So many years, people have commented -IT’S NOT REALLY CHRISTMAS UNTIL I HEAR THE BELLS. We are well into our Christmas music practices and looking forward to presenting our bell choir offerings beginning December 2! To me (Betsy) Christmas has already begun!
The middle of October and we are still feeling the summer humidity. Someone thought playing outside on Friday was a good idea. And it was. But getting back into the school chapel was a better idea!
We always enjoy our friends from Young Life come for some fun and games and the challenge from God’s Word. Jerry and Christina are amazing and we love having them and our friends from the Palmas Community Church.
There are four of us on staff now – we welcomed Dave Markle (white shirt) as our maintenance and Go To Guy for all things dysfunctional. Valie is enjoying having another guy around who knows how to fix things. Last week Dave installed a new hard drive on the school ZOOM CLASS laptop. This week he fixed leaks in the east wall that allowed Hurricane Fiona waters to enter the preschool classroom and kitchen. Imagine finding water in the breaker box! Only God knows what next week will bring to his plate!
Similarly in the classrooms – as teachers, we can know ourselves and prepare but we never know what will be behind the faces that enter. Our morning students are pretty settled into their studies and arrive knowing we will be doing SCHOOL work. Afternoons, we face ZOOM class with a teenaged girl and Tuesday Thursday with a Kindergartener girl. Oh dear. Pray in the afternoons if you think of it!
We love a weekend to do prep work and gardening but one Saturday each month we have Deaf Fellowship Day. The ladies have taken an interest in Diamond Art which is very tiny work. They got a little competition going to see who can complete the Christmas pieces they are working on. For me (Betsy), this project is too small and I took the paper sample to the printer and made an enlargement to help explain what we were doing.
There are already plans for more Christmas themed projects.
We also enjoy a night at the movies each month – coming up November 4 will be MOSES by Sight and Sound Theaters. Love their productions and the way the play shows us more of the character of the Bible person and times.
Pray with us for more opportunities and more hands to help with reaching out to the Adult Deaf community. Thanks for stopping by today!
See Betsy’s blog
We are temporarily not in classes – waiting for some electrical security 🙂
The students have reported in as “DOING OK”
Continue to pray for Puerto Rico and all those who have lost furniture, homes and electricity to this storm. THANK YOU for your prayers and concern.
From our seats, we can feel like we are in a boot camp tent. Well, our chapel has a.c. and we are using it these days as the weather has been toasty.
Mornings we begin with songs and sharing stories – working on conversational skills in ASL as well as Bible skills such as knowing where the books are located and how to find them. We are still reading through Andrew Murray’s Ministry of Intercession plan. We are all learning some new words from an older version of English and some new concepts that we would not normally pray about. All part of Bible Book Camp – learning to be more discerning and wise in our prayer lives.
After chapel while the room is still cool, we often stop by the bell tables. Already working on Christmas music. Already have one scheduled Christmas recital.
Christmas is just around the corner and while we are not in a hurry to get there, we are wishing for the cooler weather that comes with the shift into autumn and winter.
Our photos are not allowing a complete picture of our lives right now.
We have Natalia missing – 5 years old and sweet as can be. Pray for her as she anticipates a baby in the house around Christmas time.
Salem, we have not yet seen this semester. Her parents are working on a timetable and we are praying that they are able to join us and she joins our preschool to learn some more ASL.
Pray for Mizael and Henry as they grow from boys into men. This is a tough time of life for everyone. Trying to comply with school and trying out their adult brains at the same time.
Pray for all of us!
In August we celebrated Amber’s birthday. Always fun.
We have been studying MOLECULES in science class which led to creating crystals. So far, not much to report but we will keep trying!
THANKS also to those who send a lunch bonus! While we try to spend frugally, once in a while, we have PIZZA from a place nearby. This week, we welcomed Dave and Annette Markle to the ministry. Today we asked them to stop by Pizza Hut and bring us lunch! Maybe next week we can order fresh lobster – Perhaps Dave can find some while snorkeling.
In all August was a great month. Looking forward to the blessings coming in September.
PRAY – for our students – they are being challenged to be young MEN. One recently asked, “How can I pray better?” Oh that they would continue to have a desire to learn.
An amazing team from Elmhurst IL has come to bless us with energy and work ethics! First Congregational UCC, Elmhurst – 235 S Kenilworth Ave, Elmhurst IL 60126 (630) 832-2580 (elmhurstucc.org)
They are power washing, painting, cleaning, and replacing some rain spouts and roof tiles that were in need of attention. WOOHOO! Thank YOU!
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To end the school year, we had THREE year end events as pictured above – the all school party, a small games and pool party, and a bowling outing for the handbell choir members.
After the fun and games and lunch time on May 23, we entered the school chapel and had a dessert and a bell recital. The students signed some songs and were given their certificates and we said ADIOS and HASTA AGOSTO!
While we all love summer and a change of pace, the students actually said, “Can’t we just come and hang out.” SERIOUSLY? Yea – play DUTCH BLITZ and SKYJO and SCRABBLE and DUOLINGO [yep they think that is play] and do crafts and maybe sing in the chapel and watch movies together. Well, that is fun but the staff have other chores.
BETSY has been working on plans for the NEXT school term. AMBER just took off to visit family and friends. VALIE is repairing the deck stairs.
There is a mission/work team coming on Saturday and as we were touring the grounds with the group leader, we noticed the stair supports were splitting. OOPS – safety FIRST. So before the group comes to do maintenance, Valie is maintenancing this issue. We just didn’t want 12 healthy young men stomping UP and crashing through! Does mission work team insurance cover that or would it be the school insurance? Let’s not find out.
Valie has found a nice shady place to do this job. Thankfully there is no rain in the sky today. We have a leak in the office and a few in the chapel roof that the group next week will be repairing – PLEASE PRAY for sunny days for those roof repairs! If there are other work teams interested, we have the list of maintenance needs – a fence that came down with Hurricane Season 2017 that is droopier every year, some windows that need to be removed and replaced (cement work required), power washing and painting, a roof seal job on the girls dorm building, general upkeep on the basketball court. Get in touch and maybe YOUR missions work team can lend a hand!
Not really MAD… but today – March 14, 2022 seemed to be a day of anomalies –
NO WATER this morning * No students because our principal had a medical appointment (GOOD REPORT) and other appointments through the day * A student-parent-teacher conference that requires much prayer still * Resetting some of our internet system so that the classroom computer will be online (SUCCESS) * A new parent with two hearing-impaired sons seeking an educational option (WE NEED TEACHERS!) * and finally our youngest arrived for her language therapy class while her parents and siblings had their own ASL class. WHEW. Oh but midway through that, the water came back on and the reservoir tanks on the roofs overflowed and then someone hid the shovel and there is a dead bird in the courtyard! At least we can shower…
Saturday we had our monthly gathering of friends. A friend came and taught us one way to make paper flowers. GOOD TIMES were had!
Thank you for praying for the ministry!
It is December 13, 2021 and we have polished the bells, ready to play for the Palmas Community Church on Wednesday evening, December 15 and for our school community on Thursday evening December 16.
After more than a year of mostly unused bells, it has been good to get back to ringing praises. Come join us on Wednesday or peek into the Palmas Community Church facebook live stream! 
During the month of November, we have been writing our THANKFULNESS on leaves and hanging them in the school chapel. The challenge was to NOT REPEAT but to write something new everyday. Today, Monday November 22, the leaves are being removed by a work team from Arrowhead Bible Camp and replaced with Christmas lights and decorations because SCHOOL IS CLOSED for the week of American Thanksgiving and we have a work team to do this job for us.
We celebrated THANKSGIVING on Thursday November 18 when friends from the Palmas Community Church brought us turkey and the WORKS! We are still respecting Covid19 restrictions but allowed those who felt comfortable to sit together indoors. Some of our Deaf ladies have found the stash of perler beads and are enjoying making crafts with them – they took time to eat but then returned to the craft table in a classroom.
Our workteam visitors are WORKING – and we are THANKFUL for the sound of pressure washers and trimmers and mowers and the scent of paint on the gate and the laughter coming from the ladies. Jack, the team leader, is working solo and so far, not laughing.
I pray that YOUR weeks are always filled with giving thanks and that as you take time this week (for our USA friends) to Give Thanks with your families, you will remember to THANK GOD for everything – because even pandemics, natural disasters and unplanned events can be used by God to bring about blessings above and beyond all that we could dream of.
