One thing that we have noticed in the youth that live in our home is a consistent struggle with their classes. It doesn't matter if the youth is in highschool, middle school, college, public school, private school, weekend school, whatever...they have all struggled. This is something that has been difficult for us to understand especially since education is so important to us and is something that we value greatly.
Last month, I went with Elias to pick up his final grade card and was very upset to find out that he had failed the school year. Elias came to live with us in June and he seemed to be a very responsible youth here in our home. In August I got the opportunity to see his grades for the first time and was shocked to see that he was failing almost every class. The even more shocking thing was that he too seemed to be surprised by it, like he didn't have a clue and didn't understand what had happened! I went to the school and talked to his teachers and all of them reported that he wasn't turning in his homework and had done poorly on his exams. Elias had been through a lot of changes this year, and many many family problems. His father died, he lived with his mother, then his grandmother, then his grandfather, then an uncle, and then he moved in with us. He had also suffered abuse physically, emotionally, and verbally. After thinking about all that he had been through this year, we thought, "who wouldn't have poor grades after going through all of that?" So, we told him we understood, we reassured him, and we set out to make an improvement for the fourth quarter grades.
We thought that all was going well, until I received his final grades and seen that there hadn't been any improvement at all during the fourth quarter. At first, I admit, that I was quite frustrated. Were these bad grades a result of laziness or a lack of self-discipline? My answer came shortly thereafter.
In mid-October I began teaching a basic english class in the church. The class is 12weeks long and meets twice a week. Elias's english skills are very very basic so we felt like it would be a good idea if he attended the course. There are 12 students in the class, with an age range of 9 years old to 60 years old, with a variety of learning styles and levels. Slowly, however, as weeks went by, I began to notice Elias falling farther and farther behind in the class, despite the fact that I am the teacher and the material is constantly reinforced at home!
I had begun sitting down with him and working with him one-on-one several times a week and have noticed that he is very far behind for his age and that he has a lot of problems analyzing and setting up problems. For example, I was reviewing money with him (in english) and asked him to tell me how many quarters are in five dollars. He didn't know the answer. Thinking that perhaps he didn't understand because I had asked him in english, I then repeated the question in spanish, and he still didn't know. I went on to try and walk him through the problem by asking him (in spanish) to tell me how many quarters are in $1, he told me 5. Oh no. I corrected him and told him 4, then went on to ask, "if there are 4 quarters in $1, how many are in $5?" He couldn't answer and seemed confused. This is when I realized that his struggles went beyond foreign language learning. He wasn't able to set up the problem, and he doesn't know his multiplication tables.
So, with all of this new insight, we have now been trying to decide how to best help Elias succeed. A friend of mine (who is a teacher) suggested homeschooling. At first I laughed off the idea because the thought of homeschooling a teenager in another language seemed crazy. However, after a little research, we are feeling like this may be the best option for him! Actually it seems that homeschooling adopted or traumatized teens is a fantastic option! I am following a blog of a homeschooling mom doing just that, check it out http://teacher-mom.blogspot.com/2008/10/homeschooling-esl-part-1.html
It seems that many teens who have been adopted, or come from difficult family situations, abuse or trauma, struggle greatly in school. These kids need an educational style that will meet them where they are at. My kids may all be in their late teens/early 20s but there emotional age does not match up with their chronological age! In addition, these kids suffere from a lot of emotional problems, and the social pressures of school (as well as the frustration from not being able to keep up), adds to their problems.
Okay, so this brings us to our next problem....homeschooling isn't recognized here in El Salvador! Yikes! So, now what do we do? Well, after much thought and prayer we have come up with, what we hope, is the next best option. There is a school one block away from our home that offers Saturday only classes for adults who want to finish their high-school education (kind of like GED equivalent classes). The students go to school just on Saturdays and then, after 18 months, receive their high-school diploma. Since he will just be studying on Saturdays, this will open up the ability to be able to work with him during the week. Our plan is to bring in a tutor two days a week to work with Elias one-on-one reviewing the content of his Saturday classes. Then, I will also be working with him two days a week on more basic levels of reading, math, and english, using a homeschool curriculum. Our hope is that the combination of the Saturday course, with the private tutor as well as myself homeschooling will help to get him caught up as well as improve his self-esteem and chances for success in the future.
The other flips-side of homeschooling is that it does decrease his opportunity to socialize, which is also extremely important when working with traumatized youth. We are hoping to address this issue by signing him up for the local soccer league here in Nejapa (he really loves soccer!), as well as having him take computer courses at the youth center here in town as well.
Lastly, he has also recently begun seeing the same psychologist who has so wonderfully worked with Beatriz and Jonathan. We hope that she too, will be a great resource for all of us as well.
We would love to hear from any of you who may have homeschooled, are teachers, or who may have children with learning disabilities or who have struggled in school. Your prayers, support, advice, and wisdom would be so greatly appreciated!
December 28, 2010
Important Information
Dear Friend,
We hope that this email finds you well and that you have been able to take some time to slow down during this busy season, breathe, reflect, and to really remember the real reason for it all. We recently watched the movie, "The Nativity Story" for the first time and it helped bring the story of His birth to life for us, we would highly recommend the movie if you haven't had the chance to see it (it also has a great soundtrack!).
We recently communicated with you regarding a possible change in the NGO underwhich we serve, due to Love and Hope International dissolving. We would like to let you know that we are now serving under AME International ("ame" is the spanish command for "love"). Their address is as follows:
AME International
PO Box 670631
Northfield, OH 44067
Just as you did with LHI, please don't forget to include a note with your donation stating that it is for Bobby and Britney Hibbs so that they can be sure that the donation gets directed to us. As always, 100% of your donation is tax deductible and will go directly to us.
Love and Hope International will be accepting donations for us until the end of the year, so if you have recently sent a donation, rest assured that we will receive it.
Also, please know that although we are now serving under a new organization, our ministry here in El Salvador will not change or be affected in any way. If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to let us know and we will be glad to answer them for you.
God Bless and Merry Christmas,
Bobby and Britney Hibbs
We hope that this email finds you well and that you have been able to take some time to slow down during this busy season, breathe, reflect, and to really remember the real reason for it all. We recently watched the movie, "The Nativity Story" for the first time and it helped bring the story of His birth to life for us, we would highly recommend the movie if you haven't had the chance to see it (it also has a great soundtrack!).
We recently communicated with you regarding a possible change in the NGO underwhich we serve, due to Love and Hope International dissolving. We would like to let you know that we are now serving under AME International ("ame" is the spanish command for "love"). Their address is as follows:
AME International
PO Box 670631
Northfield, OH 44067
Just as you did with LHI, please don't forget to include a note with your donation stating that it is for Bobby and Britney Hibbs so that they can be sure that the donation gets directed to us. As always, 100% of your donation is tax deductible and will go directly to us.
Love and Hope International will be accepting donations for us until the end of the year, so if you have recently sent a donation, rest assured that we will receive it.
Also, please know that although we are now serving under a new organization, our ministry here in El Salvador will not change or be affected in any way. If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to let us know and we will be glad to answer them for you.
God Bless and Merry Christmas,
Bobby and Britney Hibbs
November update
Dear Friends,
I hope that this email finds everyone well. We have been very busy here but are doing well.
The reason for this email is two-fold, the first is to give everyone an update on what has been going on here (I admit that I have fallen behind with our monthly email updates!) and the second is to respond to a letter that many of you received from Love and Hope International.
1. Love and Hope International (LHI) letter - I was made aware this past Saturday that LHI sent out a lengthy letter stating that they were no longer going to be handling the finances and overseeing Love and Hope Children's home as well as explaining their reasons why. Bobby and I do serve under the LHI non-profit as well, however, we want to assure you that the differences that LHI has with the Children's home has NOTHING to do with us or our ministry. Although our ministries both served under the same NGO, our ministries are completely separate and the LHI board of directors does not, nor have they ever, had any grievances with us or our ministry. Here in El Salvador, our ministries both serve under the same NGO as well; however, the ministries are in the process of being legally separated which will result in Bobby and I being able to appoint a local Board of Directors here in ES to oversee our ministry and hold us accountable here as well.
Right now we are asking for your prayers for wisdom and unity. We are in need of wisdom as we are faced with some big decisions and boards are in need of wisdom as they too make life-impacting decisions. It grieves us to see this end result and LHI's decision and we pray that God will be glorified through this.
If any of you have any questions, or would like to talk more specifically about this, please let me know and I will be glad to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Please rest assured in knowing that us, the church, the youth we work with, and our ministry here WILL NOT change. We may have to change the NGO that we serve under in the States, but nothing else. We will continue to keep you updated on any changes, and we apologize for any scare that you may have received from the letter - we had no prior knowledge that it was going to be sent our or we would have forwarned you.
Until further notice, you may continue sending donations to support us to LHI. Please know that the donations that you designate to us, as always, will 100% go to us and our ministry. Once again, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know.
2. The kids -
Beatriz - Bea has been doing excellent and her grades this quarter are very good! We are really very proud of her! She continues to swim with INDES five days a week and is excited about almost finishing her first year of college (only 3 more weeks left!). It is amazing to see how much she has changed and grown since she first came to live with us two years ago!
Samuel - Samuel is doing very well and is working at Pierre Cardign clothing store in San Salvador. As a result of poor grades last semester, we made a decision to have him "set" this semester out of college and work; which has been a tremendous learning and growth experience for him. He will be returning back to the university in January. He continues to be extremely active in the church, as he both sings and plays the guitar in the praise band and attends a weekly guys accountability group that Bobby leads.
Elias - Elias is doing well also and is excited to be finished with the school year this week. He continues to be active in his high school band and will be busy over summer break as they have several performances scheduled. He is also busy learning english as he attends the bi-weekly english classes that we are now offering at the church.
Jonathan - Several weeks ago Jonathan made the decision to move out of our home and is now living with his mom in Santa Ana. We are saddened, and do miss him greatly, but we are still in constant contact with him. In addition, we are working with Jonathan and his mom so that we can continue to support (emotionally and financially), encourage, and mentor Jonathan as well as encourage and support his mother.
3. The church - Three weeks ago I was finally able to begin teaching english classes in the church. The class filled up very quickly, and my original "maximum" of 10 students was quickly stretched to twelve with an age range of 9 to 65! The course is a 12-week beginners course that will end in early February and then an intermediate course will be offered. We would like to say a big "thank you" to Sam and Charity for donating the table for the english classes as well as to Luke and Laura Fischer for donating materials, finances, and wisdom! Thanks guys!
Another exciting event that recently happened in the church is the Expand Conference. The Conference was a three day training event for leaders that was offered at a large church in San Salvador. We were blessed with the ability to be able to go and to take along 8 youth leaders as well. Over 100 workshops were offered on every imaginable topic, so there was definitely something for everyone. Each person who went learned and was challenged in new ways. We hope to be able to attend the Expande 2011 event that will be held next year during spring break.
4. We got a car!!!! - Yeah! We are super excited because, after many many months of prayer, we were finally able to buy a car! Whoo-hoo! Things that were once complicated (like going to the grocery or meetings) are now soooooo much easier. Having a car also opens up our ministry in many ways. For example, several young ladies in our church have been wanting me to meet with them in their home for prayer every week, but I was never able to because of the limited bus schedule, but now I can! Bobby has also been wanting to take a youth into San Salvador for some counseling, but the counseling center was always too difficult and time consuming to get to by bus. He is now going to be able to do that easily since we have a car! Thanks so much to all of you who contributed financially to the purchase of the vehicle, we are extremely grateful!!!
5. Prayer requests - We ask that you would please join us in prayer in the following areas:
1. Jonathan - That his transition into his mom's home would be smooth and that she would have wisdom and patience in raising him. We pray for his heart to be touched and opened to receive Christ as his savior. Also, we pray for his physical protection and that God would give us wisdom as we continue to try and mentor him and be a part of his life. We pray for the financial resources to be able to continue supporting him as well.
2. The church - For revival amongst the youth and that they would know Christ intimately and have a truly personal relationship with Him. Also, for the programs in the church (music and english classes), that these programs would be used for His glory and that we would be able to reach people through the classes. Lastly, for continued financial resources to be able to continue offering the classes, as well as for upcoming events and regular church maintenance and rent.
3. The "kids" - That Samuel, Elias, and Bea would have an intimate personal relationship with Christ and that Bobby and I would be granted lots of wisdom and patience as we raise them. We pray for their friendships, and their families. We also pray for the financial resources to be able to continue meeting their needs and paying for their education.
Thank you so much to everyone for all of your prayers, support, and encouraging emails. It means so very much to us and we are truly truly grateful.
In Christ,
Britney and Bobby Hibbs
I hope that this email finds everyone well. We have been very busy here but are doing well.
The reason for this email is two-fold, the first is to give everyone an update on what has been going on here (I admit that I have fallen behind with our monthly email updates!) and the second is to respond to a letter that many of you received from Love and Hope International.
1. Love and Hope International (LHI) letter - I was made aware this past Saturday that LHI sent out a lengthy letter stating that they were no longer going to be handling the finances and overseeing Love and Hope Children's home as well as explaining their reasons why. Bobby and I do serve under the LHI non-profit as well, however, we want to assure you that the differences that LHI has with the Children's home has NOTHING to do with us or our ministry. Although our ministries both served under the same NGO, our ministries are completely separate and the LHI board of directors does not, nor have they ever, had any grievances with us or our ministry. Here in El Salvador, our ministries both serve under the same NGO as well; however, the ministries are in the process of being legally separated which will result in Bobby and I being able to appoint a local Board of Directors here in ES to oversee our ministry and hold us accountable here as well.
Right now we are asking for your prayers for wisdom and unity. We are in need of wisdom as we are faced with some big decisions and boards are in need of wisdom as they too make life-impacting decisions. It grieves us to see this end result and LHI's decision and we pray that God will be glorified through this.
If any of you have any questions, or would like to talk more specifically about this, please let me know and I will be glad to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Please rest assured in knowing that us, the church, the youth we work with, and our ministry here WILL NOT change. We may have to change the NGO that we serve under in the States, but nothing else. We will continue to keep you updated on any changes, and we apologize for any scare that you may have received from the letter - we had no prior knowledge that it was going to be sent our or we would have forwarned you.
Until further notice, you may continue sending donations to support us to LHI. Please know that the donations that you designate to us, as always, will 100% go to us and our ministry. Once again, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know.
2. The kids -
Beatriz - Bea has been doing excellent and her grades this quarter are very good! We are really very proud of her! She continues to swim with INDES five days a week and is excited about almost finishing her first year of college (only 3 more weeks left!). It is amazing to see how much she has changed and grown since she first came to live with us two years ago!
Samuel - Samuel is doing very well and is working at Pierre Cardign clothing store in San Salvador. As a result of poor grades last semester, we made a decision to have him "set" this semester out of college and work; which has been a tremendous learning and growth experience for him. He will be returning back to the university in January. He continues to be extremely active in the church, as he both sings and plays the guitar in the praise band and attends a weekly guys accountability group that Bobby leads.
Elias - Elias is doing well also and is excited to be finished with the school year this week. He continues to be active in his high school band and will be busy over summer break as they have several performances scheduled. He is also busy learning english as he attends the bi-weekly english classes that we are now offering at the church.
Jonathan - Several weeks ago Jonathan made the decision to move out of our home and is now living with his mom in Santa Ana. We are saddened, and do miss him greatly, but we are still in constant contact with him. In addition, we are working with Jonathan and his mom so that we can continue to support (emotionally and financially), encourage, and mentor Jonathan as well as encourage and support his mother.
3. The church - Three weeks ago I was finally able to begin teaching english classes in the church. The class filled up very quickly, and my original "maximum" of 10 students was quickly stretched to twelve with an age range of 9 to 65! The course is a 12-week beginners course that will end in early February and then an intermediate course will be offered. We would like to say a big "thank you" to Sam and Charity for donating the table for the english classes as well as to Luke and Laura Fischer for donating materials, finances, and wisdom! Thanks guys!
Another exciting event that recently happened in the church is the Expand Conference. The Conference was a three day training event for leaders that was offered at a large church in San Salvador. We were blessed with the ability to be able to go and to take along 8 youth leaders as well. Over 100 workshops were offered on every imaginable topic, so there was definitely something for everyone. Each person who went learned and was challenged in new ways. We hope to be able to attend the Expande 2011 event that will be held next year during spring break.
4. We got a car!!!! - Yeah! We are super excited because, after many many months of prayer, we were finally able to buy a car! Whoo-hoo! Things that were once complicated (like going to the grocery or meetings) are now soooooo much easier. Having a car also opens up our ministry in many ways. For example, several young ladies in our church have been wanting me to meet with them in their home for prayer every week, but I was never able to because of the limited bus schedule, but now I can! Bobby has also been wanting to take a youth into San Salvador for some counseling, but the counseling center was always too difficult and time consuming to get to by bus. He is now going to be able to do that easily since we have a car! Thanks so much to all of you who contributed financially to the purchase of the vehicle, we are extremely grateful!!!
5. Prayer requests - We ask that you would please join us in prayer in the following areas:
1. Jonathan - That his transition into his mom's home would be smooth and that she would have wisdom and patience in raising him. We pray for his heart to be touched and opened to receive Christ as his savior. Also, we pray for his physical protection and that God would give us wisdom as we continue to try and mentor him and be a part of his life. We pray for the financial resources to be able to continue supporting him as well.
2. The church - For revival amongst the youth and that they would know Christ intimately and have a truly personal relationship with Him. Also, for the programs in the church (music and english classes), that these programs would be used for His glory and that we would be able to reach people through the classes. Lastly, for continued financial resources to be able to continue offering the classes, as well as for upcoming events and regular church maintenance and rent.
3. The "kids" - That Samuel, Elias, and Bea would have an intimate personal relationship with Christ and that Bobby and I would be granted lots of wisdom and patience as we raise them. We pray for their friendships, and their families. We also pray for the financial resources to be able to continue meeting their needs and paying for their education.
Thank you so much to everyone for all of your prayers, support, and encouraging emails. It means so very much to us and we are truly truly grateful.
In Christ,
Britney and Bobby Hibbs
September newsletter
Oooops! I just realized that I never posted our Sept newsletter, so here is the link for Sept just in case you didn't get a chance to read it!
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6Lg_K71NECuMDk4YmE0YjUtNjU2Yi00MjQ0LThiMzQtMzlkODE2NTBiYmIw&hl=es
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6Lg_K71NECuMDk4YmE0YjUtNjU2Yi00MjQ0LThiMzQtMzlkODE2NTBiYmIw&hl=es
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