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Local church mission group helps Nicaraguan school for deaf | www.jconline.com | Journal and Courier
Barb Voss returned recently from her first mission trip overseas.
She was part of a group that went to Nicaragua to help the Christian School for the Deaf.
"I got a sense of what the missionaries go through," she said Friday. "On our last day, I couldn't stop crying as we waved goodbye."
Voss and 17 members of First Assembly of God and Eastside Assembly of God took an 11-day trip in early March to an area outside of Managua, Nicaragua. They helped Muncie missionaries Matthew and Eva Barlow, who started the school for the deaf about 10 years ago.
The Lafayette group erected an open-air auditorium/chapel building, painted classrooms and enlarged an adjacent playground/park for the school that serves 100 children. The group also made window curtains, taught art classes and built classroom bookcases.
Voss joined Dan Cornell and Tonto Bible as part of the group's sign language team.
"They speak Spanish and I don't, but I was able to pick up a few words," said Voss. "Some of the sign language is the same around the world."
Trip leader Jon Smith, a Purdue retiree from Lafayette, has been on about a dozen mission trips, including three times to West Africa and twice to the Czech Republic.
"Our team enjoyed one another, walked in love and unity, had fun together, worked hard, and accomplished much," he said.
He said the deaf school will have its first graduating class this spring.
"All of us enjoyed the youngsters and staff at the school, and they, in turn, blessed us," Smith said. "In other words, the entire trip was truly a 'God thing.'
"The school for the deaf is a very fruitful ministry, and we're so glad to have been a part of an effort to make it even more fruitful."
He said God provided "protective covering" for the Lafayette group.
"No one got sick, got lost, missed a flight or even a bus," he said.
Smith said the visitors ate and slept well at a nearby guest house. They had breakfast devotions outside to start each day.
He said the mission group also took a boat ride on massive Lake Granada and took a tour of Nicaragua's Volcano National Park. They also took part in a celebration at the school for the deaf.
Voss said people ask her if she will return to Nicaragua.
"Absolutely. I will go back," she said. "The children steal your heart."
Barb Voss returned recently from her first mission trip overseas.
She was part of a group that went to Nicaragua to help the Christian School for the Deaf.
"I got a sense of what the missionaries go through," she said Friday. "On our last day, I couldn't stop crying as we waved goodbye."
Voss and 17 members of First Assembly of God and Eastside Assembly of God took an 11-day trip in early March to an area outside of Managua, Nicaragua. They helped Muncie missionaries Matthew and Eva Barlow, who started the school for the deaf about 10 years ago.
The Lafayette group erected an open-air auditorium/chapel building, painted classrooms and enlarged an adjacent playground/park for the school that serves 100 children. The group also made window curtains, taught art classes and built classroom bookcases.
Voss joined Dan Cornell and Tonto Bible as part of the group's sign language team.
"They speak Spanish and I don't, but I was able to pick up a few words," said Voss. "Some of the sign language is the same around the world."
Trip leader Jon Smith, a Purdue retiree from Lafayette, has been on about a dozen mission trips, including three times to West Africa and twice to the Czech Republic.
"Our team enjoyed one another, walked in love and unity, had fun together, worked hard, and accomplished much," he said.
He said the deaf school will have its first graduating class this spring.
"All of us enjoyed the youngsters and staff at the school, and they, in turn, blessed us," Smith said. "In other words, the entire trip was truly a 'God thing.'
"The school for the deaf is a very fruitful ministry, and we're so glad to have been a part of an effort to make it even more fruitful."
He said God provided "protective covering" for the Lafayette group.
"No one got sick, got lost, missed a flight or even a bus," he said.
Smith said the visitors ate and slept well at a nearby guest house. They had breakfast devotions outside to start each day.
He said the mission group also took a boat ride on massive Lake Granada and took a tour of Nicaragua's Volcano National Park. They also took part in a celebration at the school for the deaf.
Voss said people ask her if she will return to Nicaragua.
"Absolutely. I will go back," she said. "The children steal your heart."
