Isaiah 55 Deaf Ministries

Fourth School Year In Progress

Wow!! Can you believe it? Monday, August 24th marked the first day of our fourth school year at Instituto Isaías 55.  We had 25 students in attendance the first day, and eight more students are registered but were not able to come.  That brings our total this year to 33 students and counting.  We have several new students, including two sets of siblings.  Please be praying for the new school year.  This is a breakdown of our staff:

Laura (Erwin's wife) - Principal, Karina - head teacher working with the oldest two classes of students, Alex - teacher assistant in Karina's class, Xochitl - teacher for the advanced kindergarten/first grade level, Lupita - kindergarten teacher, Violeta - secretary, teacher assistant, and computer teacher, Alma (Moises's wife) secretary in training, and Debi - teacher assistant and Chapel teacher.

The teachers are excited about the start of this new school year.  In early August they attended a week long conference by a deaf man named Rene who is from Merida, Mexico.  He taught them a lot of useful tips and information, including how the mind of a deaf child develops in the educational process.  We are so appreciative of his expertise and willingness to share.  He asks that we be prayerful for the Deaf in the Yucatan/Quintana Roo region of Mexico who have many needs.

We are also so excited to be able to do Chapel classes this year.  Debi helped us get the program started last year, and she looks to start up again shortly.  Thanks to the Apostolic Christian Church who donated a beautiful flannograph to I55.  It is such a visual blessing for the students.  Please pray for the students to have their understanding opened.

R&R

Hey friends! Just a quick note to let y'all know that currently or within the next month, all of our full-time missionaries are/will be taking some time to rest and travel.

Nonetheless, Monday August 24th is the first day of school.

Below are some shots from a week of teacher workshops:

             Laura                                  Alma & Debi

          Violeta & Lupita                                                   Alex

Guest instructor Rene w teachers Xochitl, & Karina

Please keep the school and all of us in your prayers...

Thanks and blessings!

   
            NoNo & Kate                                              Erwin

 
              Brent                                    James

 
                      Erin                                                         Kim

FBC GS Mid-week

I thought I'd be able to update yesterday, but it just wasn't to be! Being the clumsy thing that I am, I fell and hurt my arm.  It's not broken, hallelujah, but it is very sore.  Erin Knobloch, one of the I55 staff, took me and Tom to a private hospital to have it x-rayed to make sure it was ok. That was quite interesting! I really liked the doctor. She asked if we were doing mission work and then told Erin that she either had done mission work or wanted to do mission work. (I'm not sure which!) At any rate, the medicine she gave me knocked me off my feet, so I slept ALL day!! 

Yesterday was a difficult day for many of us. We worked longer than usual, I suppose because we would be losing two of our male workers. Emily's dad (Emily is on the 24-7 Minsitry Team) and a pastor from Greenville, TX joined us Tuesday and left early this morning.  Besides the work day, it was very hot with very few breezes.  The temperature is not so debilitating when there is at least a steady breeze.  So, our energy was less than it could have been.

Today most of the women left the site around 2:00 to prepare for a second playdate with the children from the deaf school and their families.  We were disappointed that there were not as many as there were here Tuesday, but it was good nevertheless.  Both days, our guests seemed to enjoy being here playing games, making crafts, and visiting with our team.

John Steiner, chairman of the I55 Ministry Board, is here from Montgomery. He will be here until Monday. I am pleased that our folks will have a chance to talk to him.  

Tomorrow we have only a half day's work.  After we have lunch and shower up, we will drive to Progresso to do a little shopping.  

Keep praying that we will glorify God with our words, thoughts, and deeds while we are here in Mexico, and that we will be safe. 

To personalize Psalm 5:12.... let (us) who take refuge in you be glad; let (us) ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over (us), that (we) who love your name may rejoice in you. 

On mission for the Lord with I55/FBC-GS in Reynosa!  ~toni

 

Guest Blogger from Gulf Shores

Hola! I am excited that the I55 team has so graciously allowed me to use their blog to share with you all the activity of the last week of summer volunteer teams.  I am part of a team of 15 from First Baptist Church of Gulf Shores, Alabama.  

Although my husband Tom and I are long time friends with the folks from Isaiah 55 Deaf Ministries, the rest of the Gulf Shores team is experiencing God's love through this ministry for the very first time.  To top it off, many of these FBC-GS volunteers are on their first mission trip ever. What an exciting time! 

To catch you up....We arrived in Reynosa Saturday.  Sunday we slept in until 8:30, and had a wonderful time of worship with Moises, who has come alongside Erwin to preach and teach the Gospel in Reynosa.  After lunch, we went to the orphanage where FBC-GS team spent a few hours playing soccer, painting fingernails, passing out mardi gras beads, and singing.

(Check out the Photo Albums for more pictures)

Everyone was anxious Monday for the first full day of manual labor.  First, Brent took us to the new property where he told us about the ministry's plans.  Then, we loaded up some materials to take with us to the site where we would be working for the remainder of the week.  

How privileged we are to be working at the Deaf School!  Apparently, the school is respected in the community as a program of quality, and there is a waiting list. There is not enough room to handle more students.  Because of that and the desire to serve the deaf community as fully as possible, we are working on a new classroom for the school.  To me, the work is all the more poignant because the teachers are involved in professional development and training this week.  There is a genuine feeling of like-mindedness and community as both groups work differently on the same campus toward a common goal.  

We learned more of that goal Monday night when, after we watched a profound video entitled Noise, we had an opportunity to talk to Karina, a teacher at the school, and Laura, the school's director.  This was not planned by us, but appointed by God as it was very touching and opened our eyes to the labor and goals of this part of the I55 ministry.

Today the women left the worksite early to prepare for a "playdate" with some of the school's students and their families.  It was such fun! FBC-GS had several art projects and games for the kids.  The parents visited with each other and with other members of the FBC team.  Following the fun, we ate dinner together.  The language barrriers were frustrating at times (there were 3 languages in the room....sign, English, Spanish!), but we managed to make it through!!  

We have been blessed during our time here in Reynosa, and we're expecting even greater blessings as the week progresses!  God is so Good!

I promise, the next blog will not be this long!!  On Mission with FBC-GS.....Toni 

Last team in July

Welcome Fort Worth and Gulf Shores!

We are happy to welcome another group into Mexico this week. This group of volunteers has a variety of ages and skills. After having two weeks without teams, the energy this team brings is refreshing.

This week we are thrilled to go back to work on the addition on our deaf school. The construction on the new I55 site is also coming along.

"It's been really fun having another group of hard workers out at the site. I've been really impresssed by a seven year old boy who is working with us this week."-Jeff Varner (summer staffer)

Even though the temperatures reached 109 degrees yesterday, the volunteers are working hard.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

I55 news!

Since our last post, we have had two more students accept Christ as their Lord and Savior...Sergio and Ramirio. It is so exciting to see God really working in our students lives in the past couple of months since we started having chapel. It's been really encouraging to witness this change in their hearts after years of praying for them.

Please continue to be praying for all of our deaf students. We know that God is at work in their lives and we feel blessed to be working with them.

Welcome Texas and SC teams!

We welcomed thirty-one people here at Casa Verde this Saturday! On Sunday we had church here at the building and then spent the afternoon visiting with the kids at San Fransisco orphanage. The team brought some crafts and balloons to share with the kids. 

On Monday we divided the team into three groups.  One group is working at Zach and Kelly's site with 24/7 prayer. The other construction group is working out at our new land. And a third group is going to a school teaching ESL (English as a second language).

The people working at the construction sites have been working hard out in the heat. Today they were going to be working with a lot of cement out at the new land. 

The ESL team at the school has seen improvement even over the course of two days. The students have learned numbers, colors, shapes, and body parts already. Yesterday they played bingo with shapes and colors that the kids really enjoyed. Erwin, our pastor here on staff, has been teaching a Bible lesson each day. The kids have learned about the stories of Noah and Jonah, and how God was faithful to them.

Thank you so much for your continual prayers for Isaiah 55!