Student Stories - Clarissa A

Today we had an opportunity to go and do some work at a deaf church. I was very excited because I knew enough signing to actually communicate with some deaf people. When we had arrived, we had met with one of the pastors who was deaf. He wrote on pieces of paper to communicate to us. But once I communicated with him through sign language, he had signed more with me to communicate with the rest of the group. As a group, he had to scrape the floors because it was stained with paint and they needed to paint over it. It was a fun experience because we were put into groups and having a fun time trying to figure out how to get the paint off the ground. Pastor John, and Dave worked on the alter in the actual church. The church was very torn and dirty and full of damage. However, we are trying our best to help clean the place, and to provide these people a better place to meet in. During our lunchtime was when we were actually having a real conversation with the deaf pastor. I had personally learned so much just speaking to him. He is such a nice guy and he had appreciated us trying to sign with him. I was basically the interpreter for my group and him because I know the most sign language. It is just so interesting signing with him. He talks about how the hurricane killed about sixteen people of his congregation. Eight of them were deaf, and all who died were very old in age. It was also fun going to home depot and trying to start conversations with people. By the end of the day, we all felt very accomplished and pleased with what we had done. We look forward for tomorrow of spending time with the pastor, and the new experiences God has in store for us.