Kidz Konnect January 2023

 What a wonderful time serving with Kidz Konnect!  We are so blessed to serve alongside this ministry in various functions.  This was the first time I went a day early. Abi's time to serve is in January.  We finished our school day and arrived at camp Tuesday night to disucss Wednesday.  Abi decided to stay back at camp to work on school work.  

It was so cool going to Mullins River for the first time.  We met people at a church. I love getting to know them and the lack of "rush" involved. I could sit with people and hear their story.

  After the patients were taken care of, we ate lunch. We then drove to Gale's point.  This is a bit further out, a community on a peninsula. House visits were the fare.  How rewarding to meet people and understand where they are living and a bit about what drives them.

The rest of the clinic went by in a bit of a blur. Abi had the opportunity (as she's now 18!) to not serve alongside me. She did some learning of her own and shadowed Becky.  

Nathanael of course visited with a van of Deaf from Orange Walk.  There was a PA in the group who knew some sign language. He connected well with the community of deaf.  

Kidz Konnect is always a blessing, a way to connect and a different way to serve the community. 

 

Kidz Konnect October 2022

 After a year and a half of not being able to go go Kidz Konnect, it was so refreshing to return. 

Taking a blood sugar

Nathanael was able to get people from both the Spanish Lookout area as well as the deaf from Orange Walk. It was fun and challenging to have new people to navigate their health with.  We look forward to continuing in the future!

Kristen helps Dr Ed by interpreting

Kristen is also learning the "art" of professional interpreting. Her mom and uncle are deaf so she has experience. Nathanael is giving her the skills and time to do it. Kristen is in her last year of high school and we hope that this will lead to a good job for her.

Triage with a baby :)

It is fun to be able to walk through the process with the Deaf to have them be completely understood while they are navigating their medical care. At times, we have to put the pieces together of the other care they have received and the medicines they are on. It is a maze and an adventure.

Zion helping interpret fot the people who gave out glasses

The greatest "accomplishment" this time was from a young guy. He really needed some glasses. Fortunately there was a team who was there just to provide basic glasses.   For me I was floored. He is a young guy (15) who has a full time job. He relies on sign language for communication. I can't imagine having to figure things out without being able to see well. We are so excited for him!! 

Of course post clinic I was able to visit, explain meds and do some follow up care. 

Me taking a blood pressure in Orange Walk and explaining meds/visiting with the family

We are so thankful for those who serve with Kidz Konnect!! It helps us better serve the deaf of Belize. 

The in-between

Is there anything else that happens ministry wise in Orange Walk? I made a comment on the video we made for Hopewell. I mentioned something about bonbons.

Actually, I am not sure if they even sell bonbons in Belize.

There are a number of things that happen that don't fit into a specific category (or day).  We are here to do Deaf ministry.  Nathanael is blessed to have been an interpreter prior to coming to Belize.

Just as in the USA, Nathanael walks with the Deaf here as they interact in the community.

He has gone to the hospital with sick people.  He is in the process of helping one woman who has a possible gallbladder issue.

At the beginning of our second term we had a guy from across the street stop by. He is a policeman and had a Deaf man in custody. Since then Nathanael has gotten the word out. He brings his card with his Belizean number to every visit he makes to the police station. He has visited the police office for different issues 10 or more times.





The third thing Nathanael does is work with the ministry of education.  He has done it less this year than our first term. The main reason for this is he is currently the head pastor of Jesus Deaf Church. While we were on our internship with Nancy in 2015-2016, she held the primary responsibility. Since our return, that duty has been passed to us. He has however worked several times at Saint Peters with Morene. He helped her study for the spelling bee, he also tutored her at the end of the school year.

He interpreted for some of the students exams in Cayo.

He also lead some workshops in 3 towns in August for teachers. (similar to continuing education classes in the US)

We are thankful that the "other" things that add variety to our life. We don't always know when they will happen. We are grateful that we are allowed to be a part of this. Thank you for helping us in this journey, for being a bigger part of what God is doing in Belize.

Spring

A place of grief

There have been some people in our lives lately who are grieving. I have come to recognize that different people grieve in different ways. There are also stages of grief.

This time our first stage came as a shock.  Nathanael received news that Sharee Bennett had passed away. He met her on our first term in Belize. He invited her to church.  Since then she came to Orange Walk many times. She hung out with friends and went to church.

A Selfie of Sharee

Nathanael also was helping in 2016 in the process of getting her medication for goiter. The trouble was in patient compliance.  It wasn't until after we had returned to the US, that she had received the medication she needed.  She went back and forth between compliance and no-compliance.  It was a health issue that eventually lead to her passing.

Sharee and Angelica

Although she had had issues off and on we didn't realize she was so close to death. It came as a shock to the community.

People at Jesus Deaf Church playing Apples to Apples

Nathanel had to navigate with her family, and the Deaf ministry that goes to Belize City every other week.  Her family choose the church where Sharee was married to have the funeral.

We brought the people from our church who were able to come. The van was full. It was difficult since her funeral was on a Thursday for some. The people who have jobs weren't able to come. Nathanael instead allowed some time for people to share on Sunday during church. It was nice for me to hear other's stories of how Sharee impacted them.

The last time Sharee was at church

Thanks for joining us in grieving and remembering Sharee.

Scenes from the funeral

the "Deaf section" of the funeral

Nathanael interpreted the funeral

This happened this past Sunday. We are still reeling from it's impact.  (that and Nathanael and I discussed where in Belize can we find smoke detectors) Zion used to occasionally play with the 10 year old girl when she went with Nathanael to help out at Saint Peter's school. Zion is struggling with the loss of someone her own age.

Thank you for praying with us.

All Quiet on the Davis Front?

I just read a post from a popular gossip column.  Apparently, a reality star couple was asking for financial support from their fans.  They are missionaries in Central America.  The website ripped them up and down for asking for support.


I personally felt my stomach turn as I read the article.  Gossip columns are meant to sensationalize, and that is what happened.  I find myself very thankful that I am not a reality TV star.

Since being confirmed with both EMM and CTEN, our biggest mission is now fundraising.  When people even hear it they feel for us.  Fundraising seems to evoke many feelings, mostly because it has to do with money.  EMM gave us a book as we first started with them called the Spirituality of Fundraising.  It was so important to look at fundraising from God's perspective.

We recognize that through our own efforts, we are unable to provide for ourselves in Belize. We have to depend on others to come alongside of us.  People who believe in what God is doing in the Deaf community in Orange Walk.

We are also aware that we have to put effort into it.  One lecture at our CTEN orientation was entitled "The Big Ask".  We were taught that statistically, the best way to raise support is to ask individually. This was a challenging, yet important thing to discuss. When we were speaking at Finland, Pastor Chris taught an important sermon about all money being God's.  How timely for us to remember.

So is our house quiet?  Nathanael has been spending every spare moment contacting people.  He is using facebook, texting, email and face to face.  I have been working at thank you notes to those who supported the work on our internship.

Fundraising has been a learning journey for both of us.  I can tell you went into it green, expecting, and dreading.  This being our second time at this, I can truly say this is a part of our journey.  God has taught us so much through it.  Is it our favorite thing?  Not really.  At the same time, God has guided, encouraged and surprised us.  We are thankful to him and to you for where we are.

If you haven't heard from Nathanael (or I) don't worry, you will :). Thank you for being our friends and for supporting us on this journey.  Every little bit counts. We are so thankful for the support.

Equal Access

Nathanael has been a professional interpreter for over 10 years.  He has completed his degree and studied how to take words from English to ASL and ASL to English.  Interpreting ASL as with any language is difficult. There is a differences in grammar and syntax.  One does not simply listen and spit out the signs, concept is interpreted. It takes a professional to understand context, idioms, and give them to someone else hopefully with it's meaning in entirety.

In the United States it is the law to provide interpreters.  When going to a doctor's office, meeting, or even school; it isn't just expected it's required.

In Belize the first interpreters started working in schools just a few years ago.  Up until now they were former teachers who knew some signs or people who had picked up signs.

In Orange Walk, Nathanael has many hats.  As we wrote in a previous post, he spends 3 afternoons a week disciplining Deaf men in the area and 1 day in Belize city.

Interpreting is another "hat" that Nathanael wears often.  He has gone to doctor's appointments, work meetings and more.  Two separate men have had improvements in their jobs.  They now have a ability to communicate at a greater level with their co-workers. They can discuss issues, and understand what is being asked of them.

Nathanael is honored to be able to facilitate communication.  He has great goals to provide access to all of the Deaf in Orange Walk.
Na
and as a bonus..

Can anyone guess what song Ni and Josue are singing?

Finding retreat

This Monday we left with Nancy, Sulmi, and Danni (from the YWAM team) heading for Placencia, Belize.  We made a few stops on the way, one to the zoo. 

It was nice that Nancy stopped several times to help the 5 hour trip not feel so long.  We really enjoyed the zoo!  I also loved the artbox which had a selection of Christian books and CD's along with a bunch of beautifully handcrafted items.

At around 4:30pm we arrived in Placencia.  Why did we go?  We joined 3 other families, our supervisors, and 4 other singles for an EMM retreat.  All of the missionaries in Central America get together once a year.  This year it was in Belize so we had a shorter car trip.  One family didn't come. They live in Hondorus and the Honduran government gave them unexpected trouble at the border.  That was disappointing!

We spent 2 days fellowshipping, eating together talking and playing.  Twice a day we had sessions with Rich and Rachel Deeds who lead groups north of Placencia.  They do ministry at a place called Life Change Institute.  Nathanael and Danni interpreted for Nancy during the sessions.

We had wonderful childcare workers, some who are serving in Guatemala, and some who came from the States just to help with the children.  Our children really had fun.  The bulk of the children knew each other from Oasis and training in the summer of 2014.  It was good to be with friends especially other TCK's/MK's. 

While I am on the subject, I read an awesome article about TCK's I will share the link to.  Really it is Nathanael and my job to shepherd their hearts.  Lucianna also comes beside us to make sure the children are thought about and cared for.  I think though it helps if "you" the reader understand a bit of the world that my children live in. Saying goodbye often and struggling with emotions are common for them.  They are still unsure how to answer where they are "from" or where home is.  Sometimes they hate it here. Just last week Zion decide that when we leave in June she won't come with us.  This is just a part of the roller coaster we are all on.

We left the retreat encouraged and saddened. Saying goodbye is difficult.  It is our hope that we have raised enough funds to return by next year's retreat.  At this point we are not sure what will happen.

Thank you for supporting and praying for  us!