Life is short

I was reminded of this while attending an El Salvadoran funeral this past Tuesday...

Let me explain a little bit further. In our church there was a very feeble, old lady named Hermana Rosa (Rosa is her name, with the Spanish "hermana" (sister) as a prefix which is used as a courtesy).

I never heard much from her. Actually, pretty much the only way I knew her name was because I took her to church sometimes when I drove my route to pick up the deaf children. But later last year, she stopped coming because she was just too sick to be able to do almost anything. We would occasionally go and visit as a church, but that was almost all we ever saw of her.

Last Tuesday, after a few years of battling with a bad heart, she finally went to be with Jesus. And it was good that she was finally able to leave. Now she can run, dance, sing, and not have to worry about anything anymore!

And so all of us went to the funeral which, in itself, was a very interesting cultural experience. For most El Salvadoran funerals, the procession is usually done sorta like the Amish do it in Lancaster County. Everyone stays behind the bier, and the whole line moves veeeeeery slowly sometimes walking and sometimes in vehicles. There were about 15 or 20 of us packed into an 11 passenger vehicle going about 2 mph. We were very glad we had air conditioning!

The pickup truck with the casket in the back.

Yeah that's a lot of people in a van!

Once we got to the graveyard, and after stepping over many graves to get to the tiny plot where Hermana Rosa's body was to be buried, we had a short devotional and some songs reminding us of the brevity of life and how we need to make sure we are living correctly right now and not waiting until tomorrow.

During the service I noticed a few strangers beginning to mingle with the crowd whispering, "candy, sweets, snacks... only a quarter". Now THAT was a shocker for me! I have known the market people to be very aggressive with selling fruits, vegetables, etc., but seriously?! At a funeral?! I asked Paty about it later and she said that it's pretty normal. She said that actually they like funerals, because they can usually sell more. (!) Anyway, that incident left me shaking my head, and realizing that there are still quite a few cultural nuances of El Salvador that I don't know about.

All the peddlers eager to sell us anything from sweets to ice cream.

School this week went well. We were blessed to have Christina Beiler come and work for us from close to home (I say close 'cause it's close compared to the distance between home and El Salvador. :) ). Christina arrived in El Salvador on February 2, and stayed at Strong Tower Children's Home for three weeks helping them with cleaning, cooking, and other jobs. She was initially going to stay only a week and come to the deaf school for the rest of her time here, but she did such a good job, that they weren't ready to let her go after a week!

She was still able to be at CICS for 10 days though. Those days came and went very fast! While Christina isn't an expert at ASL or Spanish, she got along pretty well and made a lot of progress while she was here. We were all very glad for her help. Nata said she should get married then move down and live here. :)

This weekend we are all staying at the AMA guest house in San Salvador and hope to go to the beach tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan. Can't wait to go to the beach again!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support! I've really felt God helping me these days with school. Sometimes it feels overwhelming, but then I have such a wonderful day at school, and I know that God is telling me "just trust Me". Pray that I could do just that!

God bless y'all. 'Till next time!

It was Bethany's birthday on Tuesday! So we bought her a big ice cream
cake and sang happy birthday for her. Happy birthday, Bethany!

Soft pretzels on the menu!

Paty playing Rats with some of the school girls.

Not sure what's going on here.

Trying to teach the children how to walk just on their
hands and feet.

It didn't work out so well. :)

More tricks. Can you close your eyes, spread your arms and then bring
them together and touch your fingertips without looking?

Never one to be left out of a photo opportunity!

One down

As in the first full week of school!

It was a great week, really. A bunch of new things for me, but mostly enjoyable things. Challenging, sure, but nothing God and I couldn't handle.

In fact, I have been very thankful for the way God has helped me many times this week. School is going very smoothly and us staff have been getting along splendidly. Praise God for a lot of answered prayer!

I'm really excited about the rest of this year. Teaching is a lot more work than last year, but the ability to teach the older ones, have intelligent conversations about pretty much anything, and the students' longer attentions spans have made it worth it so far.

Perhaps to the chagrin of my students, I have decided to be fairly hard on them this year. No slacking! :) All of us, myself included, just started memorizing the Sermon on the Mount for Bible class. I'm hoping we'll at least get to the end of Matthew 5. The memorization includes the signs and being able to write it out in Spanish. And they all need to memorize at least 10 vocabulary words each week. Each word misspelled on the test on Fridays needs to written 20 times at home. Am I being cruel? :)

For math, I'm having them memorize all the math facts up to their level in math. Once all four of my students get their speed drills done under a certain time we'll have a party or celebration of some kind!

So why am I doing this? Well, believe it or not, there is actually a method to all my madness. My goal with all this is not just to inflict torture and hardship on my students, but to try to expand their brains. Some of my students, one in particular, just does what he has to in order to get by and I want to try to make it hurt a little when he or any of the others doesn't try his hardest. I keep pounding it into them that it doesn't matter as much where you are in the learning process, but rather the amount of effort you put into it! So when Samuel tells you to do something, you say "ok", or "I'll try". If you say "I can't", have fun running to the fence and back! :)

I did somewhat the same thing with Miguel at the end of last year. He had to have all his words memorized before he was allowed to go play in the evenings. And he did! He eventually learned that if he would quit crying and try instead of whining and moaning and just focus he would finish much faster.

Now at the beginning of this year, we were all amazed at how much Miguel retained from last year. Call me crazy, but I think all that pressure may have expanded his learning capacity. Plus as an added benefit, he now has more fun in school!

So yeah, that's what's been going on. I would love to hear from y'all if you have pointers, tips, or critiques. Some of you have been very helpful already! For some future posts, I hope to share with y'all some things about each of the different classes--how I teach, what I teach, etc. That way you can peek into life at school and (for all you teachers out there) help me out when I'm doing something wrong!

And finally, thank you so much for your support and prayers! God has been working here, and it's due to the prayers of people that love God. Thank you and God bless you!

My class for 2016! Left to right: Teresa, Paola, me, Eduardo, Beatriz

My class schedule translated into English for your convenience. :) I might
have gotten overly ambitious, but I'll see how it goes.

Whoa! Bethany delights young Anthony by making
knots disappear.

Beatriz shows off her balancing ability. Seriously, how do the El Salvadoran
girls do that?

Beatriz is not crying although it looks like it. :) She's laughing at one of
Elmer's stories.

Paty's classroom. Turn around Miguel! :) 

Not sure what's going on here, but it looks like they're planning something.

Refuge from the hot El Salvadoran sun under the big mango tree.

Miguel and I on the very first day of school.

Elmer was so proud of the big bee's nest he found
with lots of honey inside. It was very good, too!

Teresa placing a "crown" of flowers on Paty's head.

*huff* *puff* Almost got him!

"Teacher, I got a splinter!"

Oh rats! (For those of you that don't know, "Rats" is
what this game is called.)

???

Relaxation in current events class.

Joel and I take a break after lunch.

Such nice smiles!

"Joel hit me on the head, and it really hurts!" Liz tries
to console Antony after an accident at recess.

Meet the CICS staff

As promised last time I wrote, here's a rundown of all of us workers at CICS for 2016.

Let the freundschafting begin... :)

Bethany Thompson (USA)

Bethany is the new dorm mom this year. Her main responsibilities are taking care of the girls that stay here during the week, washing and cleaning for those of us that are less skilled in that area, and cooking once a week or so. On top of all that she has been learning as much Spanish and ASL as she can which is actually quite a bunch in this short time. Occasionally, conversations directed at her are met with a blank stare, but usually she knows what's going on. :)

Elmer Montano (El Salvador)

This is Elmer's fourth year working here at CICS, so you could say he knows most of what's going on. He is in charge of the boys that stay here during the week and general maintenance around the CICS property such wacking weeds and fixing stuff that decides to break. He also has the honorary title of "CICS clown". He is very good at making people laugh and does so often. You could say we're all a bit cray-crazy sometimes, but it helps keep us sane. 

Liz Jara (USA)

You might say Liz is an American since she lives there and speaks English, but she is really Paraguayan (Paraguayan American, maybe? :) ). Anyway, Liz is one of three of us teachers. She teaches the two newest students, Antony and Maria, which gives her a chance to learn ASL along with her students. She is still getting the hang of how we do things around school, but she has been doing a great job at it.

Paty Vasquez (El Salvador)

Now that Paty is more familiar with teaching in her second year here at CICS, she has been given the responsibility of teaching the three locos (Miguel, Jairo, and Joel) I had last year. Those three boys will definitely keep her on her toes, but I'm confident that she has strong toes. :) Paty will be a good teacher, I'm sure.

Samuel Stoltzfus (USA)

This is me. If you don't who I am, I included a picture, just in case. :) In my third year here teaching, I'm in charge of the four oldest (Teresa, Eduardo, Paola, and Beatriz), and I'll also help some with transporting the children, translating for them at church, and various other responsibilities.

Verónica Rosales (El Salvador)

The food expert. Verónica has been working here for five years, making her the longest tenured worker. Her responsibility this year is chief belly-filler-upper which takes up a great deal of her time. But she does an excellent job, to which my stomach will gladly testify.

And that's all of us!

There's only six of us this year, because of us having three teachers instead of four like last year. So far we have been getting along splendidly and I don't see any reason why that shouldn't continue.

Pray for us that we could work together as a team this year, for the good of the deaf children, and most of all, for the honor and glory of our Heavenly Father. And also, pray for protection from Satan's efforts to destroy this ministry in any way he can.

Thank you very much for your prayers and support. God bless you!

Here, there, and everywhere

Pretty much describes my life since last time I wrote...

I've been trying to get all my traveling/visiting done before I leave for El Salvador, but since I usually wait till the last minute to finish my to-do list, it makes for a pretty hectic last couple of days. :)

So to recap, last weekend James Weaver and I started out just ahead of Jonas (the snowstorm) to visit Shawn Lapp and my brother Aaron at Bald Eagle Boy's Camp. We got there Friday morning just before Aaron got out of the shower and gave him a good surprise when he came out his room (he hadn't been expecting our visit).

We had a very good weekend of sitting around talking, hiking through the snow, touring their campsites, and just being lazy together. I was so glad to finally be able to see where they live and what they do. In a way, their work is similar to mine, in that we both work with children who need help due to unfortunate circumstances, so we all had interesting stories to exchange.

I'm gonna miss my brother Aaron, but at least I could see him for a few days. I don't know if I could ever get used to working so hard year round and in the cold like he does, but I can see he enjoys it tremendously and does an excellent job! It's so inspiring to me how he tackles everything head on even without always knowing what will happen. He just does it and gives it his best. God bless you Aaron for your determination and willingness to sacrifice to help others!

Aaron and I just before I left for home.

James and I had intended to leave for home Saturday, but we had to wait until Sunday due to all the snow we had back home. And yes, it really was that bad. Winter storm Jonas wasn't messing around...

Snow, snow, and more snow.

We had several 6-7 foot drifts around our property.
There's me for scale. :)

We did get home though by Sunday noon and the roads by that time had been mostly cleared, although we still had to be very careful in some places. 

So continuing on with a rundown of my busy life these last couple days... During the week I helped with the open house at my place of employment at Superior Plastic Products. I was one of several people you would have talked with, had you decided to stop in on Wednesday or Thursday. I looked pretty important, with even an official name badge stating "Samuel Stoltzfus, registration". My job to put it simply? Sit there and run my mouth. Once you said something then I would enter it into the computer and then I would run my mouth again, say "have a nice day" and you were good to go! And lest you think otherwise, I really did enjoy it. I got to talk with all kinds of people, use a computer, and eat free food. Win win win!

The registration table. Janice, Corinne, and I all helped each other to make
sure each and every customer registered and knew exactly what was going on.

And then this weekend, four of my friends and I packed into my Corolla and traveled about eight hours to Cedarville, Ohio, to visit Thomas Fisher and Matt Glick who are currently studying there. Thomas is studying to be a doctor, and Matt is majoring in mechanical engineering. (correct me if I'm wrong there, guys) I think we all enjoyed peeking into their college lives a little bit--we even got to sit in some classes! For me, it was enjoyable being able to "go to college" even if it was only for a day. I have always really wanted to pursue more education, but so far it hasn't seemed to be God's plan for me to be able to do that. But maybe there's still time... I can always keep dreaming!

Caleb, James, Steven, Matt, me, Jason, Thomas.

And that brings me to today. Only four more whole days until I plan to fly out of the cold into the warm! I keep teasing my friends about how I hope the weather turns frigid in Pennsylvania, so I'll be able to make them envious of me lying in a hammock in El Salvador drinking an ice-cold Fanta, while they have icicles hanging off their faces. :)

But yeah. In all seriousness, it's getting down to the wire, folks! I'm really looking forward to teaching school in El Salvador again after my three month hiatus. This year will be quite a bit different from last year. I will be teaching the oldest class this year, along with Paty who will probably teach my former class, and a new staff member who will teach the youngest class. 

The other staff will stay pretty much the same, except for another new staff member to assume the responsibilities of the dorm mom. All told, there will be three teachers a dorm mom, dorm dad, and cook for a total of six staff, two of which will be newcomers. Hopefully by next time I will be able to have pictures and names for y'all to peruse and figure out if you're related. :)

Please pray for me as I make my final preparations and attempt to get all my ducks in a row for this year. I'm excited for what this year holds, but that excitement isn't without trepidation. I know it will be challenging for me, but I'm also certain that God will be able to teach me many new things if I let him. Pray that I could be pliable and ready to learn!

So much stuff

Well I'm down to just two weeks until I leave on February 4 and I've been accumulating more and more "stuff" on the floor in my room which I'm supposed to be able to fit into two suitcases. That will take a bit of a miracle, I'm thinking!

My growing pile. And I haven't even started packing clothes yet!

I've also been gathering a lot of good advice and encouragement from various teachers and friends as a I prepare for an older class this year. I really appreciate getting pro tips from more experienced people than I.

This past Sunday, Joel and Emily Reed came to visit for lunch. They mentioned “unit teaching” or a method of planning out the school year based on units such as animals, countries, or something to tie all your lessons together based on a common theme for a week or two at a time. Emily recommended I look into the My Father’s World curriculum which was a fabulous idea. For the first time in days it has given me some sort of definite direction for my madness.

I have (mostly) settled on the idea (taken from My Father’s World) of teaching about different countries throughout the year, then using that same theme to teach art, science, Bible, history, language, etc. For example, if we study China for a few weeks, then we’ll study, say, oceans in science class, the persecuted christians in Bible, Chinese art, and read about missionaries to China for language. Of course, this doesn't quite fit into everything, but it ties most things together quite nicely.

And I would really like hearing from all of you if you have any suggestions/comments about any of this. As I said, I enjoy hearing from fellow-teachers, and I know I have some very good teacher friends!

These last couple days have been spent at home. I quit working at the beginning of last week to focus on schoolwork. It's been very nice to spend some leisure time at home (trying) to get all my furry waterfowls in a row amidst all the busyness that still peers at me from around every corner.

This has been my spot on the couch for the
last several days. It's quite comfy!

Katelyn and I have spent some time playing Spot-It (it's her favorite game right now) and hanging out while Mom is gone doing other things. And I've enjoyed talking and messaging with some of the people from El Salvador as well.

As far as prayer requests go, probably my number one prayer request right now for me would be for an increased focus on my Heavenly Father in multiple ways. Instead of worrying or thinking about myself I need to dig into the God's Word and talk to Him. Why is it so hard to keep my priorities straight?!

Please also pray for all of the staff at CICS this year. Pray that we could work together and help each other accomplish our work among the deaf in El Salvador for the honor and glory of God!

We had our first snow fall a few days ago. It was so
exciting to see snow again! Hopefully we'll get
even more this weekend...

Ready or not

Time is flying along and time to leave for El Salvador is coming ready or not!

So am I ready? Hmmm, well sometimes it depends on the day you ask. These last days I've been getting anxious to see all the deaf children in El Salvador. Had you asked me a week ago, how I felt, I probably would have told you that I'm ready to leave straightaway.

Congratulations Andrea & Matthias!

But, this last week, I was at Matthias Beachy and Andrea Hershberger's wedding where I got to meet a lot of old CICS friends again. It was tremendous fun seeing everyone and exchanging memories, but as I was saying goodbye it really hit me hard that I will be going back to El Salvador and I will have none of these people going back with me. It was hard to say goodbye! I had to lean really hard on God and remind myself that He is one friend who will always be with me wherever I go.

It probably will be a bit of a challenge at the beginning of the year until everyone gets settled in, but I'm confident that ultimately this year will be a great year and I don't want to give the impression that CICS will never be the same again. I'm looking forward to meeting the new staff and getting to know them as I have done with my coworkers from previous years. We will be like a family and if we work together under God's protection and guidance, it will be a fantastic year--perhaps even better than before! Please pray for all of us as we prepare for school and converge on the tiny country of El Salvador to start a brand new school year.

And in the interest of keeping y'all up to speed, I thought I'd share with you the names of the students I will be teaching this year. I'll try to keep you posted as I get informed of other news as well.

Teresa (15 years old)

Teresa will be the oldest student in school this year. She is hardworking and almost always cheerful. She likes to tease and give everyone a hard time. If you like, you can read more about Teresa in a previous blog post of mine.


An animal that reminds me of Teresa: 
A playful monkey. Teresa loves to tease and make people laugh. At the same time, she is very intelligent and usually does her best at whatever she is trying to accomplish.

Eduardo (14 years old)

Eduardo will be the only guy even close to his age this year. It might be a bit difficult for him without any other guys to hang out with. But I'm sure he will make the best of it and maybe even socialize more with the girls if he can let go of some of his pride.

An animal that reminds me of Eduardo:
A koala after a good meal. Eduardo is friendly with almost everyone and very intelligent, but does everything at his own pace.

Beatriz (13 years old)

Beatriz has a hard home life, but you could never tell by the huge smile she wears almost constantly. She is good friends with Teresa--the two of them are constantly together. Beatriz is also becoming a good cook due to helping with the cooking in the afternoons.

An animal that reminds me of Beatriz:
A sassy parrot. Beatriz loves to tease and badger others and in turn is very fun to tease and socialize with. She almost always has a smile on her face. Very easy to get excited, but can and will hold her own on almost anything.

Paola (12 years old)

Paola is the youngest of these four students, but knows more academically than some of the others. She came to school when she was young and therefore knows quite a lot by now. She can go far in school if she does her very best.

An animal that reminds me of Paola:
A young pony. Paola wants to do what is right. She does very well in school and enjoys watching and laughing at the antics of others. Usually pretty calm but can get riled up pretty easily.