Plans made in pen can still change

I was both excited and nervous as we were making our way to the school. Today was the first day of VBS, and I hadn’t seen the kids yet since I've been back. What would be their reaction? How many would be there? These questions disappeared from my mind when we pulled up to the school. The students came out running towards us and cheering. I don’t know if I have ever seen any bigger smiles! It was a fun day. There were a few students missing, but we still had majority of the students present! It was great to reconnect with them and the teachers. Everyone enjoyed the VBS and were excited for the rest of the week. The next day, when we were just in sight of the school, we saw the students jumping up and down pointing towards my truck. They motioned for the other students to come see. As we pulled into the school we were greeted with cheers and students eagerly wanting to help carry in the boxes of crafts supplies and story books.

It was fun seeing their reactions during the Bible stories. We used flannel graphs to tell the stories. The first day we taught on creation. Each kid chose an animal that they could place on the board in our garden of Eden scene. They liked this! We chose a main idea for them to learn each day. The first day’s theme was, “God made everything!” The next day when we asked what God made, they loved answering it! They began signing, “trees!” then “birds!” and “fish!” It was exciting seeing them respond. We emphasized that “Yes, God made it all!” We began the next lesson sharing about how sin entered the world and that a solution to the sin problem was coming. The next couple days we shared about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The students were captivated by the stories. The students were sad and questioning why did people want Jesus to die? As Kristin was telling the story with Jesus on the cross, one of the soldiers fell off the board. One of the students got up quickly to pick up the soldier. As he did, he waved his fist with an angry expression and pointed to Jesus with a sad look. The kids were all relieved when Jesus was alive again. We don’t know how much understanding the kids had as their language skills are still developing, but we do know that God is working. It was exciting to see how much the students have grown in their language over the last two years. We celebrated on the last day of VBS with “Jésus est ressuscité” (Jesus is resurrected) crowns. The kids loved making the crowns and taking pictures. Please keep praying for this group that they would continue to grown in their language and understanding that God loves them. Pray that their hearts would be drawn to Christ.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Within the first few days when I returned to Togo, I had taken my calendar and written in pencil the events for July. I told Ariana, when I have confirmed the events, I will write over the pencil with pen. I liked my system. When I wrote something in pen, it felt good. Little did I realize that even if it is written in pen, plans can still change. As we packing up on the final day of VBS, Kristin asked one of the teachers if we would see them on Monday for the teachers training. The teacher said no, they didn’t know about it. I was a bit frustrated and confused because I had to seek special approvals and fill out a special form to have permission to have the training, which I did. I don’t know why the information wasn’t shared to the teachers. I am thankful for the teachers flexibly and desire to still have the training. We were able to move the training to later in the week. One of the teachers was disappointed that he couldn’t come because he had already made plans, but it was the only date that worked for the others and us. The group for the training was small, but I believe the teachers found it helpful and enjoyed it.

Once the teacher training was done, I looked at my calendar and let out a deep breath. “The big event is coming.” This was the 3rd summer that the Village of Light was going to be hosting deaf camp. Around 150 campers were anticipated to be coming from all over. Surely, this was an event that I could write in pen on my calendar, right? I was shocked when three days before the start of camp, I received a text message that the organizers of the camp were canceling it for an unknown reason. We were devastated. The kids at VBS were looking forward to camp. We had helpers lined up. I laid my heart out to God. “I’m sad and I don’t understand. But I know I can trust You. Plans change, but You don’t. For God is good all time.” I began letting people know about the cancellation of camp. As I was talking with a friend about the cancellation, she said to me, “Liz, why don’t you still do camp but just for your people? You have already done 90% of the work.” I hesitated. “Yes, but I’m not sure how to get the last 10% done.” It was in that moment that I realized that my brain was still processing how to do camp for larger group, not smaller. A group of 20 is a lot easier to manage than a group of 150! I quickly began reaching out to people that camp was back on! It would be smaller, but that meant we could be more intentional with a smaller group. I am grateful for everyone who helped make camp happen. It was a special few days that I don’t think anyone will soon forget. The Gospel message was presented numerous times and lots of seeds were planted. Please keep praying for this group that the Gospel seeds would take root.

It was amazing having all the deaf students that I work with all together, including Jonas! I will share an update on him in my next newsletter. Although camp wasn’t what we expected, it was better. The 3 days of camp were jam-packed with activities. We had field games, water balloons, slip n slide, crafts, puzzles, tandem bike rides, and baking cookies! I don’t know what the future of camp holds, but I wouldn’t mind it looking like this again. Please pray for this ministry and wisdom on how to develop it.

I’m grateful for Kristin and Ariana serving alongside me. It was wonderful to be working with a team in the same ministry. I wish they could stay longer! Please continue to pray for teammates to join me in deaf ministry. I need help during the school year. Please pray for the Lord’s provision. I know I can trust Him.

“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.   Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-28

God bless,

Liz Ortiz

Prayer Requests:

• Praise the Lord that I received all the documents that I need for my residence card application. The Monday after camp, I submitted my application for my resident card! Please pray that it will be processed and approved quickly.

• Ariana had to leave Togo early due to some medical issues. We thank God that she was able to finish all the ministry events that we planned. Please pray for healing.

• Pray for the hearts of all those who came to VBS, camp, crochet workshop, and teacher training. Pray that the Gospel seeds that were planted would take root.

• Pray for wisdom as I plan for the school year.

• Pray for someone(s) to join me in the ministry full time.   

 Praises: 

• Praise God that Kristin and Ariana were able to come and serve in Togo!

• Praise God that Kristin and Ariana arrived back safely to their homes with all their luggage!

• Praise God that HE is in control!

• Praise God that HIS plan is perfect!

• Praise God that the container arrived! I received new Christian children books in French that I was able to use during camp! I look forward to using them during the school year!

• Praise God for the summer ministry events!

• Praise God for all my wonderful partners!