The First Student Arrives!

Being Sunday morning, I was already tired and hot, and decided to give in to my procrastination; leaving the organizing until later. So we all piled into a fifteen-passenger van and set out in the direction of Betsy's Spanish-speaking church. Kevin was unable to attend, so we drove straight to church. Once there, we sang several worship songs and I absolutely loved how the entire Spanish-speaking congregation sang in their native tongue and our little pew joined in with our English version. So neat! Then Betsy's church took a special offering for ESD, and we all got up front and preformed a mini-choir, singing "How Great is Our God."

Rosa sang with her amazing voice, Betsy beautifully played her cello, a friend of Betsy's played his guitar and sang, and I interpreted the song into Sign. It was amazing and so powerful! Then, when the service began, Betsy, being the kind soul she is, interpreted the Spanish sermon into Sign so we could understand at least some of it. Again, I was surprised at how much I understood and was able to retain. Amanda (our new staff member,) Rosa and I realized that Nate, Amanda's boyfriend, knew very little Sign and was not understanding anything. So we decided to interpret Betsy's Sign into voiced English so that Nate could understand. So Betsy was interpreting the Spanish sermon into Sign which we were taking turns interpreting into English. Gosh, that was awesome! Out of the hour-long sermon, there were only a few things I did not quite catch, but apart from those, I understood virtually everything else and was able to interpret it into English--the first time in my life I have ever attempted such a feat! So awesome!
     Then when we came home, I bit the bullet and "de-homefied" my room as Betsy had so nicely suggested. After I had sorted through my conglomeration of things, I then moved on to the chapel to finish my last-minute decorating. With Nate's assistance, I hung the streamers and finished my "ocean." A big sigh of relief. I then spray-painted props and things for a craft activity; during which time I believe I got more paint on myself than I did on the actual materials, making me resemble a smurf--but oh well, it could serve as another conversation starter.
     Then, our first student arrived! Francis is about my age and is the sweetest thing. I am beyond thrilled to have a deaf roommate! The rules are, "Everything that is said, must also be signed. Signing only, as no talking is permitted while a student is on the premises." Wow, talk about signing 24/7. This will certainly help with improving my signing and receptive skills...So pumped. I cannot wait to hang out with her and have some serious conversations! I have only been signing here for the past week and already, I have learned so much and have gained a crazy amount of confidence! God is beyond amazing and continues to blow my mind!
     But the remaining students will be arriving in about eight short hours, and we have a staff meeting at 7am, so I best be getting to bed. I will let you all know how the first day back to school/VBS goes and how my first Home Ec. lesson works out. Stay tuned!