Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,158
- Reaction score
- 7
The Longmont Times-Call
From a recliner in his living room in Longmont, Lance McWilliams holds out two sheets of white paper.
Suddenly, he crumples one of them into a ball and throws it on the floor.
He frantically retrieves it and tries to flatten it to match its unblemished counterpart.
But no matter how much he tugs at the creases and folds, the paper remains wrinkled.
Then McWilliams lays the smooth paper over the mangled ball, engulfing all of its imperfections.
That is how McWilliams explains the concept of Jesus’ love to deaf orphans in a small village in Kisii, Kenya.
McWilliams, who is deaf, first visited the Kisii School and Orphanage for the Deaf in 2007 while on a mission trip to Kenya with Calvary Bible Church in Boulder.
Seeing the 1,500-square-foot plot of land dotted with little buildings that served as a live-in home for 20 deaf orphans moved McWilliams to action.
“I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I need to come back and work with these orphans, because they have the greatest need,’” McWilliams signed through his wife and interpreter, Sonja.
Although Kenyan Sign Language is used by a bulk of the deaf community in Kenya, many of the children in the orphanage know only a few home signs they’ve developed to survive.
“They feel like they’re a burden on society,” McWilliams said, adding that the orphans often are abandoned by disinterested family members who do not want to cope with a deaf child.
The orphanage and school were established in 1997 by private donors. But when the headmistress died in 2006, the school was left with no source of continued revenue.
Despite their meager subsistence, the orphans still learned rudimentary math, sign language and reading, primarily through volunteer tutors.
Although he was at the school only a few days, McWilliams said, he knew he’d be back.
“When I went to Africa, I knew this was where my heart was,” he said.
Following that inclination, McWilliams returned to the school last summer armed with medical supplies, soccer balls, jump ropes and picture Bibles.
Much to his surprise, he said, the orphans and teachers decided to rename the school “Lance’s Deaf Orphanage School.”
At the end of the trip, Lavenda, one of the orphans, signed to McWilliams: “Ugly me. Stupid me. Love me still, father?”
Moved to tears, McWilliams replied that yes, of course, he still loved her.
Imbued with a sense of responsibility to his “new family,” in September, McWilliams founded Lance’s Deaf Orphans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for his new-found school.
Three months after he returned to the United States, Lavenda died of kidney failure caused by malaria at age 6.
Because of donations from the community and his church, McWilliams was able to buy a coffin in Kenya and return to Kisii for her funeral.
The six-day trip renewed McWilliams’ dedication to the orphanage.
“I never imagined that I’d be back there three months later,” McWilliams said, expressing that the trip was a bittersweet moment.
He has since sent money to the school to defray the cost of food and rent, as well as to buy a new water tank and finance the construction of a latrine.
Due in part to his contributions, enrollment at the school has doubled to 41 children.
McWilliams plans to return to the orphanage in July with a small team, including his wife, whom the children call “Mamma Sonja.”
“I will get to meet my kids,” she said. “I’m so excited.”
For McWilliams, helping a pocket of deaf children is a way to celebrate the blessings in his own life, he said.
The father of three said being deaf hasn’t hindered him in any way, and he wants the same for his deaf orphans.
“For me to pass along blessings to others is a great privilege,” McWilliams said.
From a recliner in his living room in Longmont, Lance McWilliams holds out two sheets of white paper.
Suddenly, he crumples one of them into a ball and throws it on the floor.
He frantically retrieves it and tries to flatten it to match its unblemished counterpart.
But no matter how much he tugs at the creases and folds, the paper remains wrinkled.
Then McWilliams lays the smooth paper over the mangled ball, engulfing all of its imperfections.
That is how McWilliams explains the concept of Jesus’ love to deaf orphans in a small village in Kisii, Kenya.
McWilliams, who is deaf, first visited the Kisii School and Orphanage for the Deaf in 2007 while on a mission trip to Kenya with Calvary Bible Church in Boulder.
Seeing the 1,500-square-foot plot of land dotted with little buildings that served as a live-in home for 20 deaf orphans moved McWilliams to action.
“I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I need to come back and work with these orphans, because they have the greatest need,’” McWilliams signed through his wife and interpreter, Sonja.
Although Kenyan Sign Language is used by a bulk of the deaf community in Kenya, many of the children in the orphanage know only a few home signs they’ve developed to survive.
“They feel like they’re a burden on society,” McWilliams said, adding that the orphans often are abandoned by disinterested family members who do not want to cope with a deaf child.
The orphanage and school were established in 1997 by private donors. But when the headmistress died in 2006, the school was left with no source of continued revenue.
Despite their meager subsistence, the orphans still learned rudimentary math, sign language and reading, primarily through volunteer tutors.
Although he was at the school only a few days, McWilliams said, he knew he’d be back.
“When I went to Africa, I knew this was where my heart was,” he said.
Following that inclination, McWilliams returned to the school last summer armed with medical supplies, soccer balls, jump ropes and picture Bibles.
Much to his surprise, he said, the orphans and teachers decided to rename the school “Lance’s Deaf Orphanage School.”
At the end of the trip, Lavenda, one of the orphans, signed to McWilliams: “Ugly me. Stupid me. Love me still, father?”
Moved to tears, McWilliams replied that yes, of course, he still loved her.
Imbued with a sense of responsibility to his “new family,” in September, McWilliams founded Lance’s Deaf Orphans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for his new-found school.
Three months after he returned to the United States, Lavenda died of kidney failure caused by malaria at age 6.
Because of donations from the community and his church, McWilliams was able to buy a coffin in Kenya and return to Kisii for her funeral.
The six-day trip renewed McWilliams’ dedication to the orphanage.
“I never imagined that I’d be back there three months later,” McWilliams said, expressing that the trip was a bittersweet moment.
He has since sent money to the school to defray the cost of food and rent, as well as to buy a new water tank and finance the construction of a latrine.
Due in part to his contributions, enrollment at the school has doubled to 41 children.
McWilliams plans to return to the orphanage in July with a small team, including his wife, whom the children call “Mamma Sonja.”
“I will get to meet my kids,” she said. “I’m so excited.”
For McWilliams, helping a pocket of deaf children is a way to celebrate the blessings in his own life, he said.
The father of three said being deaf hasn’t hindered him in any way, and he wants the same for his deaf orphans.
“For me to pass along blessings to others is a great privilege,” McWilliams said.