Our Community Service Project

Carl and Laisha plant some flower seeds.

For our "service project" for Education Week, all of the special education students went to the Ministry of Education to plant a garden and paint a mural on the wall.

While I supervised the planting, Elodia, Helena, and Angelica helped the children to put their hands on the wall to make the mural and still other teachers watched and entertained the children who were not planting or painting. It also helped that the night watchman for the building, Domacio, has such a big heart that he borrowed a pick and completely dug up and watered the garden space a couple of days before we came. Now he waters it every night and I bet he will even weed it, eventually. Thank you God for the opportunity to "serve" and for all who made it a successful day.

Here's most of the gang in front of our rainbow of hands mural. On Monday, Commonwealth Day, I will have time to paint the words from the Education Week theme above the hands.

Education Empowers: creating change, nurturing minds, embracing the future

The Tree That Played Dead

Have you ever seen a dog do a trick called "playing dead"? It rolls over on it's back with four legs straight up in the air and its tongue drooping out of it's mouth. The dog tries not to move until the master claps his hands to signal the trick is over.

We have a tree that did that, sort of.

We had this pretty orchida tree that blooms with white flowers in June. Our dear friend Pandora Canton gave us this tree (and the one behind it) for the school garden last June. Although it flourished for several months, in December all of a sudden it dropped all of its leaves. I emailed Pandora asking her if it was deciduous. (Most trees in Belize keep their leaves all year long.) She said, "No, it should not be losing it's leaves." Within about a week the leaves were all brown and blowing to the ground. A barren gray stick-like object was where the tree used to be.

Hmmmm... Another teacher pointed out that a tree on the other side of the school grounds was also dead. He said maybe it was some kind of blight. Others told me to scrape a few branches and if it was green underneath it was still alive. Knife in hand I scratched a few branches to find brown dead, dried, twigs. They said cut it back until you hit green. I chopped and chopped...everthing seemed brown or grey. I started looking around for a new tree to plant in the space.

Meanwhile Kristel's dad came to cut down the other dead tree. By this time it was leaning on the school fence and becoming a problem. I asked him to haul away the ochida tree, too, so I could put something else in the hole. He didn't have time that day...so I put it off. And the dead orchida tree remained. Sometimes when we watered the other bushes and trees in the school yard, Sulmi or Alejandro asked me if they should water the dead orchida tree. In fact one time Sulmi was cracking up laughing as she held the hose on the barren gray stick in the ground.

Then one day about a month ago, I was watering the garden and mentally preparing a devotion that I was going to lead at our teachers' workshop on "Renewal". I was thinking about hope, about not giving up. I was singing in my head "Prescious Lord, Take my Hand" and then I noticed the tree, that orchida tree that I really needed to dig up and throw in the garbage...was blooming. (??!) At the very top, a new, soft, light green leaf was blowing in the breeze, like a little green flame on the end of a long grey stick. As I held the hose on the trunk I could see that there were a few other tiny 1/4 inch buds of green trying to come out of the ends of two other branches.

I was SURE it was dead! But it wasn't. I had given up on it. It was worthless, I thought. It was never going to grow. What a fabulous metaphor for our workshop....to never give up on that difficult child in your class, or yourself, or that co-worker, but to hope. When YOU can't.....doesn't mean God can't. So grab a hold of God's hand and cling to that Hope that God is in control and God can do ANYTHING. He is able.

Yesterday when we were watering the garden Sulmi said the tree looked like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book with its long branches and leaves popping out in bunches at the tips. Ok... honestly, it is not yet the most beautiful tree on the block, but every time I look at it, the tree speaks to me a message of Hope, which is pretty impressive for a "dead" tree.

Friday Night Bible Study Update

Praise God for his wisdom and leadership! Tonight we talked about what we want to do with the hour after we eat. It was great to see the group brainstorm ideas. Then we talked about leadership and who would lead. I tossed out the idea of rotating the planning and leadership. Alejandro said, "Nancy needs to rest." I wanted to clarify why we were sharing leadership and chimed in, "No, no the reason we would share leadership is because it's time that everyone take a turn and learn how to plan and lead an evening." They were excited about the idea. We drew names for the next Friday and Alejandro's name came up. He says he wants to do something artisitic. Sounds like fun. I'm looking forward to seeing where this leads... I think our Bible Study had hit a humdrum slump so this will certainly pick it up and give everyone a chance to "be in charge". The plan is that Alejandro will meet with me someday this week after school and we will talk about his plan or idea.

Juan, the oldest one in the group at age 30 is the most nervous about leading, but he and I will practice when it is his turn until he feels confident. I think it is going to go well. I'll keep you posted.

Taking a Big Gulp of Modern Civilization

When Sulmi and Kristel got their passports I promised them we would celebrate by going to Mexico for the day. Both of the girls wanted to see a 3-D movie. They had heard about this kind of special effect but hadn't seen one. There's nothing like that here in Belize. We decided to see "Rio". It was wonderful!

Before the movie we walked around the mall and chowed down at McDonald's (also a treat since there are no US chain restaurants in Belize). I grabbed a Mocha Frappuchino...ahhhhh..Heaven.

We stayed til about 4:00 then stopped on the way back to visit with a 14 year old deaf friend, Evelyn, who had lived with us briefly a couple of years ago.

At the preview for the movie there was a trailer for "Kung Fu Panda 2" which opens here June 10. They said, almost in unison, "Can we come back to see Kung Fu Panda in June? :-) Hmmmm. Definitely maybe.

Celebrating the Last Supper

Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus' Last Supper. We distributed the bread and "wine" (grape juice) and then washed each others' feet.


What a wonderful image, so clear and specific..."Now I your Lord and teacher have washed your feet. So also you should wash one anothers feet." (John 13:14). It feels humbling just to perform the task, on your knees, on the hard ground, with someone else's dirty feet in your hands, looking up into their eyes and praying for them with love.

Actually, I find it easier to be the servant, the washer, than the one who is served. Maybe I like being the helper more than the helpee. Yet, this, too, is a lesson for me in humility. To humbly accept service.

When you read the Gospel of John and you come to the part where Jesus ate his last supper with his disciples, you find that John’s “take away” from that last meal together was Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet. In fact, John doesn’t mention anything about the Passover meal or the symbolism in the bread and wine. His memory from that meal was that the Lord humbled himself and washed the disciples’ feet saying, “I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

Please pray that we can learn to be servants to each other, in humility and and love. My heart sings:

Will you let me be your servant?
Let me be as Christ to you.
Pray that I might have the Grace to
Let you be my servant, too.

(words and music by Richard Gillard 1977)

What's in the Future for our Bible Study?

Peace,

This is a picture from our Friday Night Bible Study. Everyone is Deaf and they range in age from Kristel (13) to Juan (29). We eat dinner (last night was beans, pulled chicken, canned corn, lettuce and flour tortilla. Some people make burritos, some just eat it the Belize way, tearing off some tortilla with each bite.) Then we pray for each other and Bible study. In the past the Bible study was good because it was a chance to teach the new believers about Jesus and what discipleship means. Now we've added Nicole, who moved to Orange Walk after her grandmother (and caretaker) died and Tien Lee who moved here form Corozal. Reading the Bible is hard for everyone in the group except Kristel, Edgar and Alejandro. With the new additions, the non-readers out number the readers. Using the ASL Bible video tapes doesn't work because the ASL vocabulary is over their heads. It goes too fast, and at least two people in the group are just beginning to learn ASL.

Recently our Bible study was sometimes awkward and other times it felt like I was pushing them. So... I have been praying and asking God what he wants us to do with the group. It is growing in size...they are eager to meet and everyone comes faithfully EVERY Friday night. What do we do besides eat? I have also been praying a lot about leadership training... about developing leaders in our fellowship. I thought maybe it would happen with Bible study but because we have so many non-readers that isn't really happening as part of the Bible study. I always end up leading.

Hmmm... so what's God doing? I've been thinking maybe we should just be a youth group.... a group that meets to enjoy Christian fellowship and pray for each other. Maybe we play a game. Maybe we sing. I think we can rotate the leadership with that kind of idea. In other words... I think next week I can toss the idea on the table, brainstorm with them some things they might like to do with the evening, and create a schedule for rotating the leadership. The leader's job would be to plan what we "do" and bring the necessary materials. If they are stuck, they can come to me and I will help them choose an idea. Is this where God is leading? I think so.

Maybe this is the place and the way they begin to take some responsibility. Isn't it amazing how God leads us to go in a new direction?

Please pray with us that no matter what we "DO" they obtain the ultimate goal: to grow closer to God and want to serve him more and more.

Pancakes and Visitors

Both Sulmi and Gineli like to cook. Sulmi is the pancake flipper and Gineli likes to cook meat. Gineli is the carnivore in our "family".

When we have a day off from school, many of our deaf friends go "visiting". Angelica and Juan came to visit just as the pancakes and sausage were ready. It was perfect timing. We had enough to feed all of us and then some.

Connections Alternative Giving Catalog

This is Yelitza and her daughter Kristen. Kristen is in 1st grade. Yelitza's husband works sporadically selling tacos in Belize City. The money he earns pays the water and electric bills and buys food. There is little left over to pay for school or transportation to school from their village. Thank you to the kind, anonymous person who donated "school fees" to the alternative giving catalog this year!