Incredible Gratitude! (Teacher Training, Occupational Therapy and more!)

What gifts we have!
I am at the school with the Teacher who is training teachers and the OT who is helping to train the therapy aids in the Touch of Hope Therapy Center....
For years we have invited teachers to share and OT's or PT's to help with training...
I can't begin to tell you how exciting it is to finally have a beginning - AND how much I hope we can build on this...
Maureen is presenting exciting ideas for reading and writing - and the teachers (4 out of 5) are very interested!  Her translator, Eugenie , is an amazing young lady who we met last year.  She is bright and personable and enthusiastic. She totally gets Maureen's concepts and how much they can help to engage children in the classrooms and help with classroom management.
On Monday they visited 5 classrooms, on Tuesday they met with the teachers for a great session that was to be 1/2 hour and lasted for about 2 hours because they were so very interested, on Wednesday (today) they demonstrated in one classroom before Eugenie got sick.  Hopefully tomorrow they will visit the other 4 classrooms and continue their demonstrations...
There is tremendous need for classroom story books in French, for pencils and paper and crayons....
The teachers have a blackboard and some workbooks - that's about it...
But we hope to leave with 3 books in each of the 5 rooms -  if we can convince the principal that it is VERY valuable.
It is extremely hopeful!  Very helpful!

therapeutic walking

therapeutic playing before therapy

And in a Touch of Hope Therapy Center... Jenna is sitting WITH the therapy aids...
watching, affirming (they really are wonderfully trained), quietly offering ideas if they wanted them.



She brought a walker for small children on which they can train children to walk...
They have been well trained in evaluation - but did not have a form.  With the help of a translator, she talked with them about the questions they would typically ask and they have created a form which we've edited with 2 aides and will edit with the 2 others tomorrow.  We are trying to set up Skype options for them to consult with OT's and PT's - that may take awhile... But David had brought computers to donate and had one with a camera - and we think we have a link to wifi... so it's a begining....









I have been consulting with missionaries and pastors to consider possibilities for the future....
We are planning a trip to "Be Like Brit" orphanage in Grand Groave (google it - it's exciting).

So VERY much to be thankful for.... and this week is only half over!!!!!!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED US TO OFFER ALL OF THESE RESOURCES!