Merry Christmas!

Advent happenings

Seasons greetings! The season of Advent is here and we have many opportunities to turn our minds and hearts towards the celebration of Jesus' birth. I wanted to keep you in the loop on the things going on in our Deaf community this season. You're welcome to join us in whatever capacity your schedule will allow.

This Saturday our Lazarus ministry will be hosting a Christmas dinner for some of our homeless brothers and sisters. White table clothes, candlelight, carol singers, and porcelain plates in a parking lot, with our homeless friends.  It'll be an opportunity to be, to sit, to love our neighbors and take a break from the busyness of the season. Several of our Deaf will be attending the dinner. They still need turkeys, mashed potatoes and help with security. The dinner will be held from 3-7pm in a park across from the Atlanta Mission on

Centennial park dr, at the corner of Ivan Allen and Centennial park dr. Even if you're not able to contribute food or serve, you're welcome to join us for a wonderful afternoon celebrating the Christmas with both our hearing and deaf community.

On Sunday evening we'll be taking a field trip to Annistown Road Baptist church for a Christmas program. ARBC has a large Deaf

community and several of their Deaf will be participating in the program. We're looking forward to enjoying a Christmas service that

isn't only interpreted but also has elements of their own language. You're welcome to join us for this experience. If you'd like to carpool, we'll be leaving Atl around 5:00 on Sunday or you can meet us at ARBC. The program starts at 6:00. Afterwards we'll be enjoying an Advent dinner with some of the hearing in our church. It is always at the forefront of my mind to bridge the gap between the hearing and deaf in our community. This dinner will be a wonderful opportunity to do that.

If you're a male, join us next Saturday, 15th of Dec for the men's brunch at Trinity. I'm excited about this because one of our deaf men has stopped attending church due to a falling out with another deaf woman. This brunch will allow him to be amongst the men of our church along with some of his deaf friends that will be there.

Also on the 15th at 6pm, is the Children's pageant at Trinity. I'm proud to say that Angelica, the daughter of Merry (one of our deaf women) is going to play the role of Mary. Come enjoy the innocence and joy of the Christmas story as told by the little ones in our church. Holly, another interpreter, has been generous enough to offer her services and interpret for the program so I can participate in the joy alongside Angelica's mom, Merry. If you love to sing and have any time between now and the 15th, Angelica needs a little assistance learning the songs for her part. She doesn't have a way to listen to the cd at home or someone to teach her. Just let me know if you'd like to help in this way and I can arrange getting the cd to you or sharing it via Dropbox.

We have two Christmas eve services at Trinity. I'll be interpreting the 5:00 service so I can attend the 11:00 candlelight service with my family.

I hope that you'll be able to participate in some of these upcoming events. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have and let me know if you can bring food this Sat, join for our field trip on Sunday, or help Angelica with songs for the pageant. I covet your prayers during this season. This is the first year that our Deaf community attendance has been more than just Merry and I am excited for the opportunity to share the gospel of Christ's birth with our newcomers. Pray that I am faithful to this responsibility.

The video is online!

In this video made for Trinity by Soteria Productions, we hear the powerful testimony of how Sarah and Merry met and the friendship that was formed between them. We also witness the way that God can transform our grief into something that binds us together as a community.

Click here to view

Happy Halloween!

Luis will be 3 yrs in December. We took him trick-or-treating in Grant park on Halloween. He didn't understand what was being put into his bag at first and for the life of us, we couldn't get him to say "trick or treat" but once I stopped and showed him that it was candy in his bag, he had no problem saying/signing "MORE". His favorite part was running between the houses. Both Luis and his sister, Angelica are delayed in their English because English is not the language spoken in the home. (Their mom is deaf and their dad is hispanic.) After mentoring Angelica for a year, she is up to par with her English but Luis, almost 3 yrs has a VERY limited vocabulary. Luckily, "Sarah" is one of the words he can say and it warms my heart every time I hear him say it.

Trial and error

We have had to change the time of small group and the interpreted service again. Finding enough people to help with transportation continues to be a struggle. I pray one day we'll have a solid team of people but for now we will continue to try different things and be flexible. One of the things I learned in India was that ministry (in my case, Deaf ministry) is not a one-woman show. It's about so much more than me. But that's hard to believe or remember when it really feels like it falls on me to get them to/from church, foster community, bridge the gap between the hearing and the Deaf in our church, be responsible for their discipleship, and to interpret the service. I keep trusting and believing that one day the Lord will rise up others to help but until then it's hard to remember.

Deaf fellowship in India

Saturday night I went to a Deaf fellowship in Bangalore. I put my life into the Lord's hands as I jumped out of a rickshaw and onto the back of a motorcycle which I rode through the chaotic streets of India to the house of a deaf guy I met last week at training. The service had already started when I arrived, so I quickly removed my shoes, covered my head and took my place on the floor on the women's side of the room. Indians segregate men and women on public transportation, church, and many other public areas. There were about 18 people crammed into a small room and sitting on the floor. Not only was I the only American but also the only hearing person. The evening was spent with hands flying, mostly in a hybrid of ASL and BSL. This is because, originally, schools for the deaf were opened by American missionaries that settled in Bangalore. The service began with testimonies. People shared how they'd left their Hindu or Muslim faith and become Christians. It had cost these people not only their homes but also their families to convert because they were no longer allowed to associate with their relatives. As a deaf person this meant they were left on the streets to beg for a source of income as there are not the opportunities for the Deaf in India that we have in the US. Some of the testimonies were about what the Lord has done in the person’s life or family over the past week: testimonies of healing and provision. Next there was a short prayer after which someone stood and told a story from scripture. The person began with explaining the characters, history, and meaning of certain words/sign that would be used. Some people responded with questions for clarification. Once everyone understood the signs that were going to be used, the story was told. This night it was the story from Luke about the woman who bathed Jesus' feet with oil. After the story everyone discussed its application to his or her life. There was a lot of discussion. At times a person would stand and retell bits of the story. When the discussion period ended another prayer was said, and then came the "exchanging of the peace." It was clearly communicated that the women should greet/hug the women only and vice versa for the men. After that the men and
women could clasp hands in a prayer position and greet the opposite sex, but there was no shaking of hands or other physical contact between sexes. Before leaving, we enjoyed chai and biscuits while taking time to catch up on one another's lives. I was so honored to have this opportunity, but the whole time I kept dreaming of our Deaf small group one day being like that. Join with me in prayer for the journey our community and each life in it will take as we move towards this deeper way of sharing and receiving the Word.

Update from India!

Forgive me if my English is poor. I've had a week of speaking verbal Tamil (Indian) and signing a hybrid of ASL, BSL (British) and a variety of Indian sign languages. My mind is about to explode with the knowledge that has been taught to me this week and my heart wit the enthusiasm to return and share with the Deaf in our community. It's as though I've been attending a Bible translation course all week, and have been learning not only the stories of the Bible- which I could have read on my own- but also am being taught what the words mean. Also, for the first time, I have a deeper understanding of the Word of God and how to communicate it to the Deaf. I feel like I've had the element of love: showing God's love and displaying his character, but I've lacked in the ability to "preach"/educate them on scripture. Certainly, He is sovereign and the Holy Spirit sufficient, but I am better equipped now. I've been sitting in sessions and meetings learning not only the practicalities of translation, but also discussing concepts of scripture and terms such as grace, forgiveness, mercy, etc. To illustrate what I'm learning I'll share with you one the example of "mercy". The sign for mercy is actually the same sign used for "pity." Often Deaf people feel pitied by the hearing. Understandably, they rebel against this stigma by using terms like "Deaf power,” or trying to show hearing people that they are not disabled but of a different culture with specific language, traditions, and mannerisms. Therefore, when I use the sign for mercy that implies pity, it is as if I'm saying "God has pity on you." They equate this to the same pity they rebel against from the hearing world. Instead, I must look at the context. In the story of Jonah, God could have shown his wrath to the people of Nineveh, but He chose to spare them instead. God withheld His discipline. Mercy = discipline withheld. It will be different depending on the passage of the Bible, but it is important to look at the whole story instead of just interpreting word for word what the pastor says. One of the
primary benefits of our deaf small group has been the space to discuss certain terms- of which our Deaf have no idea of the meaning- that I've been using for over a year during the service. This week I have been challenged to think beyond the religious pat answers I grew up hearing in church and begin to correctly translate and communicate the meaning of the words. When I think about the potential this has to revolutionize the hearts and lives of Merry, Ashley, Tonya, Willie, and whomever else the Lord brings, I am overwhelmed with excitement. This is what I was made for. Here I am in my beloved country, speaking Tamil, signing with Deaf Indians, and learning about the Word of God. It feels like all the pieces of my puzzle are tightly put together and I am whole.