February News

On Wednesday 6 February 2019, after eighteen years of amazing commitment to the Lord and the deaf in Fiji, Jim and Marilyn said farewell to the school staff, hostel staff, children, ex-pupils and friends, and headed back to Rhode Island in the USA for a much-needed rest and some cooler weather. I heard Marilyn saying to someone, this isn’t “good bye”, as we will be back. We wish them well as they are able to spend more time with their children, grandchildren, wider family and friends, and look forward to their return visits to Fiji. Please continue to pray for them as they adjust to this new stage in life.
Our hostels are almost overflowing this year but everyone seems to find a place to lie down at night. Mere, who looks after our younger boys in the main hostel, has fifteen downstairs, where last year she had nine - and that seemed a lot.
Mosese (centre), her youngest at 5 years, is new this year and does not enjoy saying goodbye to his parents when they visit each fortnight. Mere is a wonderful “mother” to her boys and they are pretty well behaved after they have been with her for a few months. She has the ability to give them such a severe look that even I feel scared – she will then turn her head the other way with a huge lovely smile. She is beautiful inside and out.
The children pick up sign language quickly when they are living in the hostel and when they return home for holidays, their parents struggle to learn the new signs, after having developed their own ways of communicating with their children.
The hostel for the older boys is also very full and there are eleven living in a two-bedroom house. Hopefully the new hostel is getting a little closer to becoming a reality!! We certainly need it.
We were expecting Bola and Ruth and their two young daughters from Nigeria to join us at the beginning of February, when they were both going to be teaching at school and also giving some training to the teachers. However, due to some transit visa issues in Brisbane, their arrival was put off until the end of February. It was with great sadness that we learned recently of Ruth’s sudden death and now Bola’s arrival time is uncertain. He will reassess the situation in six months’ time. There will be huge adjustments for them to go through, without coming to a foreign country at this early stage.
Thank you for your prayer support – we have seen many answers. Please continue to pray for the children, that they will learn the value of honesty. There are incidents which occur from time to time, and unfortunately from children you would least expect it from. Also pray for the younger children as they leave their parents and settle into hostel and school life.

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