Alex is our student blogger today. She requested Friday (for reason she notes in her entry), but we came in late and did not do the blog that night.
The OT team did the Bible lesson on David and Goliath for the elementary school students at the Sonsonate Deaf School. Jeremy Traf made a great Goliath (no pun intended), Andrew was an awesome David (he vanquished Goliath to the furious hand-waving applause of the deaf students when the “bad guy” fell), and Mariah was our narrator. Jim shared briefly and like Tim yesterday, offered an opportunity for students to receive Christ. We did a craft with the students after the skit. Several of the moms who come with their students expressed heart-felt appreciation to our translators and some moms shared specifically how appreciative they were that we were sharing the Work of God with their children.
For work projects, we were able to get U-bolts to reconnect some broken chains together to fix all four of the broken seats on the school swing set. We also purchased a piece of plywood cut to fit the backboard metal frame, a basketball hoop, and the screws to mount both. We did not have the tools on site to complete the job but the Principal said she will call someone to finish the basketball goal repair.
The Principal approved our request to meet with the students by gender and we learned a lot about their dreams, hopes, and the struggles they have, many of which are not ours but very real. Our IBC students said that was a valuable time and they gained many insights as the school students, particularly the girls, shared what it was like to be deaf and bothered or picked on by others.
Before we left the school, the students presented us with a bag of candy they had purchased and each of us got a pencil with foam figures on it they had made. They also sang a song for us with their hands with the song playing in the background and one of the boys who was evidently a believer prayed for us—for almost 10 minutes, which was probably a new experience for many of us. The Principal said she was deeply appreciative of our efforts and she would ensure the parents were all advised at the upcoming parents’ meeting. John and Diane Crews noted this was the first team to spend a week at the Deaf School. In the evening, John shared his story and we prayed for him.
On Saturday we went shopping at the seaside on the Pacific Ocean where we walked through a fish market on a pier which we could really tell was a fish market before we got there, bought some El Salvadorian seaside souvenirs (a couple of you can get ready for some real shark jaws with real shark teach in them….). After that we went to the seaside estate of Mercedes, an evangelical leader in El Salvador and a very generous lady, to spend the day resting and relaxing in her pool or sitting by the ocean. The parents and brother of Andres, our male translator, were able to join us and a great time was had by all who attended. We had our team meeting there and heard from Mercedes, and Andres' parents, Raoul and Menina. We took their prayer requests and prayed for them immediately.
We are going to bed early tonight since we are leaving tomorrow at 6:40 AM to go to church and do the canopy tour. More on that next time. Thank you for your prayers.
Praise for:
· A wonderful time at Sonsanate Deaf School and a good relationship with the teachers and students.
· A relaxing day today at Mercedes’ beach house and a good opportunity to pray for her and others.
· Good health and positive attitudes of team.
Pray for:
Healing from the difficulties of past life Mercedes' family and the El Salvador ministry for Christ.
The Gospel to go forth despite political and economic challenges in Latin American countries.
Health concerns for Raoul and direction and open doors for Andres and his older brother, Edward.
Continued good attitudes and good relationships in the team long with their willingness to go deeper with the Lord beyond individual comfort zones.
The OT team did the Bible lesson on David and Goliath for the elementary school students at the Sonsonate Deaf School. Jeremy Traf made a great Goliath (no pun intended), Andrew was an awesome David (he vanquished Goliath to the furious hand-waving applause of the deaf students when the “bad guy” fell), and Mariah was our narrator. Jim shared briefly and like Tim yesterday, offered an opportunity for students to receive Christ. We did a craft with the students after the skit. Several of the moms who come with their students expressed heart-felt appreciation to our translators and some moms shared specifically how appreciative they were that we were sharing the Work of God with their children.
For work projects, we were able to get U-bolts to reconnect some broken chains together to fix all four of the broken seats on the school swing set. We also purchased a piece of plywood cut to fit the backboard metal frame, a basketball hoop, and the screws to mount both. We did not have the tools on site to complete the job but the Principal said she will call someone to finish the basketball goal repair.
The Principal approved our request to meet with the students by gender and we learned a lot about their dreams, hopes, and the struggles they have, many of which are not ours but very real. Our IBC students said that was a valuable time and they gained many insights as the school students, particularly the girls, shared what it was like to be deaf and bothered or picked on by others.
Before we left the school, the students presented us with a bag of candy they had purchased and each of us got a pencil with foam figures on it they had made. They also sang a song for us with their hands with the song playing in the background and one of the boys who was evidently a believer prayed for us—for almost 10 minutes, which was probably a new experience for many of us. The Principal said she was deeply appreciative of our efforts and she would ensure the parents were all advised at the upcoming parents’ meeting. John and Diane Crews noted this was the first team to spend a week at the Deaf School. In the evening, John shared his story and we prayed for him.
On Saturday we went shopping at the seaside on the Pacific Ocean where we walked through a fish market on a pier which we could really tell was a fish market before we got there, bought some El Salvadorian seaside souvenirs (a couple of you can get ready for some real shark jaws with real shark teach in them….). After that we went to the seaside estate of Mercedes, an evangelical leader in El Salvador and a very generous lady, to spend the day resting and relaxing in her pool or sitting by the ocean. The parents and brother of Andres, our male translator, were able to join us and a great time was had by all who attended. We had our team meeting there and heard from Mercedes, and Andres' parents, Raoul and Menina. We took their prayer requests and prayed for them immediately.
We are going to bed early tonight since we are leaving tomorrow at 6:40 AM to go to church and do the canopy tour. More on that next time. Thank you for your prayers.
Praise for:
· A wonderful time at Sonsanate Deaf School and a good relationship with the teachers and students.
· A relaxing day today at Mercedes’ beach house and a good opportunity to pray for her and others.
· Good health and positive attitudes of team.
Pray for:
Healing from the difficulties of past life Mercedes' family and the El Salvador ministry for Christ.
The Gospel to go forth despite political and economic challenges in Latin American countries.
Health concerns for Raoul and direction and open doors for Andres and his older brother, Edward.
Continued good attitudes and good relationships in the team long with their willingness to go deeper with the Lord beyond individual comfort zones.
Thanks for the update. What an impact you all must have had at the deaf school. Thank you for so faithfully serving, and trusting God to go beyond your comfort zone to do so. I'm praying for you as you head into the second week of ministry. Keep relying on God and keep sending prayer requests our way. I love you all and miss you too, can't wait for you to come home and share in person!
ReplyDeleteThe skits sound like lots of fun to watch, and i hope the stories were encouraging as well as fun. So glad that you guys could help the school with the trash clean up and repairs and various things, making it a safer and more encouraging place for the kids and their families.
ReplyDeleteKeep safe and strong, and know that we missed you today at church, but are happy to share you with El Salvador.
Love to all, Mary
Praying for you all as you continue to minister to the kids and families there. It's neat hearing about your daily activities. Nice to know that all the yardwork we've had Casey do over the years is paying off with wheelbarrow experience there. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing El Salvador with all of us back home. We miss you, Case!
Love, Mom & Dad (Britton)
It's wonderful to read about your hard work and fun in serving the students & their school! Hope you have some pictures of your Canopy tour to share and more information on how you spent your weekend! Praying for you all as you continue serving others during this week! Blessings on your heads!
ReplyDelete