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.