Some of you may or may not know that Hannah and Joe have had challenges with their reading.  As the teaching staff here at the I.C.S  (International Christian Schools) have worked closely with Hannah and Joe their consensus is that Hannah has dyslexia. This was not a new diagnosis thought, Hannah had undergone testing in Kentucky. Until now we have refused to label Hannah with this. The last thing we wanted to do was saddle Hannah with the label "disabled" . Angel and I changed that line of thinking now. You all know Hannah, and I would venture to say that you would agree that Hannah is anything but disabled. That being said, I think that we operated in a state of ignorance. We believed that by accepting the diagnosis of dyslexia we would be identifying Hannah as wholly being dyslexic . We operated out of a mind set of fear.  We really could not even clearly pray for healing for Hannah because  of a perspective of fear over the matter.

 The teaching staff here at Springs of Living Water have helped us move from fear to hope.  For the first time we hear God speaking to us about this situation. God has led Hannah's teacher, Mrs. Anderson to champion Hannah through this challenge. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit Mrs. Anderson found a program called the "Barton" program (www.BartonReading.com). The program is founded on research that shows that the dyslexic mind is not disabled as much as just made differently then other minds. The research showed that the differences are so drastic that these individuals need to be taught in a complete different way then tradition academia is taught.

  When the school approached us with the idea of using the Barton system for Hannah we faced one basic challenge, the expense. The school did not have the funding to purchase the program.  If we wanted Hannah to use the system we would have to purchase the curriculum. Angel and I were not detoured by this little hurdle. We believed that God had directed us to the Barton program, and He would pay for whatever the school needed to use the system.  A added bonus for us is that the Barton program is not limited to one child, or one use. Now that the school owns the first phase anyone can use it for as many times that is necessary. This is especially powerful because right now the research is showing that one in eight children are dealing with dyslexia in one form or another and to some degree of severity . This tool will be used again and again to help children in the families of this base. 

The Barton program is split into nine phases. Hannah has  worked her way through the first phase of the baton program in the last two months. The change in Hannah has been so amazing to watch. Her confidence, and desire to read has increased greatly. She has begun reading on her own where she was reluctant  before. She has become excited about school.

 Angel and I felt compelled to purchase the next phase which cost $264. Like I mentioned earlier there are nine phases with the first two costing $264, and the last seven phases costing $300 each or $2100 in all for the remaining phases.  We believe that God has already planned for the expense of the program. This blog post is a part of that plan. I believe that there is an opportunity to include anyone who is willing to be apart of the break through that Hannah is approaching, and will soon have. If God has lead you to partner with us please contact me at michaelsweazy@gmail.com