

Please pray that the Lord will provide a resolution to this problem, so that it will not be a constant burden on the school.

Vision Trust medical team

This past week the school welcomed a medical team from Vision Trust. The children received checkups, and were given toothbrushes and toothpaste.

But the team didn't stop there.  They presented Bible stories for the children as well, and spent some time playing with and getting to know them.  The kids were thrilled, of course.

We thank the Lord for this team, and their work with us here in Santo Domingo.

Team members

New toothbrushes for all!

Thanks

The principal ("director")  was invited to speak to the mayor and city council among other government officials about the educational needs of the deaf. She feels that the meeting was productive and a sign that the government is taking more interest.

The new children were recently evaluated as to progress, and the teachers are pleased to report that they have surpassed expectations. Their sign language is steadily improving, and that is the basis for everything they learn.

From the school a big thank you to all who have supported us thus far with your prayers and with your offerings. Vision Trust has been an incredible help, and we thank also Calvary Deaf Church in Riverside for their help. The groups from Florida and Rochester are others who have consistently prayed and been available to help on site at summer camps and other times. From time to time we have had individuals and small groups come to work directly among us at the school, giving up personal vacation time and money in order to support us. There is a prayer warrior in VA who always holds us up before the throne of God. I don't like to name names on the internet, just know that every one of you is appreciated.  There is a saying often heard in Dominican Spanish "¡Dios se lo repaga! ---"May God repay you. And we know he will.

But don't give up now!  We've only just begun, stand beside us as we continue to fight the good fight. Continue to keep the school in your prayers, that the children will progress, and that they will grow mighty in the Lord.

Blessings!

Twins!

Today deaf twins, Diomery y Diomary, came for the first time in their lives to school. They are nine years old. Their teacher, Yoselín, knows just what to do. She is experienced. Only one of the 8, 9, and 10 year olds in her class has ever been to school before, and he is autistic. The rest are all in their first year, learning to sign, learning their names, and all the basics of kindergarten.

The second picture is from this week.  (Excuse the wrong date; they have a hard time resetting it each time they put in batteries!)

Blessings!

Día de la Raza--Columbus Day

Día de la Raza in the Dominican Republic is a celebration of ancestry. It is a time that Dominicans remember their roots. They remember Christopher Columbus who was the governor of the island at one time, and the natives that were on the island, as well as their own Hispanic heritage.

Yesterday the kids enjoyed celebrating their history. It is always fun to dress up!

Still coming in...

Every week that has passed has seen new children signing up for school. We rejoice in this, that they will have the opportunity to come, but at the same time, we recognize that this puts added work for the teachers, whose classes are already at capacity.

The issue of teachers is always a difficult one. The fact is, trained teachers of the deaf are not usually available to hire. It's easy to find someone with a teaching license, but s/he will not know Sign Language.

Every deaf child needs an education. Without it, in most cases, the child will not ever be fluent in any language. Imagine living without anything but a limited system of home-invented signs.

It's very important that deaf children not be turned away. On the other hand, if you put too many deaf children in a classroom, you end up with a day-care center rather than a school. It's very difficult to explain this to people who are used to working with hearing children in packed classrooms.

The greatest need continues to be educators of the deaf, and we continue to ask for your prayers and if you are a teacher of the deaf, your participation if you are able to come.

New kids

We welcomed three new students this week. We have over a hundred students now. Our little school is already running out of space! The Secretary of State of Education has asked us to add Saturday classes for adult deaf who need remedial classes in reading. Please keep praying for us.

We have been greatly blessed with a donation for buying batteries to go with the inverter.  Very soon we will have electricity for all or most of the school day. Up till this point we have had only very limited electricity daily. This is how an inverter works. When the electricity is on, the inverter charges up the batteries. When the electricity goes off, the inverter begins drawing on the battery power that is stored, and provides electricity until the city electricity comes on again.

Now we begin the task of getting and installing fans in each classroom. The classrooms are quite hot, although they are much better since the renovation.

Every Monday we are having chapel services for the children, and they are enjoying it very  much. The parents are reporting to us that their children are learning much from these services, and they are pleased. The children give their prayer requests, and learn all about trusting in the Lord for their needs, and the grace of living in obedience to him. They are even going home and teaching their parents about the Lord!

A note from the principal's office

Update from the Principal's office:

We will be resuming our regular school hours of 8-4 this week. The first couple of weeks we had only half-day classes while we continued teacher training, as attendance was poor--typical of August here.

The children are happy to be back at school after their summer vacation. The students who were studying with us have been longing for the beginning of school because they generally have very little communication at home.

This year we have a lot of new students, and especially little ones. There are 20 children who are from 2 to 5 years old!

Maria, the assistant principal,  spends her days in the classrooms, training new teachers.

Note: If there is a volunteer who would like to work alongside us here, please contact us. The school may be reached at 809-590-8666 (Spanish, voice) Emails in Spanish can go to gmail.com   to the name paulinacolegio. If you write in English, just allow a few days extra for us to get it translated.

The hurricanes haven't arrived, but are passing by close enough to cause us some torrential rains.

We ask for your continued prayers for the school and its students, and we appreciate the help you all have given, especially for your prayers.  We know that the Lord is able to supply our every need.

Staff picture

Here is our teaching staff. The assistant principal and the principal are the two ladies on the right end.

 This photo is really from this month! Honest! The green shirts are the new school uniforms, by the way.

Tuesday is the first day of the new school year

Tuesday is the day! CCES will be beginning the new school year with lots of new teachers, and lots of new students. There are over a hundred students signed up now, and if this year is like previous years, they will continue to sign up students well into September. After that, new students will still come, but not daily.

This promises to be a very difficult beginning. CCES has several new teachers who have minimal Sign Language skills and no experience teaching deaf children. You may wonder why we would hire such.

It comes down to this: there really are not any qualified teachers of the deaf available. CCES looks for Christian teachers--and thankfully, they are abundant. But there are more qualifications. The Secretary of Education will hire only teachers who have been licensed through the university system and passed an exam given by the Secretary of Education. (Only a small percentage of licensed teachers pass this test.) Teachers who know sign language are scarce. Teachers who have a degree and know sign language, scarcer still. Teachers who have a degree, can sign, and have passed the test given by the Secretary of Education are almost non-existent--and the few that exist are already working in schools for the deaf.

So the choice they have is to either have no education for the deaf, or to hire unskilled, unqualified teachers, train them on the job, and hope they succeed. This sounds terrible, and it is, because it means that deaf students will not be getting the quality education they should unless they get one of the teachers who has been trained in previous years.  Why even bother?

It is worth it for several reasons. First, the very most important thing we can do to prepare these children for life, and especially for coming to know the Lord, is to give them a language. Most who don't attend school will not learn a language. Even with inadequate teachers, deaf children learn a language just from being around other deaf children. 

Second, the teachers who start out knowing nothing, often end up being excellent teachers within a single year or two. It's a sink or swim situation. Many learn to "swim" beautifully. Each year new teachers are added, and each year more are trained, so progress is being made.

If you are a teacher of the deaf, and you would like to come and participate as a volunteer in the training of new teachers in Santo Domingo, let us know. CCES needs you! Spanish is nice, but not absolutely necessary. ASL is required. You can offer a school year, a semester, a month, or just come for a few days and give a workshop. Interested?  See this page for details about volunteering.

As always your prayers are desired. Please pray that teachers and students will settle in quickly to the work at hand, and that in everything God will be honored and glorified.

Getting ready for back to school

Today begins our teacher training for the new school year. We are also signing up quite a few new students.


Our teacher training includes a course in Cued Spanish given by Marleny, one of our teachers.  Maria, the assistent director,  will be giving workshops on new strategies for teaching content with the use of Sign Language.

You may notice that we have mentioned two different language methods. That is because our goal is for the children to be bi-lingual. First of all, we use Sign Language, the preferred language of most Dominican Deaf people. Most of our communication and content is conveyed in Sign. 


We also use Cued Spanish to teach the students Spanish, mainly for purposes of literacy and knowing how to write effectively. This allows them better communication with the hearing world. That is important for jobs, family, and societal interaction.


We encourage parents to choose either of these options for their home communication, and provide training for those who choose to do so. Still, did you know that the majority of the parents of deaf children, even in the USA, never learn to communicate effectively with their children? If you'd like to know why, here is a good article on it: Why parents don't learn to sign

Camp

Camp was  a success. Children learned more about Jesus, and some came to know him personally. There was too much fun to be believed, even though it poured down rain every day. The kids still had time to get in the pool.


Framy, who has been dealing with visual problems, at first didn't want to come, because he cannot see at night now. We assured him that we would assign someone to him, if necessary, to make sure he didn't have any problems. He decided to come. His classmates were happy to see him, and fought over who would be his guide.

The children had a bunch of new American friends to get to know, and American friends who they knew from last year to catch up with.

Several weeks later...oops! I just realized that this post was written but never posted. So here it is, better late than never!

Congratulations to our principal (director)

This past week, a little over a thousand public school teachers and principals took the state mandated testing for their positions. It is a grueling test, covering quite a broad spectrum of knowledge, including knowledge of education law. Less than 90 people passed. Our director (principal) Paulina, was among them. God has prepared her well for her position at the school. She was in the top ten percent of all scores.
We will be getting three of the teachers who passed, to work at the deaf school next year. This is a great blessing. The new teachers come in without Sign skills, or experience with deaf students, and will need on the job training. (Note: There is really no choice in this; teachers who already know Sign and have experience are extremely rare.)

On a personal note, I (Peggy Blevins) will be returning to the US for the next school year.  This mission is complete and in the hands of Dominicans who are capable and trustworthy. I'll be leaving after camp, on July 1st. While on furlough, I will attend some conferences, the Voice for the Deaf board meeting, visit some churches to give them a report on the work here, and of course, see my siblings, and many dear friends, most of whom I haven't seen for the past six years or more. Did I mention that there will be some R& R in there too?! While stateside, I hope to do some work on the curriculum as well, but perhaps that is being too ambitious. We'll see. This year will be a time of seeking God for his plan for the next mission. When I return, God willing, I will be working in an area outside of the capital, possibly on the Haitian border, where there is almost no education for the deaf, nor churches, and most of the deaf don't know Sign even as adults.

The director has asked me if I will continue to do the English blog for them, and I have agreed; they will send me the info and I'll write it up in English to keep you all posted.

Camp is coming up soon, the third week in June.  Keep us in your prayers!

Elections

The elections for senators, and other government posts (but not president) are being held on Sunday. For this reason all schools and colleges are canceled for tomorrow afternoon, and for Monday. This is nationwide, announced by the Secretary of Education.

Pray for the Dominican Republic, that Sunday's elections will be fair, and peaceful, and that God will guide in the choice of those who are to govern.

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.

Back to our routine

We've enjoyed a couple of very special weeks, with visitors from the US. It's been a great experience for the children. Watching people on TV really doesn't give you an accurate assessment of their culture like meeting them can. It was especially nice that we had several Christian teens here working with us. There is nothing like a good role model.

Now the days are settling back  into their normal routine. The students are glad to come, to see each other, and to learn. I've always been amazed at how very rare it is for a deaf student here to be shy at all!  Ask a question, and every hand goes up! Who wants to read the book to the class? All hands go up again--even those who aren't really able to answer the question or read the book!

The weather is hot once again, after a brief reprieve of cool and breezy days, when it was down to the 70's. The heat can be a distraction.

Next week the directors will begin a deaf church service which will meet on Sunday afternoons. We'll be able to use the school lunchroom for this meeting, and it will be open to deaf people from the school and the community. Although we do have devotionals and weekly Bible study with the children, we see the need for something more in depth for those who are wanting to grow in the Lord. Deaf children are not able to fully participate in their parents' church because of the language barrier.

We hope to have a local deaf pastor preach at the meetings. He is currently out of work, so it will depend somewhat on the job he eventually gets, if he will have the time free to preach twice on Sundays. He already preaches for the deaf at another location on Sunday mornings.


Please keep this new ministry in your prayers. We believe that feeding the spirit is as important as feeding the mind and the body.

School is open and we are at work!

The school is open at last! Only a few kids per class arrived the first day back, but by yesterday we had three-fourths of the students. Some are hard to contact, so we have to wait for them to get in touch with us, in order to let them know that school has reopened. This is due to the fact that people change cell p hone numbers almost constantly. Often cell phones are stolen, and other times they simply haven't put money on them recently and lose the number.

We have a work team here of four adults and six teens. They are doing a great job, but I'm going to let them speak for themselves. You can read the blog of one of the teens, at this address: DR blog. He has even posted some video.

Thanks for your prayers. We are all so pleased to be in our renovated space. It is wonderful to have bathrooms with running water! And it is great to have a little more space to move around in. We are still getting the walls decorated. We want this to be a haven for these deaf children, a place where they can be at peace, a place where they know they are loved. All this for Jesus' sake.

Did I mention that we were starting school again?

Well we didn't. Unfortunately, promises were not kept, and the day we were to begin, found us still with no bathrooms ready for use. The principal had to send the students back home. They say we are really going to start next Monday. And yes, this time the bathrooms are finished! 

They've made a lot of progress this week. At least that's what I've heard.  I haven't been over to see it. Instead the teachers have been coming to my house for workshops, so that that cement could be put down in the courtyard without our being in the way.

So, I believe that this time we really are going to begin...I know they are planning an inauguration of the site for Monday. We did this before, as the school began on the site, but this time it is to re-open the newly inaugurated site. There are still things to be done, but my understanding is that we will be beginning the full day session right away on Monday. Thank you Jesus!

Moving Day

We are moving back in, to start school on Monday! I'm sorry to say that the school renovation is still not finished. But we cannot delay any longer. There have been several promised deadlines, each one arriving with an excuse for why the school is not finished. 

On the bright side, the school is very nearly finished. In fact, it could easily be finished with a week of concentrated effort. But that seems unlikely. Instead, it may drag out over several more weeks or months. 

What is lacking now are mostly the finishing touches. The walls are all up, but not painted. The electrical wiring is in, but the outlets and lights are not yet installed. The bathrooms are ready for the installation of the sinks and toilets. The septic tank has been built, but not closed. There are new floors all over, but the edges aren't yet finished, and they must be gone over with a machine that will sand them down. The courtyard hasn't been done at all. The new roofs, many of the new doors and most of the windows are in.

What we'll be doing is going back to limited classroom space, to allow them to finish off rooms, and then moving into finished rooms as they become available, so they can finish the rooms we are using.

The children are very excited, after the seemingly interminable wait. 

Once again we will be limited to mornings only, while the construction goes on, but will switch to a full day as soon as they finish.

Please pray with us, that we will stop hearing excuses and soon see the work finished up!

During this unwanted break, we spent many, many hours training our teachers. I'm confident that we have some of the best teachers of the deaf in the whole country! They are dedicated Christians, creative, enthusiastic, and excellent teachers. The school is blessed to have them.

They are all looking forward to getting back into the classroom on Monday.

Meet Sofia

When the earthquake in Haiti happened, our students were still on break. Most go "home" to the countryside where many  of their relatives still reside. Sofia also went home--to the capital of Haiti, to visit her father.  Sofia is a new student of ours. She had only been with us a month or so when Christmas vacations started.

We are happy to report that Sofia is now safe and sound. The fifteen year old was in her father's house in Port au Prince when the earthquake happened. A few younger children (relatives) were at home with her at the time. She quickly got everyone out of the house, before it collapsed.

Her mother, back in the DR was frantic. She went to Haiti and spent eight days searching for her child, even checking corpses in the street before she found her, alive and well, although a bit skinnier.

We would appreciate your prayers for Sofia, that the Lord will help her, and help her family as well, to deal with the trauma of what  they have just passed through. We are so relieved to know that she is okay.

Not quite ready

The construction is moving along. We are hoping for the beginning of February, and it is looking like it may be possible--at least if they continue to work the way they are doing now. The main structures are up on added classrooms and bathrooms, there are new roofs where they were needed, and floors and windows are being installed. There is still plenty to do. Will it be done on time?

Meanwhile, the teachers come to my house for more training. Today each teacher signed up for an email account and learned how to send and receive email. Apart from Sign Language and Cued Spanish, and getting familiar with teaching materials, we've been working on basic computer skills--simple things like turning the computer on and off, opening a program, and cutting and pasting in a word processor. Even though all of the teachers are currently in college, or have graduated from college, they are not computer literate. Imagine it! But they don't have a lot of access to computers. Once the school is renovated, we'll be able to use the computer occasionally, when we have electricity. Usually that is a few hours in the morning.

We know the kids are as anxious to get back as we are. We are all missing each other. Such a long break is often a setback for children new to language. They revert back to home sign, and must be retaught. They usually pick it up a little faster the second time around.  It's also a setback to the teachers who were not fluent in Sign at the beginning of the year.  They all need that daily practice to maintain and develop their skills.

Blessings!

Our neighbor

In response to several inquires, here is short summary of what happened yesterday: Our neighbor, Haiti, as you know, had a serious earthquake. It was felt here in Santo Domingo, as tremors, and we had a brief tsunami watch. The tsunami did not materialize, thankfully. To the best of my knowledge, the Dominican Republic had no earthquake damage, although the quake was felt more strongly on the border areas than in Santo Domingo.


Ten percent of the population here is Haitian, so you can imagine that there is a lot of concern for relatives. 

According to our local news sources, the Domincan Republic is sending aid (water purifiers, search dogs, workers), and receiving patients from Haiti for treatment here, notably injured UN workers.

Back to school...school recognized.

Kings Day is over and Dominican children have received their gifts and had a few days to play with them. The long Christmas season will be winding down over the next couple of weeks. It's Dominican winter, and although the mid-day sun is still scorching most days, the evenings are very pleasant.

We had hoped to be back to school mid-January, but the construction is not going to be finished by then. It's looking more like February. We are asking the builders to finish off at least a couple of classrooms for our use by next week, but not sure if that will happen yet.

Since most schools only have classes three to four hours daily, and our class hours are extended, we can make up the time needed to satisfy the requirements of the Secretary of Education. But we would like to get going ASAP, and would appreciate your prayers for us on this point. Meanwhile, we will be concentrating on teacher training.

Most Dominican students will be returning to school this coming Monday.

The school has finally received the code that proves it is recognized by the State. It took us about four years to get through the process! Thank you to those who prayed with us for this. We know that it is truly the Lord who saves us, and despite opposition and obstacles, he is able, and got us through this.  Now we are asking the government to pay teacher salaries. This could take years, although they are able to do it any time they want. It's a very political process. Pray that the Lord will give us favor with the officials, and will remove those who are our enemies without cause, who seek to block this work at every turn.

In local news, the price of gas has gone up, and public transportation cars and buses are trying to raise their prices by 25%. This kind of situation usually means a series of transportation strikes that shut down the country, and can be violent.  A strike was called for today.

We are looking forward to what the Lord will do in 2010. Please stand with us in prayer for the deaf children, for their understanding of the gospel, their commitment to Jesus, and that they will grow in wisdom and knowledge of the Lord this year.