Leaning on the Everlasting Arms: Deaf VBS July 23-27, 2013

Friday, August 2, 2013

Deaf VBS July 23-27, 2013

God is faithful! There were many things that God did to make our VBS a big success. The best part was how the children were eager to learn. When Carol taught a craft using the "witnessing beads" two children came back later to check and make sure they knew what each color stood for. Each day we had a review of the day before with a candy toss game. The children all had their hands raised ready to show they remembered. Sometimes they came up to me during the morning asking me questions and checking facts so they would be prepared for the candy toss game the next day. They even memorized their Bible verses. We had no fights or casualties. Everyone got along. We had good weather....it was hot but it didn't rain out our swimming days. It was a wonderful, full, week. I praise God for his wing sheltering us and guiding us.

Here are some pics to help you to visualize what we did:

We used the Kids of Courage curriculum from Voice of the Martyrs. Each day we studied a different country where Christians are trying to proclaim the Good News in dangerous settings where the Gospel is not aloud to be shared. Our group of 11 people was ages 11 - 55. The difficult topic of being courageous in sharing our faith was paired with a Bible story in which people of God had acted courageously. The countries studied were: North Korea, India, Nigeria, China, and Egypt.

We started everyday with worship.

Nancy Taught the Bible stories...

And the children acted them out.

We learned memory verses. Below you will see a video of everyone signing the Lord's Prayer. Click on the arrow to "play".

We made crafts.

Carol and Lois brought T-shirts that we decorated with signatures and words of encouragement.

We played games.

And we went swimming.

We owe a BIG thank you to Lois Rhodes and Carol Rhodes who came down to Belize for 10 days to help with VBS. Your support and ideas and presence were a blessing to us. I also want to thank Water of Life Lutheran Church for your donation that made this VBS possible. Thanks!

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Things I Love About Belize

EVERY meeting begins with prayer, whether it is a Town Council Meeting, a school function, or the National Spelling Bee.
No matter where you go, there is always someone you know who is greeting you with a smile and a wave.
The zillion stars in the sky.
When my car fell into an uncovered drain and I could not go forward or back... within 3 minutes 6 men came running to help and lifted the car up and out! Not that I would pull the stunt to have six men come running (smile)... but I have been saved more than once!
When something breaks, like the rubber gasket on the bottom of the tank behind my toilet and water was flowing everywhere, or when the dog chewed through my garden hose while I was at school and water sprayed over the fence and into the street, there is always a neighbor who is ready to come to the rescue and fix the problem.

About this Ministry

How did I end up in Belize?
In 2004 a Belizean family asked me to come to Belize to teach their deaf son and possibly other deaf children for the summer. We expected about six children but were surprised by fifty-two adults and children who came to our three week ASL workshop. God walked with me and led me each day. In so many ways God empowered me and encouraged me. When it was time to return to the US and my full time teaching job there, I felt God calling me to plan to return to Belize to start a Deaf Church. I returned the following August (2005) to start a church and teach the Deaf children at St. Peter's Anglican School here in Orange Walk. Since then God's hand on this ministry has been beyond my wildest dreams. This blog is a dialogue on the journey. I hope it shows God's power and presence in the lives of those who commit to following in Jesus' footsteps to build the Kingdom. I pray over each entry hoping it encourages others to "step out of the boat" and take risks to answer God's call in their lives.