Here come the yippies!

Ok, I'll admit that title is a tad strange, but it's interesting, right? :)

And by yippies, I mean my younger siblings: Elmer, Matthew, Martha, Joshua, and Martha. It was so much fun tussling with them again! Except this time it was fighting over a hammock in El Salvador instead of over a couch on a Sunday afternoon at home.

"yippies?" you ask?

yippies [yī-peez] - a collection of human beings who are very easily excited and can, without warning, erupt into a storm of giggles. Commonly suffer from acute heebie-jeebies. 

heebie-jeebies [hee-bee-jee-beez] - ... ok, I'll stop. We don't want to be at this all day! 

So yea, long story short, my family came to visit, due to some very cheap, answer-to-prayer tickets ($286!). Dad had promised me if I find some under $300, he would bring the family. I looked pretty much everyday until I found some. Still can't quite believe it!

We had a lot of fun from the very beginning, when all of my siblings got to meet Elmer and the other deaf. We had Skyped with Elmer and Verónica before, but nothing quite like meeting them in person. When we got back from the airport, all the deaf were waiting to be taken home, so I spent some time introducing each of my family to most of the children. I say most, because Román was having nothing of this! He stayed hidden behind the house until it was time to leave. My family is a bit scary, I know... :)

Alas, the seven days they were here passed all too quickly. During their time here, we did some traveling. We went to Suchitoto where we had a tour by boat. We went to the coffee shop and Strong Tower Children's Home. We also visited El Boquerón (a volcano), where we ate some delicious, but expensive, pupusas.

During school I had to teach so most of my family usually hung around my class, or roamed around other classrooms. Martha enjoyed sitting with Melody and her class of girls (and Eduardo). And Katelyn followed Paty all over--even when school wasn't in session. The first couple days Katelyn was here, I had to remind Katelyn how to say Paty's name in Spanish so that it doesn't sound like "potty". It's pronounced exactly the same, just with a harder "t".

The rest of their time here was spent just hanging out and having fun. Which is not hard with my family, as you can probably tell just by how I started this post. Another little tidbit I should mention is that in the time my family was here at CICS, they drank 34 bottles of glass-bottle drinks! It probably would have been a lot more if my Dad hadn't imposed a daily limit of a bottle per person.

And when the time came, it wasn't fun leaving them at the airport again, but nothing good here on this earth can last forever, I suppose. It was great while it lasted!

The day after my family left, we got another visitor. Wesley, a former worker here, stayed here until just yesterday. It was great having him here and hanging out with him! I was also able to receive a lot of good advice and encouragement from him, since he worked here for four years and has considerably more experience than I do.

School these last three weeks have been a bit duller (or easier, depending how you look at it), due to a missing student. Miguel had surgery, so he staying with his mom until he is fully recovered. I'll readily admit, school is easier without his distracting antics and lack of paying attention, but I miss his giggle and cheerfulness! It's about time you come back, Miguel! We hope for him to come back this next week.

I started something new for this week of school. As does almost any classroom, I have some things that are unacceptable for the students to do in class. This list of things is usually called "the rules" and contains items such as "be quiet",  "don't talk unless asked", "be honest", etc. My students know what to do, but for some unknown reason, those guidelines continuously slip out of their minds (unless they see the other doing it, then it's terrible!). 

So I decided we should "practice" our rules. Every Monday, one of the students draws a slip of paper out of a container containing all our rules. We read the rule and write it on the whiteboard. Then we practice it. For this week it was "tell the truth" (they always like to blame others for their mistakes). I became a "student" (albeit, a giant one) and punched Joel. Then I blamed it on Joel. I mean, duh, if I punch someone, it's his fault because he deserved it! Then Jairo was told to arbitrate. He told me that I was wrong to punch, and that it was my fault. He said I should accept the blame because it was an action I did. Well done, Jairo! 

Hopefully these practice sessions help them practice not just small things like classroom rules, but also how to act out there in the big scary world, where each one is responsible for their own actions, where respecting others is a part of life, and where things aren't always fair.

We also had something very exciting happen for Paola, one of the girls in Melody's class. She declared that she wanted God to "clean her heart". It's so exhilarating, and at the same time humbling, to see the children make any step towards Christ and hopefully this is the first of many for Paola! But I'll let Melody tell you that story. Please visit her blog to read all about that and many other stories about CICS. For those of you that don't have internet, I'll include the relevant paragraph here:

...And then God gives us special gifts. Paola is one of my students that I have been watching very closely this year. It was clear to me there was a major struggle going on inside her tender heart. I knew God was talking to her, but like someone else I know quite well, she was sure she could do this on her own. And she kept trying. And my heart kept hurting for her. But Tuesday, the minute she arrived at school she told me she wanted to talk to me. And she confessed that she had not been honest with me. And she told me that she wants to pray and ask Jesus to "clean her heart." (Sometimes sign language just says it so much better.) So we prayed together. And I cried. And she looked at me funny, because she was smiling. And I felt so humbled. What do I know about discipling a child? Because the first step that Paola took is important and we are always emotional when a child takes that step, but what happens afterward is the whole story. The Decision is only the step out the front door to begin a journey that will last a lifetime. Pray for Paola, she has no one in her life, besides us here at school, who will help her or who will even appreciate the decision she made. Pray for me. I need wisdom!

This afternoon, we have a youth gathering that lasts until Saturday. Youth come from all over El Salvador to listen to sermons and interact with each other. Susanna and Cecilia Ramos are here in El Salvador and are planning on being here for that as well. Looking forward to having them here at CICS again!

Not much more to say, but wanted to leave y'all with some prayer requests. We here at CICS covet your prayers! They really do help! We are quite literally in a spiritual battle for the souls of all these dear children. Satan does his best to sow miscommunication and discord among us in the hopes of us giving up, or worse, reacting and making things worse.

• Pray that God would give wisdom to us staff. I was reading Proverbs one day, where it says "wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding" That has been my prayer a lot recently!
• Pray for Paola. Life isn't easy here, especially for the deaf. Pray for her that she would be willing and humble enough to receive advice from others on her spiritual journey. Pray that the Father would near to her in a tangible way. Pray for her teacher, Melody, and the rest of us staff that we could encourage Paola and be godly mentors and examples for her.

Thanks so much for all your support and prayers! A million thanks... Here are some pictures for y'all to enjoy:

Mom helped out on art day, when I had everyone paint
whatever they wanted.

Katelyn got some help playing her favorite game, much to her delight.

Everyone got in on the mango-eating action!

Katelyn loved tagging along with Paty.
She followed her around everywhere!

Elmer and Matthew drawing a machine of their dreams. 5,000 mph, really?!

A new mom and dad!

Our Monday morning tradition: talking about what we did on the weekend
and practicing paying attention to what others are saying.

The yippies also worked sometimes, believe it or not!

Dad's techy, phone-fixing skills were put to use at replacing
 a swelled battery in my phone.

In the swing of things

Remember when I said I would try to write twice a month? Yeah, well that's not going as planned, so... my apologies. Y'all deserve better! I will try to do better, but you might need to practice forgiving me like Jesus said "seventy times seven", because I might slip again. :)

We've already had our first spelling competition here at CICS (which Joel won from my group), and that means a third of the year has already passed. Add to that the month I was in Guatemala, and it's been a while since I've been home! However, my siblings coming to visit a couple weeks ago, the prospect of future visitors (shout out to Jason, Randall, Andrea, Duane, Mary, James, and Alverda!), combined with a busy schedule doesn't allow me to sit around and moan a lot.

School is going well, albeit more stressful than last year. Seems after the newness wears off, you start to see more things below the surface. Which is better than never seeing those problems at all because then you can work on them, but it makes for more restless nights thinking about what can be done.

I'll just tell you about one of the deaf children who has been on my mind a lot lately--Carlos. At sixteen years old, some of his ways are already pretty engrained in him, but there is still so much to be done. He has various behavior problems, but probably his biggest issue is lack of respect for others and this is shown through various ways, but usually through doing things his way or not at all. On the outside he is all that he should be. He knows all the right words to say, but most of that is just a facade to get what he wants.

I've been trying to show him love in any way I can, regardless of how he treats me. Things like making sure I shake his hand every morning and give him a hug with a smile. Or helping him with some small chores in the afternoon. I want to show him and point him to God's love who loves everyone with a love that we can't comprehend.

I realize though, that most of the work will need to be done by God. All I can do is sow the seed and God will make it grow, if Carlos allows it. Please pray for wisdom for me and also for his teacher, Matthias, and for the rest of the staff. Pray especially for Carlos that he would be able to give up whatever is holding him back and surrender everything to Christ.

Carlos loves challenges, and this puzzle ball sure is one!

As far as regular school goes, it's been moving right along. Sometimes not very straight or fast, but "moving along" just the same. :) A lot of the direction and speed depends on my students which can vary day by day, but keeps life interesting. Miguel, one of my precious little chaps is the one who most often gets into trouble, but I can't help but love him in spite of his best efforts at being bad.

Joel is constantly surprising me with his intelligence. He loves pleasing people and that includes getting good grades. He gets very depressed when he gets a lot wrong on a lesson, and I have to constantly remind him that mistakes are fine as long as you learn from them. If he keeps learning with this attitude and desire, he will go far.

Jairo is also learning and quite intelligent as well--if he wants to. He tends to view school as a game and a good time. Although those things are included, I have to constantly remind him to focus and do his best like I know he can. He has come far, but still has much to learn.

Miguel, like I said before, is a special little chap. I love him to bits, in spite of his constant infractions of pretty much every rule in the book. Patience is the key with him, but there are many days when I seem to be running on fumes. However, I have been surprised by him as well. Like the one day when he wrote the numbers 1 to 15 perfectly with no help! Or the day he got a better score in his math lesson than Jairo (and it was the exact same math lesson)! When that happens I love seeing his reaction to my mouth hanging wide open and exclaiming wildly about the earth-shattering event that just happened. His delighted giggle is just the best sound ever!

Sometimes I call my class of Joel, Jairo, and Miguel the "class of the locos", because that's honestly how it seems sometimes. But it's very entertaining sometimes as well. As clearly shown by the video below. I told them to act crazy for a bit. And they sure did their best impression! :)

I do my best with the children that have been entrusted to me, but many times I have to wonder if I'm doing it right. They need to learn academics, sure, but the main thing is not about academics at all. The main goal is for all of them to have a personal relationship with Jesus. And I want to be used in whatever way God needs me to accomplish that end. I know I can't do it on my own... So pray for me that I could have wisdom. I was reading in Proverbs the other day. In Proverbs 4:7, it says "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." My prayer is just that. That I could have wisdom. So pray for me when you think about it that God could give me wisdom, and maybe even some patience and humbleness to go along with it.

Joel grins at the camera instead of working, but what a lovely smile!

I will write perfectly on the lines, or else...

We had an "American" breakfast one morning. My siblings brought bacon
for me, so we made pancakes, bacon, sausages, and omelets. Elmer liked
it but he still had to have tortillas with it, so he heated some up! :)

All my kids love looking through this new book that was sent down for me!

Because math is always cooler with shades...

The first place (Joel) and second place (Jairo) winners of the competition
for my group.

Román and Antony enjoy some time blowing bubbles.

Not sure what they're making, but they're having fun!

The macho men! (with cute little cat markings on their faces) :)

Siblings time

I got my first visitors of the year last week, and boy were they great! The eight days that my siblings were here flew by! I'll try my best to describe some our adventures, even though it won't do justice...

On Monday, Elmer, Carlos, Miguel, and I went and brought them from the airport. The four of us hadn't eaten supper yet so we stopped in at Pollo Campero on the way home from the airport. Little Miguel was very bashful at first, even hiding behind me and peeking out just enough to be able to see. However, as is usually the case, he couldn't stay away very long, and it was only a matter of time before him and Gideon were having a high time in the back of the van!

Something funny is happening here--not sure what.

The first two full days they were here didn't afford much time for relaxation, due to dentist, yes DENTIST visits. Since dental work here is about ten times cheaper than the states ($12 per tooth for cavities, for example!) and due to some "incentives", we decided to use up our two first afternoons at the dentist office. It took some time, but we were glad it could get done while they were here.

Poor Aaron...

One of the main things we wanted to get done (besides the dental work, of course) was install a new trampoline! All the kids, especially the smaller ones, could hardly wait till my siblings came for that reason. Miguel, in particular, would remind me almost every day: "April 20 trampoline!". And just to make that sink in a little: Miguel has a hard time remembering anything. The fact that he remembered the day and the month and what would happen that particular day meant it was something truly spectacular and once-in-a-lifetime to him!

Anyway, so Aaron and Gideon worked very hard for a couple days in 90 degree weather, no less, digging a hole in which to set the trampoline, and then installing it. And they always had eager onlookers giving them encouragement and even helping sometimes. :) We still enjoy the trampoline immensely now that we've had it for a several days. It's a great place to spend excess energy (not that I have excess energy, but some others do). Thank you so much to all of you who helped with purchasing it. May God bless you!

Gideon and Aaron hard at work!

Everyone wanted to help at least a little bit!

Joel and Jairo are happy to help Gideon
bolt the frame together.

Apparently shades help you work faster. Just ask Miguel...

And speaking of new things... I received lots and lots of goodies that were sent by various friends. Thanks to all of you for your thoughtfulness. My snack drawer is now refilled to say the least! (Plus another few boxes under my bed) :)

For the weekend, Aaron, Lydia, Gideon, and I went to the guest house for Friday night where went out to eat, played games, and had some very hilarious conversations. I realized just how much I'm missing at home during that weekend. Aaron and Gideon would talk and debate about the weirdest topics while Lydia and I could hardly do more than just laugh and say "oh, wow". Sometimes I wondered if Aaron just puts words together randomly in a sentence and hopes it makes sense. :) Whatever the case, we had a very good time.

Laughing at Aaron's craziness I'm pretty sure...

The culprit.

We traveled on Saturday from the guest house to Costa del Sol, a beach about an hour and a half away, where we again talked, swam, rode the waves, took pictures, etc. But before we knew it, the weekend was already over and we had to go home.

The remaining days before Tuesday morning were spent basically enjoying everything to the maximum--playing with the kids, jumping on the trampoline, mango hunting, sight-seeing, playing games, talking, etc.

Then there was the inevitable--taking them to the airport again. Not my favorite part... But I am thankful for the short time I did have with them. God has given me a great family and I am thankful to have people in my life that I miss a lot.

On the way back from mango picking. We weren't very
successful, but we had fun!

Two of Lydia's new found friends, Teresa and Beatriz. And Antony is
doing not sure what in the background.

Which one is cuter? (sorry Aaron)

Gideon oblivious to the fighting going on behind him.

Ana came to school just so she could meet Lydia. They are only 5 days apart in
age. Ana knew Lydia was her age, but she was never able to meet her until now.

Bro pic.

How does Antony manage to be in all these pictures?

Pupusas--it's what's for dinner. After the dentist visit.

On the way to the tienda to buy some snacks with the
paparazzi in tow.

My poor kids could hardly pay attention in class. I wonder why...

Aaron must have said something. 

Photographer in training. Don't drop that Miguel!

A friendly game of Old Maid with memory cards.

Tailgate ice cream party.

Lydia and Silvia.