12 November 2015
Praise be to God! After a long battle, we as of Noon today have Internet. You may remember that we tried many months ago to get Internet and were told a variety of reasons why we couldn't. Most were bogus. Cheyenne even went last September and put in a new contract. They said it could be connected almost immediately since they had checked with "headquarters." Two days later a man called and said there were no numbers available (after headquarters verified that everything was go). We smelled a rat but what could we do?
Last week Cheyenne and I went to the village and just happened upon a man working on the main panels of connections. He said there were plenty of connections available and started asking questions. Finally, he blew all the other "excuses" we had heard apart and gave us the pole number, the box and his name. This time we were assured that it would be hooked up (hold your breath). Yesterday the installers came and confessed they were here because of the special request put in by our new friend. It turns out he is the company representative for this village and apparently has some clout. They installed everything and went to make the connections at the center, but found that the key they had broken earlier in the day was the one required to open the panel. They would fix it "tomorrow." If you have chatted with us much, you know "tomorrow" means "NOT today."
Today they arrived after fixing the connection at the panel and checked that everything was OK and away they went.
Praise the Lord for the answer to prayer because for about two years the connection has been at best very shaky. We have often written or responded to emails only to find they went no where. Our connection showed that it was sent correctly, but somewhere along the way it would fizzle. Of course we went forward thinking things were properly handled. It would be several weeks or months later that we would find out the recipient never heard from us. It has been one of the most frustrating things we have faced in ministry.
Cheyenne was diagnosed with dengue this past week. She complained with her back hurting but she often carries massive loads back and forth from town. Saturday she started with fever and was quickly diagnosed. Prayerfully, with antibiotics she should be able to come out of it soon. If you are able, whisper a prayer for her.
The church carries on as they should and are learning to take responsibilities and make decisions completely on their own. We have tried from the very first to teach them to own the ministry, but they have felt happy to make a temporary decision and then ask for our opinion. Little by little they are taking full ownership and moving on. Do not forget that the deaf are NOT dumb or slow, but they must process things greatly different than we. Many of the things we learned as children are not part of their culture. That doesn't make them wrong or slow. They need only to be guided correctly from the Word of God and they do begin to master the principles in the Bible. Since we start with zero knowledge of the Bible or its concepts we compare their understanding of Bible truths as nearly Kindergarten level (when starting). They are brilliant and able, but they have never been taught. Try to teach doctrine to a five year old. Do NOT misunderstand, their ability and possibilities are without limit, but their education has been non-existent or very inferior. Therefore, abstract concepts or difficult areas must be put into a picture language for them. Please continue to pray as they develop in the Lord.
Lord willing, these updates will get back on schedule and our connections will be corrected. Thank you for praying and giving.
Gary & Ann
Comments