Christmas Play & Christmas Day!

December has been full of festivities. It is Christmas morning here at the Ranch and a warm 61 degrees praise God for the sunshine and warm wind. We all began our day with a late breakfast 8:30am of sweet bread aka Krispy Kream Donuts, leche y huevos. The kids faces were all lite up with excitement and glee because this morning we would be celebrating someones birthday...JESUS. They were also excited to open up the many gifts that churches, families, and other groups had donated to the Ranch. Our chow hall was completely full of colors; red, green, yellow, purple, pink, orange, silver, and gold. The beautiful thing that came to mind before we opened up these gifts was that on this very special day I was spending Christmas/ Navidad with my family. Everywhere I go or travel I gain more brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, then I could ever imagine, and what better way than to be thankful for my new Rancho Sordo Mudo family. My cup overflows when I am surrounded by people whom I love.

On the 19th we had the annual Christmas obra/play and all the families were invited. It was a joy to meet so many families and share with them how their sons or daughters were doing in school. I was forced to verbally use my Spanish, which was so much fun. I love this language and now I am learning Spanish in sign language who knew....(God did). The play was fantastic, and all the kids worked so hard. We set our play in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico where the Virgin Mary was called upon by God to carry his son, who was to be called Jesus. So we had the girls wearing colorful Mexican skirts, and the boys had red or green cumber buns with bow ties . We changed the scenery from Bethlehem to more of a modern day pueblo in Mexico. The kids remembered their lines, and signed beautifully. After the play we had a short skit called "Everything-check it out online YouTube" we copied this skit, very powerful. Then we finished our obra with a fun Christmas dance to a song called HOY ES NAVIDAD. It was a day of celebration and watching the kids share the beautiful story about the birth of our Savior. Also on this special day some of the kids witnessed to their families and some of them accepted Christ into their lives. Amen. xxoxoxoo. Peace be with you all this Christmas.

Christmas is coming...

The icicle lights are hung on our house, a tree is decorated, Christmas music is playing, the weather is cooler, and I am wearing a sweater. This time of year is so much fun. We are all excited to bring the Christmas story alive in our very own drama here at the Ranch. We have the angels, wise men, Mary, Joseph, donkey, cow, sheep, a of course baby Jesus. The play will take place in a little pueblo called Valle de Guadalupe. The homes will be decorated with bright colors. The shepherds will be wearing sombreros, pinatas will be displayed on the streets, and twinkling lights will illuminate the sky. It is fun to see the kids work so hard to memorize lines for the the play, and watch their faces light up because they know that their families will be coming to see them perform. It is a joyous time of year. Busy little ELVES are we. In all of this hustle and bustle the GOOD NEWS is to be shared..."For God so loved the world that he gave his one an only son, that who so ever believed in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." JOHN 3:16.

Where does the time go these days? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here at the Ranch. I was encouraging my kids all month to remember to give thanks for everything that they had received. I enjoyed watching them give thanks for their daily vitamins, for a friend sharing their snack, thanking Juanita for cooking all of our delicious meals, thanking the teachers for all hard work, thanking the groups for fixing repairs needed here at the Ranch, and thanking God for providing them with a place to live, learn, and to feel loved. Our Director Luke shared with all the staff about when the Ranch was just getting started and his Mom has taken in several kids to teach them sign, but one day she knew she wasn't going to be able to feed the kids let alone her own six children. Luke's mom sat down all of the kids and had them pray. Later that afternoon their prayers were answered by a gentlemen who was serving on a mission trip and heard about a deaf school being started so he decided to bring over some groceries and a bag of pinto beans (frijoles). Interesting enough till this very day the Ranch has never run out of pinto beans. Since I have been our food room has been low, but again we all are faithful and trust that God will provide. He is our provider and this Thanksgiving I was blessed to share a wonderful meal with my Ranch family.