Yesterday, I got to experience open house at one of the high schools in our area. This building was unlike any I had been in before, because its hallways were outdoors, and its buildings were labeled by number, which made finding classrooms pretty difficult. My main purpose however, was not to enjoy the scenery the school provided, but start a relationship with the two teachers my Deaf student (well call him Jay) has throughout the school day.
When I first came to Miami, I knew one of my main missions while being here would be to invest a great deal of time in a youth named Jay, who moved from El Salvador in his early teens. He is now 16 and is in his 3rd year of schooling. He is also Deaf. Needless to say, my job was not going to be easy; then again, when is our task for God every easy? This was going to be a true test of my patience and spiritual gifts.
I met Jay in my first week of training and he completed disregarded me as a human being. I started to see how much ASL he knew, and that made him frustrated, to the point where he stopped looking at me and walked out of the room. This is when it got serious in my mind. My challenge was not simply to teach him or tutor him, I had to get him to trust me and my knowledge first! When gearing up for this mission well before I even arrived in Miami, this was a major aspect I overlooked.
Since this first encounter, I have eased my way into his life. He now looks at me when I sign to him and acknowledges the sign he knows, but has illustrated a signing level of a kindergartner or first grader, so my mission is much deeper than I thought.
Meeting his teachers was the final preparatory step that I needed to complete before administering work or tutoring sessions to Jay. Both of Jay's teachers are Deaf and have an interpreter in the classroom just in case. When I entered the classroom last night, and was the only representative for any student in the Deaf Education program present, I almost cried. How could parents not care? How could these kids not get attention at home? That's when it hit me. I am Jay's attention provider and can make even more of an influence on him if my relationship with his teachers and with him grows even stronger outside of the workplace. I spent the next hour signing and not verbalizing anything, except when I forgot a word and had to ask the interpreter what it was. My gift of ASL knowledge was used more than I have used it in quite some time, and led to the teachers asking me to come into Jay's classroom in the mornings, so I can be encouraging to him throughout the whole day. How many times have we needed that attention in our lives? How many times have you said, I just need a constant, or someone who I can turn to for help anytime? We have it. It's Christ. As servants of Christ, we are made to be like Christ, and strive to do as He would in any situation we encounter. As I go about my time here and continue to be in Jay's classroom and his after-school time, I am going to be a constant. He needs it, just like we need Christ. I will make it my mission to be that earthly reminder to him, and hope that he learns to identify with that aspect of me.
After this hour long signing conversation, my hands started to cramp up, and it threw me off because that had not happened in quite some time. But, those cramped hands were a reminder that the work I do as a missionary may not be easy, and it may cause some discomfort or pain, but the end result will be within God's will for me, so it is all worth it in the end.
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