I thought a great way to make this theme of new life and Easter personal would be to include a story of how following God can change a person's life and bring a new identity. I believe in God not because I was raised that way, not because Christians have always been nice to me, and not because being a Christian makes life easy. I am a Christian because when I need Him, God is there for me. I have had prayers answered; He has given me strength and love when no one else could, and without Him my life would be meaningless. As this blog is dedicated to learning more about Deaf culture however, I thought it would be more relevant, and interesting to my readers to read about my friend Omar, who became Deaf at a young age and grew up in a Deaf School in Mexico. So here is his story:
My mother passed away when I was 14 months old. Then one day during the summer, when I was about 5 years old, I got sick with the mumps. My brother Ernesto was sick with mumps too. That morning before my dad went to work, he told us, "Stay home and rest". I was very adamant about staying at home because it was a summer and I was supposed to be enjoying the summer after a long school year and somehow I had the painful idea of going to my father's bathroom to find a medicine that could heal my mumps.
I don't remember which medicine I took, but that medicine seemed compelling to me, so I drank it with the hopes that I'd heal soon but, I was totally wrong! A few hours later I'd find myself with a tremendous ear infection causing blood to come out of my ears, then had to be sent to the hospital. Few days after being admitted I came out of the hospital with a deafness. The infection was so strong that destroyed all of my nerves.
For the following 3 years I went to public schools where I had to attend to numerous tutors. It was painful but yet I was feeling hopeless because I knew nothing about hope and comfort. Somehow I was sent to a deaf institute called Rancho Sordo Mudo and while I was there everybody was signing and it was very frustrating for me because I couldn't communicate with anyone due to the fact that I knew no sign language at all.
During school I'd become insanely frustrated because I couldn't understand anything the teacher would say. There were days where I'd ask God or even the staff why did God take away my ears? What had I done to have Him punish me with the deafness? Why me? For days I'd get mad, I'd start fights with my classmates and stuff until one day, my teacher got all fed up with me and started reciting Jeremiah 29:11-13(see below), telling me that God has a plan for my life.
Whether it's with me having ears or not, yet God has the power to provide comfort and hope and even love. God, love and hope were the very best things that I needed to know. My teacher also stated that when I'd go to heaven I'd be able to hear once again and with all the excitement I had to hear those words. I couldn't stop saying that I wanted to go to heaven right away and we got on our knees and prayed and I accepted Jesus in my heart!
Now as a grown adult it all reminds me of the words Jesus said: "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:1-3.
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11 from the New American Standard Bible
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Interview with Sarah from Deaf Christian Fellowship Riverside
My sister is a leader in a small Deaf church in Riverside, California (home to the California School for the Deaf in Riverside). I asked her to do an interview for my blog to give information about their ministry and I am excited for their upcoming trip to Thailand to work with the Deaf there. My sister is going on the trip along with other students from CBU, church leaders and Dr. Daniel Blair is heading the team. Here is the interview enjoy!
What is your role at DCF?
I am currently doing administrative duties such as organizing events, keeping updated on contact information of members, opening and closing the building. I am also the director of children's ministry (although I currently don't have any children so idk if you want to include that or not)
Who are the other leaders?
Dr Daniel Blair is a leader he teaches when we don't have guest speakers, he also handles administrative duties. Randi is a deaf student here at CBU she brings refreshments each week. Rachel Bates is also a leader. She leads worship and interpreting needs.
What is the style of a typical service?
It can change depending on the audience. Because we can sometimes have many deaf or a few deaf people we can be flexible in atmospheric setting. Last week we had many deaf people show up. We usually chat for a while, then we open in prayer and an interpreter leads worship. Then we may have Dr Blair or a guest speaker give a message which is followed by prayer and more fellowship. We usually follow DST or deaf standard time. This is our joking way of saying that we can just hang around and chat for quite a while.
Another service when there were less people present, consisited of sharing our stories of how we met Jesus with one another. One deaf man wanted to share a story of how he has been searching for a meaning to life and hasn't yet found it. He is seeking after God and we were able to help him along in this process, present the gospel to him and be a good friend. That week was truely lead by the Holy Spirit in flexibilty.
What are your goals in the recent and long term? What is DCF’s mission statement?
Our main goal is to reach the world's largest unreached people group for the glory of God. We are reaching out through prayer and outreach in the deaf community locally in Riverside, and across borders. We are currently seeking out highly commited people who can lead us into a more developed church. "Missions exists because worship doesn't" Jon Piper This means that we will continue to reach deaf community until it worships God and then can reach even further. There are thousand of deaf in our area but very little in the way of deaf churches or interpretted hearing services available to them. Many deaf people have had poor expreiences in the church so we seek to show them who Jesus really is. In their language and culture.
What are your favorite memories with DCF?
Some of my favorite memories are working with the kids. Some children are deaf and others are hearing children with deaf parents. Some children sign and some use english so the classroom can be a very diverse place which makes it very interesting and fun. I loved hosting a screening of the film, Hearing Evertte the story behind the founders of Rancho Sordo Mudo a deaf school in mexico where some of our members and I served. Many people made decisions to allow God to use them openly in their lives that night.
Does DCF work closely with CBU? Any other churches ministries?
DCF Deaf Christian Fellowship is a division of the Center for Deaf Studies at CBU Californina Baptist University. We meet on campus and host many events here. Many of our members support International Service Projects that CBU uses to send out students to deaf ministries on a global scale. Many of our members also attend local hearing churches but use deaf church as a subsidation for full understanding in their own cultural setting and language. We also have guest speakers come out from Rancho(Sordo Mudo a school for the deaf in Mexico) and from Laurel Glen Bible Church in Bakersfield and a church in the high desert.
What kinds of out reaches does DCF do?
Some of our members recently went to work at a school for deaf children in Mexico. Some members are going this year to reach out to deaf people in Thailand. We also recently met a young woman from Norway. She is the only deaf christian in her area. We would love to start a tutoring service for deaf children in the Riverside area.
Any upcoming events?
In april we will be having a weekend of activities for family fun and fellowship. These will include a cultural Night of Nations where interpreters will be provided for a silent auction and cultural presentations of the various countries CBU will be serving this summer for deaf and hearing people. We will also be having a picnic, and another screening of the film Hearing Everette with guest speaker and star of the film, Luke Everette. We will have a workshop about interpreting worship, a brunch and guest speakers for DCF that Sunday. I will update you with times and dates and locations around campus once all speakers and dates are confirmed.
We meet on Sunday evenings 6pm at 8432 Magnolia Ave Riverside Ca 92504 in the Wallace Theatre.
Thanks so much for taking time to read this interview! I am really excited to announce the WOW (weekend of worship) that the Church is participating in at CBU! I went last year and was amazed to see all that they are doing, it was entertaining and fun as well as insightful into what life is like for the Deaf in Mexico. So I hope you go and enjoy! More details about the different events happening that weeked are in the Events page so check it out!
What is your role at DCF?
I am currently doing administrative duties such as organizing events, keeping updated on contact information of members, opening and closing the building. I am also the director of children's ministry (although I currently don't have any children so idk if you want to include that or not)
Who are the other leaders?
Dr Daniel Blair is a leader he teaches when we don't have guest speakers, he also handles administrative duties. Randi is a deaf student here at CBU she brings refreshments each week. Rachel Bates is also a leader. She leads worship and interpreting needs.
What is the style of a typical service?
It can change depending on the audience. Because we can sometimes have many deaf or a few deaf people we can be flexible in atmospheric setting. Last week we had many deaf people show up. We usually chat for a while, then we open in prayer and an interpreter leads worship. Then we may have Dr Blair or a guest speaker give a message which is followed by prayer and more fellowship. We usually follow DST or deaf standard time. This is our joking way of saying that we can just hang around and chat for quite a while.
Another service when there were less people present, consisited of sharing our stories of how we met Jesus with one another. One deaf man wanted to share a story of how he has been searching for a meaning to life and hasn't yet found it. He is seeking after God and we were able to help him along in this process, present the gospel to him and be a good friend. That week was truely lead by the Holy Spirit in flexibilty.
What are your goals in the recent and long term? What is DCF’s mission statement?
Our main goal is to reach the world's largest unreached people group for the glory of God. We are reaching out through prayer and outreach in the deaf community locally in Riverside, and across borders. We are currently seeking out highly commited people who can lead us into a more developed church. "Missions exists because worship doesn't" Jon Piper This means that we will continue to reach deaf community until it worships God and then can reach even further. There are thousand of deaf in our area but very little in the way of deaf churches or interpretted hearing services available to them. Many deaf people have had poor expreiences in the church so we seek to show them who Jesus really is. In their language and culture.
What are your favorite memories with DCF?
Some of my favorite memories are working with the kids. Some children are deaf and others are hearing children with deaf parents. Some children sign and some use english so the classroom can be a very diverse place which makes it very interesting and fun. I loved hosting a screening of the film, Hearing Evertte the story behind the founders of Rancho Sordo Mudo a deaf school in mexico where some of our members and I served. Many people made decisions to allow God to use them openly in their lives that night.
Does DCF work closely with CBU? Any other churches ministries?
DCF Deaf Christian Fellowship is a division of the Center for Deaf Studies at CBU Californina Baptist University. We meet on campus and host many events here. Many of our members support International Service Projects that CBU uses to send out students to deaf ministries on a global scale. Many of our members also attend local hearing churches but use deaf church as a subsidation for full understanding in their own cultural setting and language. We also have guest speakers come out from Rancho(Sordo Mudo a school for the deaf in Mexico) and from Laurel Glen Bible Church in Bakersfield and a church in the high desert.
What kinds of out reaches does DCF do?
Some of our members recently went to work at a school for deaf children in Mexico. Some members are going this year to reach out to deaf people in Thailand. We also recently met a young woman from Norway. She is the only deaf christian in her area. We would love to start a tutoring service for deaf children in the Riverside area.
Any upcoming events?
In april we will be having a weekend of activities for family fun and fellowship. These will include a cultural Night of Nations where interpreters will be provided for a silent auction and cultural presentations of the various countries CBU will be serving this summer for deaf and hearing people. We will also be having a picnic, and another screening of the film Hearing Everette with guest speaker and star of the film, Luke Everette. We will have a workshop about interpreting worship, a brunch and guest speakers for DCF that Sunday. I will update you with times and dates and locations around campus once all speakers and dates are confirmed.
We meet on Sunday evenings 6pm at 8432 Magnolia Ave Riverside Ca 92504 in the Wallace Theatre.
Thanks so much for taking time to read this interview! I am really excited to announce the WOW (weekend of worship) that the Church is participating in at CBU! I went last year and was amazed to see all that they are doing, it was entertaining and fun as well as insightful into what life is like for the Deaf in Mexico. So I hope you go and enjoy! More details about the different events happening that weeked are in the Events page so check it out!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Easter Season!
Easter is my favorite time of year because it celebrates new begginnings, new life physically and spiritually. So in celbration of the season I would like to dedicate the new couple of weeks to a theme surrounding Deaf missions. By Deaf missions I mean spreading the message of Easter, new life, and a spiritual rebirth to the Deaf community.
According to deafworldministries.com only 2% of Deaf worldwide are Christians. As a Christian and ASL student I have heard many stories about the need for the Deaf to hear about Christ. I knew an interpreter when I was younger who had to describe what the sign "God" meant to a junior high student who had never heard of God.
Christian missions organizations have recently added the Deaf as an unreached people group meaning that for the most part they have never heard of Jesus or Christianity.
So upcoming this week I am going to include :
According to deafworldministries.com only 2% of Deaf worldwide are Christians. As a Christian and ASL student I have heard many stories about the need for the Deaf to hear about Christ. I knew an interpreter when I was younger who had to describe what the sign "God" meant to a junior high student who had never heard of God.
Christian missions organizations have recently added the Deaf as an unreached people group meaning that for the most part they have never heard of Jesus or Christianity.
So upcoming this week I am going to include :
- Links to Christian resources and organizations for the Deaf
- A spotlight on California Baptist University(CBU)'s upcoming Internation Service Project(ISP) trip to Thailand to work with the Deaf of Thailand
- An interview from members of a Deaf Church in Riverside, California
- and more!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Update on AllyASL interview
I am disappointed that despite my several attempts to contact her Ally has not responded to my interview questions. I asked her to do the interview... she said yes. I emailed her...she never replied...I messaged her on FB and Youtube... she never replied. But she is probably busy. So no AllyBallyBabe interview at least for now. I do have some other interviews in the works so I am hoping to get some more interesting info up soon!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Back
Haven't been on in a while. Life got busy... tax season, bills, buying a new couch, meeting new people, trying to wean my son, but some old friends came to visit and I got to show off his sign language! Also my family got a puppy! Which I have been waiting for! anyways, Im back here to update and checking out new videos on youtube. Still waiting for feedback from Ally ASL.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Deaf Events and more!
The Deaf Events page has been updated for this week's events! Also, I am working on a few things coming up! I am hoping to figure out a way to put a calendar format up on the events page to make it easier to post the events.
I am also working on some interviews- first with AllyBallyBabe from YouTube! I have been impressed by her videos and I am excited to do an interview with her to be seen here! Also I am working on some information about Deaf ministries, with interviews from the Deaf Christian community and those working to spread the gospel to the Deaf.
I am also compiling links and information on Deaf abuse advocacies, Deaf performing arts and other topics. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on these topics or on one of their own please let me know at a.n.salazar@live.com
Also, if you have any Deaf events in your area let me know and I will be happy to post them. Or, if you are looking for an event or events in your area I would be happy to help you find them and post them!
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