Deaf World Missions

Merry Christmas!!!!!

2007-12-24T09:05:00.001-05:00

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Mat 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Mat 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Mat 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Mat 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Mat 2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Luk 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
Luk 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
Luk 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
Luk 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because (he was of the house and lineage of David:)
Luk 2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Luk 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
Luk 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luk 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luk 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Luk 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Luk 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
Luk 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Luk 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Give Thanks !!!

2007-11-21T22:51:00.000-05:00

I saw this video and thought it would be good to share. Let me know what you think.

And You Are Doing What?????

2007-11-17T19:47:00.000-05:00

Why Wait???

2007-11-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

Instead of us being reactive, why not be proactive. Instead of waiting for a change, why not be the person that allows God to work through them to bring about that change.

William Carey, the father of modern missions, said, "Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God."

Let's attempt more than is humanly possible, that way God gets the credit.

Attempt what you say????

How about a gospel witness to the world's Deaf population, in our generation.

Why The Deaf World?

2007-11-16T17:27:00.000-05:00

I have had well meaning Christians ask me questions like, “Why do you want to waste your time with the deaf?”

Here is my response to that question and others like it:

1. They need to be saved.

2. They need to have a changed life.

3. They need to grow and mature to become good Christians.

4. They need to learn to share the Gospel with others.

5. They need to have strong families and teach their children to follow God.

6. They need to become godly men and women, teachers, preachers, missionaries.

7. They need hear the Lord say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Deaf people can become productive Christians, however they must be taught. They need someone who has a heart dedicated to teaching them.

Some Differences Between Deaf and Hearing Worlds

2007-11-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

There are many differences between the Deaf world and the

hearing world. This list is by no means exhaustive, just illustrative.

Deaf humor – Since much of hearing humor is based on word

play, the Deaf do not “get it” most of the time. Many times Deaf

humor is just as “interesting” to our hearing minds. So as to not

feel out of place, many deaf people will laugh when the see everyone

else laughing, but in reality, they did not get the joke.

Deaf language – The language of the Deaf is a visual/gesturebased

language. Deaf have their own idiomatic expressions.

American Sign Language is a recognized foreign language in

many states and schools. It is based on hand shapes, movements,

sign placement and location, facial expressions and their

intensity as well as gestures.

Hearing language depends mostly on tone, volume and the formation

as well as timing of sounds. It also uses expressions and

body language.

Deaf are naturally frank and undiplomatic – They tell

you what they think. Deaf people are notoriously straightforward

in their conversations and expressions. If you ask their

opinion (and even if you don’t), be prepared to get it! Understand,

they DO NOT mean to intentionally hurt or harm with

their words. They just lack the cultural and social graces that we

hearing people enjoy and expect because of our language and

culture.

Deaf are visually stimulated – This is for obvious reasons.

Hearing folks are visually AND aurally stimulated.

Deaf music is rhythm or beat-based – Deaf music has

three elements - timing, flow and coordination. Hearing music

has three elements as well - melody, harmony and rhythm.

Deaf are very cliquish – They tend to be wary of new people

entering their culture. Once in, hearing people are generally

well accepted as long as they maintain their respect for the culture

of the Deaf.

Deaf tend to have difficultly with forgetting wrongs or

offenses even after forgiveness – This is a strong difficulty

to overcome. Confidence is easy to gain, but once lost, it is very

difficult to regain.

Deaf will generally be slower learners - It is the process of

learning that is slower as one of the primary stimuli for learning

is absent – hearing. They can learn the same things as hearing

but depending on the concept being taught, it may take considerably

longer to get it across, especially if it is an abstract concept.

Deaf think differently – The average deaf person generally

does not think in words or sentences but in visual concepts.

Highly educated Deaf however, can and do think much like

hearing people.

Taken from Into the Silence by Bro. Joe Kotvas

Missionary to the Deaf serving in Lima, Peru.

www.efata.org

About Us

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Did you know that there are over 250,000,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in the world? Did you know there are over 16,000,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in America? Did you know that over 95% of the world's Deaf population are in other countries? Did you know that statistics tell us that only 2% profess to be saved? Did you know that only 7% of the deaf have ever “heard” (seen) the name JESUS? Did you know that English is a second language for the Deaf and that they don’t have a Bible in their language?

My name is Shane Clements, and my family and I are missionaries to the Deaf. God has burdened our hearts to give our lives to reach the Deaf World. Most missionaries you meet are going to a specific area or specific country in the world. Our ministry is unique in the fact that no matter what country you go to, there will be deaf people there. Our goal is to reach the world’s deaf population in our generation.

Our plan for doing this:

To reach the Deaf for Christ through:
Soul-winning
One-on-one Discipleship
Formal Education
Personal investment in individual lives

To Establish Deaf Institutions such as:
Churches for the Deaf
Ministries to the Deaf
Schools for the Deaf
Bible Institutes for the Deaf
Special Homes for the Deaf

To Train Leaders for the Deaf including:
Pastors
Teachers
Interpreters & Workers

To Challenge Others Regarding Deaf Ministry and Missions Through:
Preaching
Teaching
Edifying
Motivating

If you would be interested in learning more about how you can have a part in taking Christ to the Deaf World, please contact us.