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.