Special Day

Yesterday was such an special and exciting day! Two of our students, Celsete(7) and Juan Carlos(11) asked Jesus into their hearts!!!! Juan Carlos has been here for three years and Celeste for 1 1/2 years. We have been praying for them and teaching them for so long and finally they understand! Now we will be seeing them in heaven! It is always so exciting when your students finally realize that they have sin in their life and that Jesus is the only one that can offer them that healing forgiveness. We also had an amazing rainbow yesterday! Unfortunatly I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing. All the girls, one of the teachers and I ran around trying to find that best place to take a picture. As you can see the little girls had alot of fun but came back very muddy. Oh, well where's the fun in staying clean all the time. Cloths will wash and little girls can be showered.



   

The Ranch is 2010

Happy New Year to you all! Sorry I am so behind on updating this blog. The new year has gotten off to a good start. Last week we had stormy weather as I am sure many of you heard and experienced. We got almost seven inches of rain over six days. Our average rain fall for the year is seven. God is blesing us with more water in our well. Thankfully the Ranch recieved very little damage form the rain. One of our old pine trees fell and one of the staff houses flooded but besides that we are fine. Other areas are no so blessed. Many towns have had their bridges washed out. One city, San Quntin has had to have food flown in becasue all of their brigdes washed out and there is no other way to get into the city. Many of our students parents live in that area so we don't know when they will be able to come and vist.

A few weeks ago a new girl from Chihuahua, Mexico was brought to us by a Mennonite family. Esmeralda is eleven years old. She lived with her mother and their tribe near a Mennonite settlement in the mountains of Chihuahua. Esmeralda is a sweet but strong willed girl. She may not know very much sign but she knows how to get her point across! She is just now realizing that things have a name, that she has a name. Please be praying for Esmeralda to pick up on sign language quickly and that she will come to know Jesus

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Giving Thanks!

                                      Psalm 100

1	Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2	Serve the LORD with gladness:          come before his presence with singing.
3	Know ye that the LORD he is God:          it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4	Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,          and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5	For the LORD is good;          his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Spur One Another On

There are over 50 verses in the New Testament that have the phrase "one another" or "each other" in them. Mark 9:50 "Be at peace with each other." John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Romans 12:16 "Live in harmony with one another." Romans 14:13 "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another." Romans 15:7 "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. (NIV)
No matter who you are, where you live or where you work you will always be around people. Maintaining good relationships with others is so important.This is especially true in communal living. At our school there are 32 students and 20 staff and families. We are with each other daily ten months out of the year. Here's the other thing, we didn't pick each other. There is rarely a time when you are alone. A hike up to the hills is about the only place to get away from others. I, along with another young woman, Alyssa care for sixteen deaf girls ages six to eighteen. We all share one large room. It is our bedroom, living room and play/homework room. In a situation like ours you need to be constantly looking out for the needs of others ahead of your own. This is true for all families, living, work and ministry situations, but even more so when you live, work, eat and sleep with people you didn't necessarily choose. God choose us all to be here together. Over the past five years I have lived and worked with many different personality types. On our own our differences can be the source of great conflict. When we let him, God has used all of our differences to make us stronger and more effective. A few weeks ago, one of our teachers commented on how well we as a staff complement one another. I have been so impressed with how willing and helpful all of our staff are. When some one is sick or something comes up there is always someone willing to pitch in and lend a hand.

Most of our students are looking out for one anothers needs as well. Don't get me wrong there are those backbiting moments. Over all I know that the majority of them are there for each other. In the girls' dorm "buddies", every week our older girls take turns helping the little girls get ready in the mornings. It teaches the older girls responsibility and helps the "moms" out allot. When ever one of our girls is down there is always other girls read to give hugs. Life isn't perfect, there is conflict. There are times when our boys and girls bring one another down. When we make it a practice to love and encourage one another life in definitely more peaceful. We are all many members of one body with Christ is our head and we all have a part. When we encourage one another and show our love and appreciation for one another it makes our staff and kids want to do the same for others. So today, make your effort to spur one another on to lover and good deeds.

Shoe Day

Last Saturday was Shoe Day. Every year a church from San Diego blesses our students with new shoes. We meet them at a shoe store in Ensenada and then the kids are alowed to pick out two pairs of shoes. Oh course we decide ahead of time what kind of shoes they need. Once we get there the kids go around with our staff and members of the church to find the perfect shoes. It's a busy and a bit crazy couple hours but the kids love it! They are so proud and excitied about their new shoes.

School Days

Rancho Sordo Mudo is now into it's third day of school. This past week end was a busy two days of our deaf students arriving and checking them in. So far only ten of my girls have come. I am expecting fifteen. I hope they all come back again. Thankfully, so far they are all lice free! This morning started off like any typical morning. I was up at 5:30 getting ready. I had hoped to water the garden before waking the girls up at 6:00 but it was a little too dark and foggy so I waited until they started their chores, and then went down. Breakfast, staff devotions and they kids' chapel are all over and now "mom" gets a break while the girls are at school. Morning classes are from 9:30-1:00. Three evenings a week the 1st through 9th graders have night school. In Mexico there is primary school which is K-6th grade, at the end of which students receive a diploma. Secondary school is 7th-9th grade upon completion of 9th grade they receive another diploma. Preparatory is 10th-12th grade, at the end of 12th grade students receive a third diploma. Most of our students only complete primary or secondary school. The reason being many do not come until they are 7, 10 or 14. Most come with no language, other than pointing or gustering. So for example our 1st grade class has a 12 year old, an eight year old, a ten year old and an eleven year old. It is so amazing to watch them learn sign. A whole world opens up to them. They learn who they are, that they have a name! So many of our students don't even know that! Best of all as they learn MSL, they learn who Jesus is! Our goal as a school is to give our students a language, teach them about Jesus and give them a good work ethic when they leave. The girls are learning how to cook, clean, sew and garden. The boys are learning how to do landscaping, painting, stuccoing, laying tile and roofing. Our school is a residential boarding school, our kids come in September and don't go home until June. Parents will come and visit but not very often. They either live too far away or can't afford to visit very often.

It's so exciting to have our kids come back after the summer break. I enjoy seeing my family and friends every summer but I always miss my girls and our life here.

This year my daily morning chapel class has nine kids. The ninth just showed up an hour ago. It's so exciting teaching them about God. Right now we are learning about prayer. Here is a picture of my chapel class from a couple of days a go. As you can see, not all of my kids had arrived yet. More keep coming every day!

The Kids Are Back

I finally have girls here again! This past week a few boys showed up but it wasn't until Saturday that my girls started arrive. So far only eight have come. I hope more come in the next few days, I am supposed to have between 14 and 16 girls. I have a new girl in the Dorm, here name is Dayan, she is 14. She already knows Mexican Sign Language, which is a huge plus in Dayan ajusting to life at our school. Today was is the first day of school, be praying for out teachers and students. Most of the teachers are still learning MSL which makes it hard for the students as well.