Pleasant Surprises

When I arrived at our church this morning, I was met at the door of my Sunday school class by a friend. She had driven the church bus and told me that she had picked up a visitor, a deaf man from Philadelphia. So, I set my stuff down and began interpreting for him. He and his mother came here from Philadelphia by way of Amtrak. He told me in sign language how rough the tracks were. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he understood me and how much he participated in our class. He signed that he is a teacher at a Bible college near Philly. Makes sense that he could come in and be that willing to participate. Then on to the church service. He didn't know the praise choruses that we were singing, until the last one. That one is based on an older hymn that he knew. The sermon was a little difficult because the preacher spoke in the negative before changing it around to positive statements. An example in lay terms would be "I can't stop loving you." That doesn't translate easily. It really means "I continue loving you." I was excited that he understood enough to respond to the sermon with head shakes, signing "right" and signing "amen." The good news is that he will be able to return during the month of July. What a great experience for all of us!