A Young Missionary Prayed and Learned two new Languages to Connect with Deaf Students and Parents in Puerto Rico

Nicole learned about potential ministry in Puerto Rico through her brother, who was stationed there with the Navy. When she and her mom visited him, they also saw the school where he volunteered when he could. A year later, Nicole felt called to participate in the junior missionary program at the Evangelical School for the Deaf. She sent out support letters then bought a plane ticket. She did not go through any sending agency.

Living without electricity, clean water, and even showers was a drastic change from the daily luxuries Nicole Bravo was used to in suburbia California. Yet, the biggest obstacle to being a missionary in Puerto Rico (PR) was not humidity or huge spiders, but learning to connect with the communities in which she was immersed. Nicole served two years at the Evangelical School for the Deaf (ESD) in Luquillo, PR, first as a teacher's assistant, then as a kindergarten teacher.

Puerto Rico is a small island south of Florida, a US commonwealth, with Spanish as its primary language. Poverty and unemployment are prevalent. Nicole arrived in PR without the basic tool of communication-language. She did not speak Spanish and her knowledge of sign language was limited. The majority of the ESD staff spoke English, which provided some familiarity for her.

Nicole was the girls' dorm counselor. She spent every morning and evening with two girls. Unable to communicate through sign, she used what came naturally to her-humor. When walking to class or at the dinner table, Nicole made them smile. She took an interest in what the students enjoyed, encouraging them through hand gestures.

The need to learn to sign burdened Nicole's heart. During staff meetings, everything she said was interpreted for deaf staff members. When time came to pray, she was limited to the few signs she knew. "It was so hard only being able to say a couple of things when my heart was saying so much. It was frustrating. Even in prayer I could not express myself," Nicole said. She prayed earnestly that she would learn. Within two months, she was signing whole conversations, surprising the ESD staff with how quickly she learned.

Soon, Nicole was leading Bible studies in the dorm. Students talked about family problems and personal struggles. Most parents know very little sign, so when the students go home, they have no one to talk to. As a result, students constantly vied for Nicole's attention.

Although she overcame the language barrier with students, she was faced with yet another. The deaf need more attention than hearing students. Work done in the class needs reinforcement in the home. Nicole had to learn to communicate with the parents, many of whom spoke only Spanish.

Nicole was embarrassed when she approached the parents. Her age and broken Spanish made the interactions intimidating. Every Friday, she met parents in the parking lot, struggling to explain the homework. Parental response was limited. The simplest assignments were never done. The parents saw the children as ESD's responsibility.

Public school programs for deaf students are severely inadequate. They are "mainstreamed" at times, which means a student is put in a hearing class without an interpreter. Some schools have classes exclusively for the deaf. However, the class work often consists of copying whatever is on the board.

ESD received a 13-year-old boy at the beginning of the school year. He had spent his entire education in a deaf-only class. He could do no math, hardly knew any sign, and could not read. The only thing he could do was write his name. "He sat in a classroom for years as a vegetable," said Nicole. After a year at ESD, he was reading, writing, and signing.

Nicole focused on learning Spanish during her second year at ESD. She started by praying. Nicole practiced with the Spanish-speaking staff. She listened to conversations around her, picking them apart with the few Spanish words she knew. She studied Spanish websites after school.

One day, while studying Spanish text on a website, it was as if a door was flung open in her mind suddenly revealing every single word. From that day forward, she connected with parents on a new level. On Fridays, she no longer approached parents. The parents looked for her in the classroom or the library, even if it was just to say hi.

Nicole responded to God by going to Puerto Rico. God responded to Nicole by giving her two new languages for ministry to children and their parents.

-David Bravo. He lives in San Dimas and attends Glendora Friends Church (CA). He enjoys report writing and journaling. He yearns to see people come to Christ and is regularly involved in evangelical outreach ministries. Currently, David is a substitute teacher at a local junior high school.