USL resources forum trial upload

Dec.2011/Jan.2012 Mission Update Helen: Happy New Year to you. We've done a lot of ministry this Christmas but it has been lovely for the most part. We are blessed to be a blessing and I hope we are being. Time now for reconnecting with our wonderful friends back home.

We received 10 Christmas Cards. Thank you for these, they were a huge encouragement. Your prayers, texts and emails also encourage us enormously. Please forgive us failing to reply promptly if at all. We’ll do our best. Lots of love and blessings to you all too.

Adam: Visiting Maria and Jerome briefly was really special and reassuring. Each hosted me for a night and we enjoyed a couple of meals out together as well as sorting out some planning issues, such as flights for them to visit us in April.

Amongst these reunions it was lovely to briefly catch up with many family and friends. Thanks to all of you who

helped in us all your unique ways. In This Update Eruba Primary/All Saints Infants cultural exchange.

Encouraging Arua’s Deaf/Hearing Leaders to plan jointly

Equipping ourselves with more Ugandan sign vocabulary

Equipping bi-lingual teachers of deaf/hearing with IT skills.

Families celebrate their deaf son/daughters’ achievements

Adam in the Refiner’s fire: The plumb line

Helen’s Signs and Wonders: Surprises.

News from the family

January 2012’s Focus: See Calendar on last page

DEAF CONNECTIONS A ministry of YYWAM Arua modelling and fostering

more interdependent deaf/hearing community life

Coordinated by:

ADAM & HELEN FIELDER

c/o YWAM Arua, PO Box 442

Arua, Uganda, E.Africa

42 Tintern Way, Bedworth,

Warks. CV12 9SS

[email protected]

facebook: Helen Adam Fielder

www.deafconnections.blogspot.com Please email us if you’d like to receive our prayer points.

As you learn more about Christ, your nature will become more like him.

When people are part of Christ, there is no difference between … …Greek people and Jews… …people who are circumcised or not.

… people from various societies. ...between slaves and free people. Christ is the most important person. And Christ is in all Christians.’

Colossians 3:10b-12 , Easy English Bible

DEAF CONNECTIONS – a ministry of YWAM Arua

THE NEED: Communities with deaf members in NW Uganda have asked for help to

remove the communication and social barriers to participation, learning & earning.

OUR VALUES determine who we are, how we live and how we make decisions. We want:

- To know God’s nature, character and ways so we can reflect who He is in all areas of our lives.

- To cooperate with God by listening to Him and obeying His commands as we make decisions

- To show God’s kind of justice and mercy, and walk humbly with Him

- To share the transformation that God has made in our lives, and that He can make in society.

MISSION: To promote interdependency between deaf(d) and hearing(h) people by:

- Encouraging Christians, regardless of their communication method to adopt the above values.

- Equipping fellow interdependency advocates to develop vital sign-language resources.

- Empowering advocates who can support, teach, train or employ deaf and hearing

OUR GOAL:

Families, schools, workplaces, communities who prosper through higher interdependency.

Twelve deaf and hearing fellow advocates equipped to realise our vision/values in the region.

.

OUR VISION:

That more deaf & hearing people may see themselves

& each other as God's workmanship, beloved children

and co-workers as we model/foster interdependency

(Ephesians 2:10, John 1:12, Exodus 4:11)

Eruba Primary/All Saints Infants children try each others everyday food/toys/messages and stories.

Adam: During my brief visit to England in November I re-visited all Saints Infants School in our

home town to bring them some examples of home-made African toys and musical instruments.

I also showed photos of the deaf and hearing children at Eruba primary school tasting English-

style food and happily looking at the story books, pictures, stationary and messages Helen had

brought from All Saints children in September. All Saints Infant school have asked me to take a

copy of their latest class story book and show the actions they make as they read it..

Ad: Four local hearing and deaf teachers of

the deaf (ToDs) a youth leader and a social

inclusion volunteer attended the IT training we

coordinated recently. They were ably support-

ed by the four deaf we trained in IT last year.

Here Ayub, in the foreground was demon-

strates how he is producing some football

signs worksheets. Hearing ToD Margaret, next

to him, then asked if he could help her

reproduce similar resources for netball.

These are now well underway.

Such partnerships are so exciting to watch

and are paving the way for some sports

interdependency sensitization events we hope

to support later this year.

Equipping bi-lingual teachers of deaf/hearing with IT skills.

Encouraging Arua’s potential lead deaf and hearing interdependency

advocates to plan jointly … … began in December. We invited them to share their visions, plans and expectations of each other. We shared our own too and this is clarifying more sharply where there is common vision, and therefore what teamwork is really possible. Progress is not easy for a number of reasons. However, we will persevere. We believe these meetings will provide a broader perspective for us all on current opportunities, issues, and solutions. Adam

Equipping our-selves with more Ugandan

sign vocabulary. Helen: In early December Adam and I spent three days learning from experienced Ugandan National Deaf Association (UNAD) sign-language instructor Moses. He would like us to train him how to co-develop illustrated sign-language resources this year too.

Five more families celebrate their deaf son/daughters’ vocational training achievements

in building and driving … … and would like to join us in recording our appreciation to all our partners including vocational training centre partner West Nile Ecumenical VTC for their continuing willingness to train deaf alongside their hearing students. We are working together to improve this opportunity even more next February by providing further communication support for all students and staff. We hope to offer new deaf students access to carpentry too. Access to the driving course will not be available because we cannot sustain the current additional costs needed to test deaf student drivers.

Adam In the Refiner’s Fire: The plumb line

Our YWAM Arua base theme for 2012 is “raise the standard”. We really want to model this as people, and across our programmes with our local partners. For me this means focussing on quality not quantity.

Consequently we expect to run fewer programmes, but all of which are underpinned by written agree-ments. We have drawn these up to clarify and agree expectations since false assumptions can easily arise in cross-cultural team-work. 9 “Zerubbabel will lay the foundations for my Temple, and he will finish building it. Then you will know that the LORD All-Powerful sent me to you people. 10 People will not be ashamed of the small beginnings, and they will be very happy when they see Zerubbabel with the plumb line, [a] measuring and checking the finished building. Zechariah 4:9-11 (ERV)

Helen’s Signs & Wonders - Surprises Ruth (left), the deaf lady who was baptised last year and Aliisha (centre), the deaf Muslim lady who is so committed to attending church, came to our Sun Run on 27th. Unfortunately they arrived after the event. Ruth had walked all the way from by the airfield and probably set off at 7.00am - the same time we started the fun run! When she arrived on foot at 9.00am she was in time for the ‘bring and share breakfast.’ We enjoyed a laugh together. Exemplary time management by the deaf for our Kings Kids planning meeting was encouraging; however I had a challenge because the interpreter was late! Eventually she and more hearing turned up and we had useful deaf awareness training followed by planning. We hope to have a total of 40 mixed deaf and hearing for our Kings Kids week commencing 16th Jan. Our friend, Walter, also a UK YWAMer who is deaf in one ear is coming to join us on staff so we look forward to that. Christmas Day we had a surprise visit from Ivan. He cycled 10km on an oversized bike with bare feet in order to greet us and thank us for supporting him through Eruba Deaf Unit. Ivan came to the Kings Kids programme last year and as a result of seeing his enthusiasm to learn we spoke to his mother and Pastor and agreed a financial partnership to get him into deaf school. He is doing well. It was a blessing to see him and to share some time together. The kids on the base were so friendly to him which reflects the increasingly warm welcome that the YWAM base gives to deaf visitors. H.

Maria: A lot has been going on this semester at

Uni. As part of the Boat Club (rowing) I competed

in the Northern Universities Indoor Championships

and was pleased to come 2/22 in the Lightweight

category and 13/69 in Heavyweight.

I've continued training with the Athletics club and

am preparing for the BUCS Cross Country race in

February. My work at a local pub is going well

and it's safe to say I can pull a decent pint!

Over Christmas I'm travelling a lot and so hope

to see many of you, apologies to those I can't! In

January I'm Skiing in Avoriaz with Uni. so am most

definitely looking forward to that! (well bar the 23 hr

coach trip! :P) Wishing you all Merry christmas and

happy new year!!!

Jerome: Happy Christmas! I've just finished my first term at college and I'm really

enjoying it. I've made plenty of friends and established a few farming contacts!

I'm traveling around this Christmas and its nice to have a break.

I will be lambing just after new year so that should be exciting.

Laurence: Hi. I've been playing football

every evening on the base with some kids,

its usually good fun.

We have been thinking more about the

wind turbine, which we are going to use a

bike wheel for. Unfortunately yesterday my

friends left for America basically until I go

back to England which is annoying. Some

of the kids on the base are also moving to

Kitgum, 8hrs travel away, because their

parents are helping to start a new base

from Labone, S. Sudan. Dad went there

last year.

It’s only the mid week 10.45 EAT arsenal

matches I can’t watch (unless it’s a very big

game)and we are doing well. The arsenal-

wolves game is about to start. I hope Van

persie beats Alan Shearers goal scoring

record and Thierry Henry is signed.

Walter a family friend is coming to visit

really soon which will be good, as is it is

nice to have visitors. We’ve just had a litter

of 8 rabbits. The one shown became sick

and we tried to save it but it later died..

News from the family:

Deaf Connections Ministry, YWAM Arua: Programme: Jan. – Dec. 2012.

partnering local deaf & hearing (D & H) interdependency advocates (IAs):

Diocesan Special Needs Coordinator, Eruba Primary Sch.(EPS), W. Nile Ecumenical Vocational Trg. Inst. (WNEVTC),

St. Phillips Church(SPC), UNAD Arua District Association. of Deaf–(ADAD), Arua Town Library Month Encouraging deaf & hearing (D

& H) Christians:

Equipping (IA)s co-

developing specialist

sign-language resources

- Empowering Interdependency advocates (IAs) who can

support, teach, train or employ deaf/hearing:

(TBC/A = To Be Confirmed/Agreed)

Visitors/Visits

Jan. 9-28th H&D Go Camp. 16-25yrs

16–20th H&D Kings Kids 8-16yrs

Carpentry signs

Everyday signs booklet.

Needs Assessment Update TBC

Developing 2011 –13 Strategy (Continued)

W. visits us

Feb. Bible drama – on-going

Plan Discipleship Training Sch.

(DTS)

Netball Signs

1st ,2nd ,3rd IT Course for

teachers of deaf. 2-5pm

4th/5th Training/selection of outreach team/activitiesTBC

11th & 12th Weekend S/L Workshop: Rhino Camp Parish TBC

13th WNEVTC’s hearing/deaf Carpentry course starts. TBC

W/c 18th 10am-1pm, Eruba Primary Sch. AM Sign Workshop

Sat. 18th 8am-Midday, Arua Prim. Sch. Sign Workshop staff/

deaf students families, Also 25th Feb, 4th &11th Mar TBC

Mar. Plan for 2012 DTS Bible book Signs TBC Census of deaf people: Okollo/Offaka Parish TBC

Apr. Plan for 2012 DTS Volley ball Signs?

Health Signs?

Inter-school Sport Signs Workshop/ football match TBC

Weekend S/L Workshop: Okollo/Offaka TBC

1 -13 Maria &

Jerome visit

May TBA Census of deaf people: Koboko/Offaka Parish TBC

3 day Diocesan-wide Special Needs Workshop TBC

P & C visit us?

Jun. DTS Lecture Phase Starts TBA Weekend S/L Workshop: Koboko TBC

Pilot market garden vocational training scheme for D & H

Jul. DTS Lecture Phase TBA Ds. visit us L. To UK

Aug DTS Lecture Phase TBA

Sept DTS Outreach Phase Starts TBA L back to Ug.

Oct. DTS Outreach Phase TBA Friends visit ?

Nov. DTS Outreach Phase TBA

Dec. Plan for 2013 DTS

Plan for 2013 DC Programme

14/12 -8/1 TBC

Fielders in UK