Hats off to College Mennonite Church for sharing hospitality with deaf children by sponsoring a summer day program conducted in American Sign Language. The Goshen, Indiana, congregation created the program to provide deaf and hard of hearing children in Elkhart County with a summer camp environment in which to learn life skills, socialize, and play comfortably with peers who use sign language.

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Up to eighteen children gathered twice a week for six weeks during the summer, led by Renae Weaver and a team of volunteers that included deaf adults. 

Highlights included field trips to a wildlife farm and rides on an inflatable towable raft at Lake Wawasee. “Seeing how the kids got to know each other was really fun,” Weaver commented. The kids also enjoyed playing ping pong and just hanging out together in the church basement, building friendships that felt like family by the end of the summer.

Weaver is a Goshen College student from Denver, Pa., majoring in American Sign Language. She led the program as part of her participation in Goshen College’s Ministry Inquiry Program.