One of my recent joys is to watch Edgar, our youngest student as he prays. He is not using many signs yet, but when he prays he closes his eyes and moves his hands about (no real signs used) and then signs a very emphatic Amen when he has finished. It's so cute to see. I am sure God must smile as He watches him. Please pray for this little boy to know what it truly means for him to know Jesus.
from a newsletter by Judy More
November 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Graduation 2005
By On the Spot reporter Gabriel Bravo – an e-mail report sent home to his mother. Gabriel has been associated with ESD as a friend and volunteer for four years. His sister, Nicole was our junior missionary for the 2004-05 school year.
ESD Closing Ceremony 2005
ESD held its closing ceremonies May 24, 2005, and they put on a really special evening. Betsy said this was the biggest turnout in parents she's ever had, and there were a lot of people there. Some of the parents knew sign, and were pretty at home conversing with the kids.
A pastor from the neighboring area shared a song with his compadre, in a very classical sounding fashion. The music was beautiful-- the theme this year was "to God be the glory." The Sign Language Class parents performed a song in sign language.
(Nicole and I were working on a song for a couple of weeks-- "There is None like You." And though we both thought we struggled, Joy said she enjoyed it-- just that the guitars weren't amped, and some of the song was inaudible. But Nicole and I are learning to play fairly well together with that song.)
One lady had attended ESD in 1961, and she helped in a worship song presented in sign. Carlos Motta, who did chapel for the kids on Fridays, shared a message with the parents. Some of our buddies from Calvary Chapel of Guaynabo Puerto Rico came down and participated in the worship time.
(Even Lei and Josh, came to enjoy the evening-- those crazy Samoans/Mormon missionaries -- they were right at home talking and hanging out with everyone. I know Lei was touched: "My neighbors are awesome" he said while giving me a hug, "I just wanna tell people… Look, these guys are my neighbors." He's so funny mom, I wish you could've hung out with him more.
At the close of the evening, after Carlos' message, Nicole took the stage in "talk-show-host" fashion, because this year marked the 20-year anniversary of Betsy Hoke's ministry there at the school: "Betsy this is your life." A picture shined on the wall, of Betsy in her early twenties. . . All the kids were backstage preparing, while Nicole carried on a monologue:
"At 23 years old Betsy had the craaaa-zy idea of visiting the deaf school here for six months. . . Betsy was always fond of the beach growing up, and could always be seen with a Pepsi in her hand for beach outings. As Nicole said this little Marcos walked out (you didn't meet Marcos, but he's a funny lil' chap) and he had a tag around his neck that read "BETSY" and oversized beach glasses, a Pepsi in his hand, and a beach ball in his other hand with a beach towel wrapped around his neck. He walked over to Betsy as all the parents laughed. She kissed him on the forehead, and took the Pepsi from his hand; all the parents laughed while Marcos went to sit down.
"Betsy always wanted to be a teacher growing up, because she loved telling people what to do." Juan Luis (one of the older boys) walked out pointing his fingers at everyone, with a Pepsi in his hand and wearing glasses.
"Betsy's mother said she was a very obedient child growing up, she would tell her to go play in traffic, and Betsy would do just that”: Rebeca walked along the wall with a bicycle, carrying it onto the stage and pretending to ride it, when a blur of James came running from the other side of the room with a cardboard cut-out of a car, and slammed right into little Rebeca. She fell over on the floor, Pepsi in hand, and nobody was hurt, but the moment was dramatic. Everybody laughed.
“When Betsy was 12, she met and couldn't understand why this person couldn't understand her, until she realized the person was deaf- this was her first deaf friend and the beginning of her learning sign language”: Johanely and Gemary acted out a confusing conversation of course with ‘Betsy’ holding a Pepsi in her hand.
"Then Betsy graduated from Penn State University in 1983”: Adriana came out with a cap and gown.
Nicole said a few final words, and little Daniel ran out with glasses, and a dunkin' donuts box in his hands. By this time Betsy had tears in her eyes, and Nicole said: "Betsy this is your life," as Nicole and Laurie pinned a colorful banner over the stage, "Twenty years of Growing children for God."
ESD Closing Ceremony 2005
ESD held its closing ceremonies May 24, 2005, and they put on a really special evening. Betsy said this was the biggest turnout in parents she's ever had, and there were a lot of people there. Some of the parents knew sign, and were pretty at home conversing with the kids.
A pastor from the neighboring area shared a song with his compadre, in a very classical sounding fashion. The music was beautiful-- the theme this year was "to God be the glory." The Sign Language Class parents performed a song in sign language.
(Nicole and I were working on a song for a couple of weeks-- "There is None like You." And though we both thought we struggled, Joy said she enjoyed it-- just that the guitars weren't amped, and some of the song was inaudible. But Nicole and I are learning to play fairly well together with that song.)
One lady had attended ESD in 1961, and she helped in a worship song presented in sign. Carlos Motta, who did chapel for the kids on Fridays, shared a message with the parents. Some of our buddies from Calvary Chapel of Guaynabo Puerto Rico came down and participated in the worship time.
(Even Lei and Josh, came to enjoy the evening-- those crazy Samoans/Mormon missionaries -- they were right at home talking and hanging out with everyone. I know Lei was touched: "My neighbors are awesome" he said while giving me a hug, "I just wanna tell people… Look, these guys are my neighbors." He's so funny mom, I wish you could've hung out with him more.
At the close of the evening, after Carlos' message, Nicole took the stage in "talk-show-host" fashion, because this year marked the 20-year anniversary of Betsy Hoke's ministry there at the school: "Betsy this is your life." A picture shined on the wall, of Betsy in her early twenties. . . All the kids were backstage preparing, while Nicole carried on a monologue:
"At 23 years old Betsy had the craaaa-zy idea of visiting the deaf school here for six months. . . Betsy was always fond of the beach growing up, and could always be seen with a Pepsi in her hand for beach outings. As Nicole said this little Marcos walked out (you didn't meet Marcos, but he's a funny lil' chap) and he had a tag around his neck that read "BETSY" and oversized beach glasses, a Pepsi in his hand, and a beach ball in his other hand with a beach towel wrapped around his neck. He walked over to Betsy as all the parents laughed. She kissed him on the forehead, and took the Pepsi from his hand; all the parents laughed while Marcos went to sit down.
"Betsy always wanted to be a teacher growing up, because she loved telling people what to do." Juan Luis (one of the older boys) walked out pointing his fingers at everyone, with a Pepsi in his hand and wearing glasses.
"Betsy's mother said she was a very obedient child growing up, she would tell her to go play in traffic, and Betsy would do just that”: Rebeca walked along the wall with a bicycle, carrying it onto the stage and pretending to ride it, when a blur of James came running from the other side of the room with a cardboard cut-out of a car, and slammed right into little Rebeca. She fell over on the floor, Pepsi in hand, and nobody was hurt, but the moment was dramatic. Everybody laughed.
“When Betsy was 12, she met and couldn't understand why this person couldn't understand her, until she realized the person was deaf- this was her first deaf friend and the beginning of her learning sign language”: Johanely and Gemary acted out a confusing conversation of course with ‘Betsy’ holding a Pepsi in her hand.
"Then Betsy graduated from Penn State University in 1983”: Adriana came out with a cap and gown.
Nicole said a few final words, and little Daniel ran out with glasses, and a dunkin' donuts box in his hands. By this time Betsy had tears in her eyes, and Nicole said: "Betsy this is your life," as Nicole and Laurie pinned a colorful banner over the stage, "Twenty years of Growing children for God."
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Pencil stories
What’s with the pencils?!
A recent visitor reminded me of her story:
As a junior missionary, Sara was working with a new student, Kevin. Kevin was a recent transfer from a school in the Luquillo area and had limited communication skills in sign language or spoken language. Sara had asked Kevin to please do some kind of writing and Kevin simply sat there. Sara showed him on the paper what to do and Kevin still did nothing. Now, Sara was thinking, “this is one stubborn kid!” when she noticed that silent tears were creeping out of Kevin’s eyes. She had no idea what to do nor did she understand the problem.
Another teacher walked in. Sara asked for help and explained the situation.
As it turns out, Kevin was holding a mechanical pencil and had no idea how to make the lead progress so that he COULD write. Once that problem was solved, Sara saw that Kevin was a very intelligent and cooperative young boy.
_ _ _ _ _
Miss Hoke for years had the habit of taking away pencils and weaving them into her hair. For example, while she was teaching and the little kids were playing with the pencils, she found it convenient to simply put the pencil within reach by putting it into her hair (it was longer hair and often secure by a scrunchy or French braid).
One day she asked her students (all boys!) to get their pencils and get to work (since she had so diligently and cleverly taught a wonderful lesson no doubt!). Well, the boys sat there. And she said, “Please get your pencils.” They sat, all attentive and smiling. “NOW, get your pencils!”
And then she realized they were STARING at their pencils… placed by her into her hair.
And she learned – NEVER SCOLD A CHILD ABOUT A PENCIL THAT IS IN YOUR POSSESSION!
_ _ _ _ _
Then there was the year we were into rockets. Johanely made a rocket that looked like a pencil. We loved shooting them up into the air again and again.
Well, just the other day (this is like 3 years later), Daniel said, "Remember Johanely's pencil in the air?"
No. What? Huh?!
And of course eventually, he was able to show how the pencil shot into the air and his teacher DID remember.
And then Daniel asked, "What was the name of that pencil?"
And his teacher told him "R O C K E T"
Which was the word that was being taught at the original rocket launching activity...
A recent visitor reminded me of her story:
As a junior missionary, Sara was working with a new student, Kevin. Kevin was a recent transfer from a school in the Luquillo area and had limited communication skills in sign language or spoken language. Sara had asked Kevin to please do some kind of writing and Kevin simply sat there. Sara showed him on the paper what to do and Kevin still did nothing. Now, Sara was thinking, “this is one stubborn kid!” when she noticed that silent tears were creeping out of Kevin’s eyes. She had no idea what to do nor did she understand the problem.
Another teacher walked in. Sara asked for help and explained the situation.
As it turns out, Kevin was holding a mechanical pencil and had no idea how to make the lead progress so that he COULD write. Once that problem was solved, Sara saw that Kevin was a very intelligent and cooperative young boy.
_ _ _ _ _
Miss Hoke for years had the habit of taking away pencils and weaving them into her hair. For example, while she was teaching and the little kids were playing with the pencils, she found it convenient to simply put the pencil within reach by putting it into her hair (it was longer hair and often secure by a scrunchy or French braid).
One day she asked her students (all boys!) to get their pencils and get to work (since she had so diligently and cleverly taught a wonderful lesson no doubt!). Well, the boys sat there. And she said, “Please get your pencils.” They sat, all attentive and smiling. “NOW, get your pencils!”
And then she realized they were STARING at their pencils… placed by her into her hair.
And she learned – NEVER SCOLD A CHILD ABOUT A PENCIL THAT IS IN YOUR POSSESSION!
_ _ _ _ _
Then there was the year we were into rockets. Johanely made a rocket that looked like a pencil. We loved shooting them up into the air again and again.
Well, just the other day (this is like 3 years later), Daniel said, "Remember Johanely's pencil in the air?"
No. What? Huh?!
And of course eventually, he was able to show how the pencil shot into the air and his teacher DID remember.
And then Daniel asked, "What was the name of that pencil?"
And his teacher told him "R O C K E T"
Which was the word that was being taught at the original rocket launching activity...
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Clouds
Clouds really are real!
A wise person once said that deaf children are often unaware of objects in their environment until they are taught that these objects have names and purposes. Keeping this in mind for my preschool class, I planned monthly themes with great anticipation.
During the month of September, we learned about weather. We danced in the rain, basked in the sun, and tried to experience everything in between. One week, we studied clouds. We read books about clouds and drew pictures of them. We tried to create our own clouds, using shaving cream and cotton balls.
On the playground one morning, Edgar (age three) suddenly stopped playing and stared up at the sky. Clouds! They were really there! He began to sign, "cloud," over and over again, looking over his shoulder to see if his classmates had noticed them yet.
As the day went on, Edgar would peek out the classroom windows to make sure the clouds were still there. It was a wonderful thing to share in his joy and witness the connection he made.
I can't wait until we get to "Insect month!"
That Barking Rabbit!
I’m not a morning person. Early one day, I walked into the kitchen with a grumpy face. One of the girls asked how I was.
“Tired,” was my reply.
“Maybe you should move the rabbit,” she suggested.
I glanced back at our pet, sitting silently in her cage.
“The rabbit’s barking has been keeping you awake, right?” she asked.
How do you respond to that one?
“Tired,” was my reply.
“Maybe you should move the rabbit,” she suggested.
I glanced back at our pet, sitting silently in her cage.
“The rabbit’s barking has been keeping you awake, right?” she asked.
How do you respond to that one?
For the wages of fish is death…”
Did you catch that? I almost didn’t when it was told to me. The above misinterpretation of Romans 6:23 came one night in the dorm after devotions. A confused dorm student came into the room and began signing what she had read. She began, “For the wages of fish is death, but…” and stopped after seeing the facial expressions of the people in the room. Thinking we had misunderstood her, she began again, “For the wages of fish is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Fish??? After looking at her Bible, we realized that she had been reading in Spanish and had confused the words “pescado,” and “pecado,” (fish and sin). Oops! What a difference it made for her to understand the verse correctly, at last.
Did you catch that? I almost didn’t when it was told to me. The above misinterpretation of Romans 6:23 came one night in the dorm after devotions. A confused dorm student came into the room and began signing what she had read. She began, “For the wages of fish is death, but…” and stopped after seeing the facial expressions of the people in the room. Thinking we had misunderstood her, she began again, “For the wages of fish is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Fish??? After looking at her Bible, we realized that she had been reading in Spanish and had confused the words “pescado,” and “pecado,” (fish and sin). Oops! What a difference it made for her to understand the verse correctly, at last.
nine months until he signed SWING
SWING!
Through the efforts of some visitors, the little children’s swing set was restored (after being mauled in a bull fight last fall). My youngest preschooler, Edgar, saw it the next day. He put his hand to his mouth and looked extremely delighted. It still makes me smile to remember it.
Perhaps it was the next week, Edgar was swinging on the new swing set. Don’t ask me how many times since he started school last August I have pushed him on a swing and signed to him SWING. I could make him smile that way, exaggerating my sign and fitting it to his swinging pattern. “Edgar’s SWINGING. Yeah, you’re SWINGING.” And finally, in April, Edgar signed to me “SWING.”
So I pushed my luck. I not only wanted him to sign SWING; I wanted him to sign SWING and PLEASE, and then I would push his swing. What was I doing, trying to confuse him? But he succeeded in adding PLEASE.
Soon the newest Preschool boy Jan (pronounced like John) joined Edgar on the swing. Happy with Edgar’s success, I tried to get Jan to sign SWING, also. I compromised, using one of his hands and one of mine to form the sign. Then Jan surprised me. When he wanted pushed again, he signed SWING. I was excited. Jan was beginning to use sign language to communicate! He was understanding that sign language could communicate.
Through the efforts of some visitors, the little children’s swing set was restored (after being mauled in a bull fight last fall). My youngest preschooler, Edgar, saw it the next day. He put his hand to his mouth and looked extremely delighted. It still makes me smile to remember it.
Perhaps it was the next week, Edgar was swinging on the new swing set. Don’t ask me how many times since he started school last August I have pushed him on a swing and signed to him SWING. I could make him smile that way, exaggerating my sign and fitting it to his swinging pattern. “Edgar’s SWINGING. Yeah, you’re SWINGING.” And finally, in April, Edgar signed to me “SWING.”
So I pushed my luck. I not only wanted him to sign SWING; I wanted him to sign SWING and PLEASE, and then I would push his swing. What was I doing, trying to confuse him? But he succeeded in adding PLEASE.
Soon the newest Preschool boy Jan (pronounced like John) joined Edgar on the swing. Happy with Edgar’s success, I tried to get Jan to sign SWING, also. I compromised, using one of his hands and one of mine to form the sign. Then Jan surprised me. When he wanted pushed again, he signed SWING. I was excited. Jan was beginning to use sign language to communicate! He was understanding that sign language could communicate.
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