SBCD and the happenings since…

I know it’s been a little while since I updated…sorry…things have been a little too busy for blogging. As you know, I went to St. Louis last week for the Southern Baptist Conference for the Deaf. It was awesome! I made a lot of connections with people and resources that I, otherwise, would not have made. During the week, we attended several workshops. The first day, the deaf minister I went with asked if I wanted her to voice what was being signed since most of the workshops were deaf-led. I told her that I thought I’d just try to see how well I could do on my own. I was so excited at the end of the first day when I had gone to all the workshops without someone voicing for me. I could understand!!! I was super pumped. It may not seem like a big deal, but for me, it totally was. While I was there, I met another summer missionary from NAMB serving in a Deaf ministry in North Carolina along with a girl that attends WKU…it’s a small world. : ) Overall, the week was amazing and I really feel like I learned a lot from the interpreters and Deaf people who were attending. I praise God that I was given the opportunity to go to this event!

You may remember a previous post where I talked about having breakfast with a Deaf-Blind woman from MBC. I spent some more time with her in St. Louis and we made some plans for my last couple of weeks here. She has Usher’s Syndrome which is where the person is born deaf and their vision gets progressively worse…a sort of tunnel vision…like looking through a straw. Right now, she still has enough vision to operate a computer. She loves to email! The Deaf minister at the church wants to get her more involved with the ministry so I started with lessons on PowerPoint this morning. I’m going to work with her 3 days a week until she learns how to run the program. She’ll be putting together announcement PowerPoints for the monthly Deaf Fellowship. The first lesson went really well…we had our moments of miscommunication, but we cleared it up and went on. We worked for 2 hours today and we’ll do that for the rest of the week. She’s learning very quickly and I think she’ll be ready to do things on her own by the end of the week…beginning of next week at the latest. Pray for both of us to have patience while working through these lessons. I will say this, it’s not an easy task to teach a Deaf-Blind person how to run PowerPoint : ) I’ve been blessed with a student who learns quickly! Praise God!

This week is also being spent in preparation for Backyard Bible Club here at the house I’m living in for the neighborhood kids. I’ll be leading crafts for that. The theme is “Cactus Canyon”…a cowboy theme. The following week will be VBS at the church…the theme there is “Outrigger Island.” I’m working with the preschoolers there. Things are coming along well for both sessions. Please keep both weeks in your prayers. Keep the leaders in your prayers as we share God’s Word with these children who will attend each night. Pray that the children will have open hearts to hear what God wants to teach them. Pray for safe travel for those helping and those transporting children to and from the church.

Thanks so much for your prayers! Prayer is a powerful thing and God is doing amazing things! : )

It’s such a blessing…

Well, I just arrived “home” from camp. I’m worn out and looking forward to a couple days of rest before leaving town again. GA camp was incredible this week! Don’t ask which one I liked better…they are too different to compare. However, I can say that I saw God move in amazing ways during both weeks in the hearts and lives of the girls there.

The last post I made was an urgent prayer request about a girl in my group (if you haven’t read it yet, please skip down and read that first before reading this post any further). You know how, sometimes, you can tell by a person’s countenance whether or not they have the joy of Christ? It was such a blessing to be given the opportunity to talk with this girl and help her figure out what was really Truth. I could see God working on her all week. Today, at the end of our worship service, they gave a time for the girls to go to the front to pray with the leaders or to make a public decision if they wanted. This girl that I mentioned got up from her seat and walked to the front. She prayed with the Acteen director and talked with her for a few minutes, then returned to her seat. After the service, she came up to me and gave me a huge hug. The director and I spoke with her and gave her more Scriptures to look at to give her support and assurance of her faith. My friends…we have a new sister in Christ! I can’t thank you enough for your prayers! They were definitely felt and answered. Along with her, another girl…one from my room…also accepted Christ this morning! That’s another sister in Christ! God is at work in many other hearts as well…with possible calls to ministry…calls to be bold young women of God who burn with the passion of Christ. Keep these girls in your prayers! I think we’ve all seen the powerful effects that prayer can have. Keep our new sisters in your prayers as they begin their walks with Christ. Pray for their families and friends as they return home. Pray that these girls will become bold in their witness as they grow in their faith. Isn’t God incredible?!?!?!

Along with seeing decisions made and hearts changed, God blessed me with new friends this week….both older and younger. I thank God for each of those!

With it being the end of a camp week, I’m exhausted and running on fumes. Please pray that God will refuel me quickly so I can be ready to go again. This Saturday evening is our Deaf Fellowship at church. Sunday morning I fly out to St. Louis for the Southern Baptist Conference for the Deaf. I’m really excited, but again, it’s another busy week. I really don’t get time to recuperate until the 19th. I’m trusting that God will fill me up with enough energy to get through each day. Pray for safe travel as we fly and go from place to place in St. Louis. Also, pray for the Czech team that’s leaving from here within the next week…they’ll be teaching English.

That’s really all I have for right now. This week was incredible and God has blown my mind once again! I cannot say thank you enough for your prayers and support! My experience this week is proof that prayer is so powerful…God wants us to pour out our hearts to him and lift each other up. Please continue praying, not just for my mission here, but for other missionaries around the world and for each other. Thanks so much : )

First Day…

Today is officially my first day here. I’m still getting used to the culture up here…it’s so different than home…but I like it here. The people I’m working with are great and lots of fun! We met today to discuss my calendar for the summer….it’s packed! I will have my downtime every now and then, but I’ll definitely be hopping the rest of the time. Two weeks of GA camp…VBS…backyard Bible club…Deaf socials…church office work…Deaf worship services…Deaf conference…lots of stuff!!! God’s really going to do some cool stuff this summer…I can feel it! I spent my afternoon typing lyrics to songs to create a folder that can be used when someone is typing captions for the signing choir. While typing, I’ve gotten to meet several church members who came through the sanctuary…everyone has been very welcoming. I also had my first person to say “Wow…you must be from the south…” I cracked up! I hadn’t gotten that yet, but then again, I haven’t met a ton of people either. I’ll be interested to see if I can hang onto the southern accent (what little I still have). We shall see! Anyway, that’s my day. I’m here…all is well…and I’m looking forward to serving here over the next 2 months.

Packing up…

So, I still have a week and a half before I leave, but I’m so excited about going that I’m already almost packed. I’ve been talking to my supervisor quite a bit lately getting some last minute information and, with each conversation, my enthusiasm and excitement builds. I know God has great things in store for the summer! I know that while I’m serving this summer, I’ll have the opportunity to go to the Southern Baptist Convention for the Deaf in Missouri, help in the planning process of Deaf worship services, and simply reach out and show the love of Christ to the Deaf community. Some other cool possibilities are in the works and I’m really excited about those chances as well. Please continue to pray for the people in the church, the people of the Deaf community, and the staff I’ll be working with. Pray that God will prepare each of us working to be flexible and constantly willing to pour every bit of ourselves out only to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray that the hearts of the Deaf community will be opened and responsive to God’s unconditional love and call. God’s really pulling everything together for this summer and I’m ecstatic! Thank you for your prayers and I’ll keep you updated!