Angels among us

Yesterday was a pretty awesome day.  I was riding high after a great weekend in which I got a lot done.  Patrick and I met with the deaf adult group that we started and we are seeing a lot of success.  After a couple of months we have raised a decent amount of money for this group.  We had a great meeting in which we shared ideas for what we should do with the money.  For those of you that don’t remember, this is a self-help group so we intend to use the money to benefit the members of the group in some way or maybe help one member at a time.  Some ideas were pretty simple, buying some baby chicks, raising them and then selling them when they mature.  Baby chicks are cheap around 50 to 100 shillings and a full grown chicken sells for maybe 400 shillings so we can make a profit over time to share with the group(ok, I’m completely guessing with these numbers but you get the idea).  Another idea was to buy some new and better carpentry equipment for the carpenters in the group.  Some people even suggested to start a hotel (not a real American hotel but a small cafe).  Some members want to start a shop.

After the meeting, Patrick and I were like a couple of excited kids in a candy store because we were so happy that our group is working.  We both have high hopes for the group such as helping some of the very few students that can make it to college pay for it.

Then Monday rolls around.  All of my students showed up on time and I was just in the zone.  I found some things that were working and I went with it.  We are learning the days of the week and the months of the year.  And they are getting it!  I also brought out a new book and I feel like my skills of reading in sign have really improved as I had everyone’s complete attention and they were really into the story.  I am also getting the feeling from them that they know not to mess with me which means I have done a good job of making sure they know the rules and the consequences of not following them.  Last week I caught two students clearly cheating on a test immediately after I had specifically reminded them of the rule NOT TO CHEAT.  I was livid.  I made one cheater clean the entire classroom by himself and the other had to wash all of the dishes and utensils after lunch.

Anyways, back to yesterday. I gave them some assignments to do and I was happy.  I also had some time to myself to read my book.  But as great as I was feeling, the best part was yet to come.

Just before dinner, I went back to my classroom to grab a notebook when Glory peeked in.  If you remember, Glory is the adorable little girl from my old class that follows me around a lot.  She came in and was followed by a few more little girls from the nursery.  Spontaneously, I thought this would be a good time to try reading to them and see if I can captivate them.  But of course, I wanted Maureen to be there, my old teacher’s pet and friend that I still sneak a candy bar to every now and then.  I told one of the girls to go get her and that I was going to read to them,  In a few seconds, Maureen was running across the school yard with a HUGE smile on her face.

I sat them down in a circle and tried my best to read the story.  When I finished I turned around to find 5 beautiful little girls beaming.  I even asked them a question about the story, and they answered it correctly!!!!

Great day all around.