It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...Christmas?

While here in the US, most of us have taken down our Christmas decorations and have made our New Year’s resolutions, at Sam’s Place, January typically brings a special celebration. At this time of year, a small team travels to Sam’s Place to deliver Christmas gifts for the children, teachers and staff and to help kick off the beginning of the school year.

Team members who travel to Sam’s Place at this time of year get to witness an incredible tradition. The children, teachers and staff each receive a gift bag containing gifts chosen for them, but they also receive some cash to go shopping. While this might seem like a small thing to us, for our children, it is a major event. Because they are Deaf, our children are typically shunned by people in the community. They view our children as cursed and interacting with our children could invite the curse onto themselves. Team leader, Dawn Deitmen, described what happened this year, “Until 5 years ago many of our children had never walked into a store with so many choices; they are learning to budget and make smart choices with the amount of money they have, but more importantly the hearing world is getting to interact with our Deaf children and see they are not cursed or bad or mentally ill. They are just children who don’t hear. The cashier and bagger interacted and joked with them, asked many questions about Sam’s Place and told me what many Kenyans think of the deaf. The bagger commented that these children are fun and very smart. He didn’t think that before. They were great. The managers and other employees hung around watching the interaction of our children.” Our children are changing how people in Kenya see the Deaf, one encounter at a time.

In addition to receiving gifts, the trip included an opportunity for the children to serve others. On Sunday, the children went to Magesa Church of Christ to conduct worship service and serve the members and children a meal. They spent most of Saturday afternoon preparing and practicing, from little Valentine to our oldest children and were very excited to serve. Tyson and Brian M preached for the congregation. In the words of team member, Steve Beall, “It was a full house of hearing and Deaf worshipping God our Father in the perfect unity of Christ.”

While there, the team also helped address some medical and dental needs, including facilitating a surgery to improve one child’s vision. They also helped with arrangements for kicking off the new school year - a school that now has THREE classes of high school students.

Many thanks to everyone that helped provide gifts or contributed funds for the trip. As you will see from the photos in our January 2020 Gallery, you helped put smiles on their faces! When we look at the children at Sam’s Place and where they are today, it is easy to forget how far they have come. Ten years ago, most of these children had never set foot in a school. They lost their parents and because they were Deaf, no one was willing to take them into their home. They were abandoned and left to forage for themselves on the street or became the family or village slave. They came to us malnourished and uneducated, without a language for communication and without an understanding of the love of God. In ten years time, they have grown into smart, successful, resilient, and loving children. But the work is not finished. Every year, we identify more children that need our help. Even now, preparations are being made to bring more children to Sam’s Place. If you would be interested in helping sponsor a child or donating to special projects at Sam’s Place, click on the Donate button at the top of the page.