June 23, 2010 - Iris!

I awoke around 2:30am again wide awake. I forced myself to sleep a little more, as I knew this may be the last day I wake on my own accord, feeling I had enough sleep. I ventured out of the house around 4:30am to see a glimpse of the sun coming up from behind the hills in the distance. I just sat there listening to the morning sounds of the jungle... monkeys, insects, and geckos. Oh, how I've missed those geckos! Did you know they actually make a sound as if they are saying, "gecko"? It brings a smile to my face every time. I sat overlooking the Loay jungle and Loboc River watching the sun come up and having my time with the Lord. This is what I imagine Heaven would look like, so it's so easy to know the Lord is there with me, as I feel His presence around me. After getting ready for my day, our normal schedule includes worship time and a Bible study led by one of our team members. This is also a time to dive into the Word, discuss happenings, pray, and bless other team members. By 8 we were on our way to Loon. This is by far my favorite school, besides the Deaf high school. We drive the 2 hours and are greeted by the kids running across the school field, ready to play. I make introductions for the team, thanking them for welcoming us and I introduce myself. I spell out my name as most of the kids are fingerspelling my name with me and with their other hand signing, "I know"... it warms my heart and blesses me SO much that they would remember my name after a full year!

Our typical time at a school consists of:

Field Games: dodge ball, tug-of-war, and parachute play

Crafts: gluing tiles on a wooden cross, beaded necklace, tie-dye t-shirts, and origami

Dramas: The Champion, Redeemer, Everything, and a team member sharing their testimony and praying

My job at the all the schools is a leader with Joshua. We have 9 students with us that mostly run the show. A more important job I have at the Deaf schools is the interpreter. Every game, craft and drama, I am interpret. I love it!

As we leave the schools, we make each student a balloon animal and give them a gift. This school is also extra special as my first sponsor child is here, Iris. She is 14 years old now and in the 4th grade. She is doing very well and is definitely a leader with her classmates. I was talking with her and a friend and her friend asked me about my family. Before I could answer her, Iris had her hands up and explained to her friend each person in my family's names and occupations. I was amazed as I've only told her once, and it was a year ago!!! It was fun to interact with her and talk more in depth with her.

After leaving Loon, we headed back into the city. We stopped at Bohol Quality, which is a shopping center in downtown Tagbilarin, the capital of Bohol. We shopped around a bit and then took trikes to the Garden Cafe. This cafe is run by IDEA (International Deaf Education Association) and is mostly served by the Deaf who have graduated from Bohol Deaf Academy. They train the Deaf to serve, cook, and bake so they can go out into the world, maybe back where the family is, and have a good job. There are 3 Garden Cafes on Bohol and they are all run by the Deaf.

We then headed on to Bohol Deaf Academy where all the Deaf high schools go to school and board. I was so excited to see the students again! We socialized with them for a while and then had a Bible study, led by their Deaf pastor, Mart. He is a great guy and really knows how to teach these kids about the Bible. I voice interpreted for the group, which was a little intimidating since we had only been to one Deaf school here and I wasn't quite used to signing the Filipino sign changes. FSL is about 90% similar to ASL. Luckily it was a basic teaching. We had time at the end to again socialize with the students, which is our favorite time. We were excited that they would be coming up to our house for the weekend camp, so it wasn't too hard to say goodbye. We arrive home after 10pm... I knew I would sleep until my alarm went off the next morning!