Peru 2010

Puedes oirme ahora? (Can you hear me now?).
We have just returned from Peru and what a fantastic trip it was! This year Karen and I fit at least 180 hearing aids, and this felt like one of the best trips we have served on.
What made it such an incredible trip was the help we received from people like you who donated money for supplies. One incredible blessing was the contribution of batteries donated by Phonak! Phonak, one of the largest and most advanced hearing aid manufacturers in the world was incredibly generous to provide batteries that will help those who received hearing aids function for over a year with excellent hearing. Thank you Phonak for making this possible!
Your donations helped us purchase tubing, molding, and tools specific for the use of modifying and fitting hearing aids. Anything we can take with us to make the fittings easier is a blessing that impacts the lives of these beautiful people. We were able to fit so many people without any glitches, and it was because of your generosity this could happen. Thank you all so much for making the impact you did!
I have to tell you a story about this little girl.

As you can see, she has the most beautiful blue eyes. Andrea has had no hearing all of her life. She is now four years old and attends a deaf school that serves the community of Flores de Villa. Flores de Villa is a very poor neighborhood that is a former landfill, claimed by squatters who have overtaken the area and made it their home. Most of the people live in a home that is 12 X 12 feet, and might have 2 rooms. A family shares this space, and the conditions are terrible by our standards. There is little hope of Andrea ever hearing sounds like her mother’s voice, her name, laughter, or environmental sounds like dogs barking, cars running, or playground joy. She does not have a language to speak, and she cannot communicate to those who don’t speak sign. Her beautiful blue eyes are her way of communication and she takes in everything.
When Karen first glanced at Andrea peaking in the window, she had no idea Andrea would be there to see us. Karen saw her eyes and called me over to the window to see. The joy in her face was contagious. When her turn came to have her hearing tested we both stopped and watched as she took command of the room with her charismatic attitude. It was clear she knew the routine from talking with classmates.
As Karen tested her hearing, it was clear there was some useable hearing and she could wear a hearing aid. We put together an aid for her.
When a child puts a hearing aid on for the first time and begins to take in the sound, it is so fascinating to watch. The switch is turned on while it is in her ear, and gradually the volume is turned up. There is silence in her expressions and voice. A stoic look crosses her face. Inside her head, she is processing everything, and it is a lot! The room has noises, and outside the door, the courtyard is filled with people waiting for medical attention. All the noise is overwhelming for someone with good hearing. This is all coming in at once for the very first time for this child, and she has no idea how to process it. She had no idea what her ears were for in the first place! Now she is taking in nothing but noise. Then, when she looks at me, she sees my lips moving, and associates sound with movement of lips. She reaches out and touches my lips too somehow indicate she understands what is happening. Then, she touches her own mouth and makes a sound. She discovers she has a voice. Now the room explodes with her sounds. Not speech, but incomprehensible babble. It continues nonstop! The room is filled with laughter and excitement as she tells her story in her own way. Everyone in the room wants their picture taken with her. She has become the hero of the day.
Her mother has no hearing as well. Andrea made sure that her mother was taken care of too. She instructed her mother through the whole process, and now the two can speak to each other the love of a mother and child, and it can be heard.
As the two of them left, we could hear Andrea circling around the courtyard telling everyone her story. There was one audible voice that stood out from the others. It was Andrea. She has been a blessing to us.
This is just one of many stories we can tell. The most important part of this process is knowing what they will hear because of the hearing aids. The people who come to the clinic in Flores de Villa are taught about Jesus and who He is. They are taught that He created them; He is the Son of God. They will hear the message that He loves them so much more than we can ever imagine, that He became human just like us, for the purpose of saving us from eternity in Hell, and so that we could spend eternity with a Father who desires us to be with Him in eternity. A sacrifice is required because we have sinned, and are separated from our perfect, pure Father. Jesus loves us so much; He became the perfect sacrifice, and out of His love, took all of our sin upon His shoulders and died with that sin in a cruel, inhumane death on the cross. But, as witnessed by hundreds, after three days in the grave, lifeless, he was resurrected, and sits on the throne waiting for us to join Him in a glorious reunion in heaven. His death and resurrection is a gift, and all we are required to do is accept it. By acknowledging our sin, accepting that Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, the perfect Son of God, that He died for our sins, and after three days rose from the grave, and is living today eternally, we will be saved. It is the complete love story, and this is what those who have ears will hear.
If you would like to spend eternity in heaven with the One who created all things, and draws us to Himself because He is a loving God, and desires us to love Him, then I invite you to give your life to the living Lord, Jesus Christ. You can do that today. One way of doing this is praying a prayer and believing this in your heart.
Dear God, I do believe your son, Jesus, died for me and took the punishment for my sins that I deserved. I want to receive your free gift of salvation and eternal life. Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart as I surrender my life to you. I know there is nothing on my own I can accomplish other than believing in you and the sacrifice you have made for me. Thank you for making this possible. Amen.
If you believe this in your heart, you can be assured, you will spend eternity in heaven, and will be saved from eternity in hell.
Thank you again for all your support for this wonderful trip. We look forward to seeing you at Sound Hearing!
Dale