Yes, yes I know... It's been a while.
Anyway, life has been going fairly well here. Time keeps flying by as usual. I'm sitting here right now listening to the wonderful sound of raindrops pummeling the tin roof above me. Grass is getting greener now and it's the start of my favorite El Salvador season--the rainy one!
The last two weekends (when I usually write updates) I was at the guest house in San Salvador. It was really nice being able to take it easy for a few days.
But getting back to school related news--last weekend we had the first of the thrice-annual spelling competitions. My students all did well and some of them even surprised me with their final scores. Paola had been getting in excess of 20 words wrong on her tests, and according to my rule, she had to write each one 20 times, equaling a total of 400 words or sometimes more. But a few weeks prior to the competition, I guess she decided the situation was serious enough to put in extra studying. When test day came, Paola only had three words wrong. I was stunned! (But now I know she can learn faster than she lets on!)
For the competition, all of the girls were fairly close. Teresa won with a perfect score in the written exam and the spelling competition. Paola was second with only one mistake in each part, and Beatriz was third with a perfect exam, but two mistakes in the spelling competition. Standing up in front of everyone and spelling words makes her really nervous. I think she might have won if it hadn't been for that. Eduardo also did well, but hopefully he'll do better next time!
We've had a few visitors these past weeks. Two of Liz's friends are here from the states and helping us with some work. Today, two people came to scout out El Salvador to see about voluntary service opportunities. They arrived at school this morning and sat in several classes. And two weeks ago on the way to the cemetery to bury an aunt of Becky (Nata's wife) I look over and see Thomas Fisher calmly sitting in a minivan. Since he was there, I knew a certain special someone wouldn't be far away. Sure enough, I spotted Susanna and Cecilia Ramos a few feet away talking excitedly with all their old Salvadoran friends. I had known the three of them were coming sometime, but they didn't tell very many people the details of their trip so they could surprise everyone. I think they succeeded...
Answers to prayer are really exciting, so I'll share one with y'all. Beatriz has had a rough life at home every since she was small. Her dad has always had a problem with drinking and mistreating his family. Her mom has moved away from him at least once just to get away from it all. I'm sure we haven't even heard half of what has happened there, but it has been very hard on Beatriz. Ever since she became a Christian and started wearing a veil and a dress, she has had to endure anything from weird glances to downright abuse from her parents and those around her. But she has never stopped being faithful. She always comes to school with a big smile and a desire to do what's right no matter what others do or say. You can read more details about that in a post that Melody Eash wrote last year.
But God has been at work in that family and has answered many prayers. Beatriz's dad knew that drinking was not good for him or his family, but he wasn't able to quit completely. However, these last few months he has started going to church regularly and has quit drinking completely. He even came to school for a parents' day which I thought was really unusual. Beatriz says he has changed and she is so happy that she can go with her dad to church! She has experienced first-hand the power of God and it is so encouraging for her to finally see her prayers being answered in that regard.
So join me in thanking God for the miracle he has done! Sometimes it feels like these deaf children have everything in life against them. But sometimes things like this happen and we again remember that God is in control and that he will perform His will in His own time. And also keep praying for that family. Beatriz's mom had always wanted her husband to improve his life so he would stop drinking, but now that God has done that, she fails to encourage him. She is Catholic and so the idea of him attending a Christian church doesn't appeal to her. It somewhat feels like she wanted to use God to make her husband stop drinking, but now she isn't happy with how He did it. Please pray for her as well.
Thank you to all of you for your continued support and prayers. God has been very faithful here and y'all have played a big role in that! God bless y'all...
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| Liz, the surgeon, along with nurse Tiffany attempt to remove a splinter from Paty's toe. |
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| Getting in some practice time... |
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| We took some time off of school to make our Mother's day gifts. Paty and Liz helped the girls, and I helped the boys. |
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| Yea, you're going anywhere, Miguel. :) |
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| Sisterly love. |
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| Maria and Paola have been good friends ever since they met at the beginning of this year. |
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| Making the El Salvador specialty--pupusas! |
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| Joel tries to concentrate on the word he is spelling during the competition while Jairo and Miguel wait their turn. |
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| Some of the guys looking at books at the tail end of our weekly guys devotional time. |
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| When there's a lizard in the church house, you drop everything and chase it out! |
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| Either Antony grew five inches overnight, or those pants are a bit short. |
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| How high can we stack it? |
