Mission update Dec 2010 - Jan 2011

THANK YOU…
from many Arua deaf and from us, for your financial support, ideas & prayers.

OUR PARTNERSHIP IS BRINGING HOPE…
…and changing lives.

WE ASK YOU TO PARTNER US FINANCIALLY
…towards our mission/goals for 2011-14, so that together we can consolidate & develop this vital work

SO IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW…
will consider partnering with us through regular giving, please get in touch.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen;
it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

Hearing & deaf students graduate, thank you & plan

The deaf DTS students are circled in white, with the letter of appreciation shown written by Sam in the centre. The hearing advocates are circled in dark blue, were a great support

November 2010 Mission Update

We appreciate, and are still inspired by our hearing UK pastor, Glenn Barker(far left) & our
senior deaf Ugandan pastor, David Bulime, left, who were both called back Home this month.
Glenn and David have pioneered much & blessed many of us.

Signs and Wonders in Labone, S. Sudan -with the mixed hearing / deaf DTS team
• Living in Labone’s community .
• Learning from/working with Labone’s deaf/youth
• At the Refinery: Learning about ourselves.

Next steps
• Outline Programme up until April 2011.
• Kidz News: Universities, Guitar lessons, & Rabbits.
• Sudan and Congo DTS teams completing their outreaches in Gulu, N. Uganda and Eastern Congo.

This Month’s Focus:
• Enjoying a break in Kenya
• DTS student/staff debrief, graduation ceremony
• Co-planning an educational tour for two local Teachers of the Deaf

At the Refinery -What’s challenging me -Finding the balance (Helen)

To put God first. You might think that being involved with missions that I always put God first. Well in reality I still mostly go my own way and God becomes an addition to my routine rather than the driver. My aim is to really know god more and be a better kid; ok old kid.

Secondly I want to be an honourable Mum, wife and teacher. It’s not on the school curriculum as such but basic bibilical understanding is what I think the boys need more of and they agree. ‘Teach a child in the way they should go and they will not depart from it.’ Says a well known proverb. ‘parents do not exasperate your children’ says Proverbs. I desperately want to inspire Laurence and Jerome as I teach them and I want to honour Nicholas Chamberlain Technology College through making best use of the resources they have kindly given us.

As a long distance mum I am encouraged that with prayer and petition i/we can improve our relationship with Maria and encourage her to reach her God given potential. I know she deserves all the encouragement she can get. We learnt a lot whilst home schooling Maria but this year not only does Maria have year 2 of her A’s but some resitsto raise the level of her grades from last year. I am just so grateful that Maria has compassionate, gifted teachers that are guiding her through. Thank you NCTC staff so much if you read this.

Thirdly the wife bit. Well perhaps this should come second. I wouldn’t be here being blessed in this deaf ministry if it were it not for Adam and his hearing loss. My call I believe is to be scaffolding. Its not very glamorous I know but actually the more I accept the role the more enjoyment I get from supporting Adam in this very special ministry.

The deaf love Adam and I know he is doing a great work and he and the deaf need a lot of practical and emotional support which I feel I am learning to give. The more I give the more I receive. I know it’s an old cliché but it’s true. As scripture says it’s better to give than to receive.

It seemed like a timely connection when a deaf tailor met up with a business woman, Irene, at a business convention in Arua. Irene agreed to take on the deaf tailor for a trial period. However, after less than a fortnight, I had the unpleasant job of signing to the deaf youth that she would not be continuing in the newly offered job.

The deaf youth struggled in a number of ways, with punctuality; she even missed some days completely and her standard of work was below what was needed. Whilst I gave some initial sign support to this deaf youth and her family it quickly became apparent that the youth was in the wrong work place. Her employer Irene recognised that she needed to think more carefully about the implications of appointing someone with a disability.

At the end of the meeting Irene explained she was exploring the possibility of running a government sponsored vocational training course for people with disabilities. This was really encouraging because the forms were very detailed and required the submission of details for special needs provision and sign language interpretation.

All in all I believe this was a good but painful learning experience for us all. I will continue to follow up and encourage Agnes. Irene has asked her to continue to pop in to the tailoring business so that she can observe the other tailors and learn from them. H.

Celebration at the end of the Alioce workshops

Local partners, AliocePastor –Rev Solomon, Arua Association of the Deaf chairman -Godfrey Aguta, St Phillip’s Deaf church pastor –Allan Aviah, Peace Café IT manager -Bosco, and Head of ErubaDeaf Unit, Feta were involved throughout.

Illustrated USL booklets and a wall-board display were presented to the Alioce deaf and their community.

Thanks were expressed by all present to our UK partners too..

Review/draft preview of our various Deaf Connections programmes

THE NEED: Isolated deaf people in NW Uganda need tools to communicate, learn, earn and participate

OUR VISION: to bring isolated deaf people to see themselves as God's workmanship, beloved children and co-workers

OUR GOALS: Deaf people, formerly isolated who:·

• are safer, healthier, enjoy life more and achieve more.·
• participate more fully in their family and community·
• are able to spread hope themselves to others.

PROGRAMME: Sign-language workshops for 30+ isolated village deaf & a hearing relative/friend 20+hearing teachers/advocates of deaf/hearing students
Partners: St. Phillips Deaf ChurchArua District Deaf Association (ADAD) Eruba Primary School
Next steps: 5-day workshop for 25 deaf in Maracha

PROGRAMME: Development of 200 Illustrated Ugandan signsfor everyday use and specialist use, e.g.building vocabulary Donated Ugandan Sign-language books in daily use
Partners: Deaf adults(4) using new IT skills, Peace Internet Café, Arua Town Library
Next steps: Specialist signs for driving instructors /pupils, nurses, police, deaf bible students

PROGRAMME: Sports coaching and team-building sessions(10+) for 40 deaf and 40 hearing students at Eruba Primary
Partners: Eruba Primary, ADAD
Next steps: Competitive matches

PROGRAMME: Sourcing Vocational training opportunitiesfor deaf adults: Basic IT(4),building course(2) and driving course(1)
Partners: JBI Computers, Arua; West Nile Voc.Trg. Inst.
Next steps: Deaf driver training

PROGRAMME: Character building and Leadership training Using Biblical Drama Workshops
Partners: St. Phillips Deaf Church, ADAD, YWAM
Next steps: Ugandan Sign-song workshops

PROGRAMME: Documenting local deaf adults life stories/ hopes(x8)
Partners: ADAD
Next steps: To be continued

We hope you are encouraged. Prioritising our next steps is happening now...

Biblical vocabulary in Ugandan Sign Language

More time with Pastor Fred from Kampala Deaf Bible school who has asked for my support to document biblical vocabulary in Ugandan Sign Language, much of it for the first time ever.

Thanks to your support we have been able to supply a camera to replace the broken obsolete cameras they had.

We are thankful for His and your continued support:

Wisdom:
valuable specialist advice given enabling Maria & Jerome to fully recover from Malaria
unity of mind/spirit in our family as we plan home-schooling (h/s)

Fresh Insights and Timely Reminders:
- our Maker is taking us through regarding good practice in many day to day dealings/priorities,
- recent insights from visitors on recent developments in neighbouring Sudan and DR Congo.

Resources Received:
- offers of additional h/s resources
- to complete the funding of our first community sign workshops at Eruba
- to build pit latrines that will lengthen the time our water harvesting system lasts as we won’t need to flush the loo during the dry season
-to help provide IT training for deaf youth committed to co-producing improved USL resources
- Willing deaf facilitators for our Eruba and forthcoming Ugandan Sign Language workshops
- sponsorship for a deaf woman to attend a residential , year –long, building and concrete course

Update July 09 - Branching out

I recently gave the tree in our front garden a No. 1 haircut guided by our experienced and grateful tree-fella neighbour, Phil. That tree has given me much food for thought over the years. And it did so again recently because we are, in another way also branching out.

Our neighbour, "T'reesa" (honest - but not "T'reesa Green", she insisted) opposite volunteered her son to collect fallen branches and within 10 minutes there were 10 kids enthusiastically echoing my shouts of "timber" from up the tree and filling empty green waste wheelie bins that our other neighbour, Mick, had requisitioned! The amount of insect life astounded me, and itched me, - for days after!

Many passers-by watched and commented at me perched at the top of the tree, offering either encouragement, concern for my safety, shock at my apparent cruelty and thanks for reminding them to do theirs too! Best of all was an offer of paid work of a similar nature nearby.. Most crucial of all was remembering I can no longer rely on its foliage to give me privacy when I change in our bedroom... The kids criterion was checking they could still clamber up into it!

To me that tree has seemed to symbolise my life quite closely in that me, like the tree, needs more maintenance than I first realised and that I have to keep this up, for mine and everyone else's sake. Pruning my own life has not always been my top proirity, nor easy for others who have tried to help. I am grateful for their persistence..

We are also having to heavily prune our involvement in our neighbourhood, and thats not been easy to let go of.

Blessings Adam & helen

I am the Real vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing He prunes back so that it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

John 15 v.1

Good News -We want to say "thankyou" for:
· The loan of a motorbike (125cc), from now till September. - thanks to Dave& Joyce(R.I.P.) featured in our June newsletter ·

· Financial provision for:
-flights; a voice-recorder;
-sports equipment for use at Arua deaf School
·
· Several new deaf connections partners offering prayer support or financial support, or both;

two further invitations to make deafconnections presentations;
·
· Gaining the commitment of a very experienced and wise accountant to support our financial accountability and tax affairs.



THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT ..
We have just sent the voice-recorder to Arua Association for the Deaf to help them record the lyrics of the traditional stories and songs of a remote village with numerous isolated deaf people.

Thanks too, to one of our partners for delivering this on his travels and helping progress our accomodation needs.

More thanks to Peggy, my deafblind friend, who has taught me more about hands-on signing.