These are old reports but felt to leave this on so you can see some of the history of DWM. We are no longer at the location shown here.
Deaf World Ministries Fall report 2006
Deaf World Ministries November/December Report 2004
Deaf World Ministries December 2003 Report
Deaf World Ministries Summer
2002 Update
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Isaiah 29:18 "In that day Deaf people will hear words read from the book..."
November/December 2004
Dear Friends,
As we near the Christmas season and the end of another year of ministry we are continually amazed at the grace of God and His unfailing love and mercy. Through all the history of the church it seems the best of times happened in the worst of times. Jesus was born at a time when there seemed so little hope for the Jewish people.
There
had been 400 years of silence from the last time God had spoken through the
prophets. And then God speaks through the cry of a newborn infant, and hope
lights up the sky and is rekindled in the hearts of shepherds and wise men
alike. AFor unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name
shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father and the
prince of peace.@ Isaiah 9:6. May
Jesus be all of that to you this year and forever.
So with us at Deaf World Ministries. At times things seem bleak and the battle rages for the hearts of Deaf men and women. When the harvest is ripe and ready, there are so few to help Aput in the sickle,@ yet God brings hope and blessing and encouragement.
Outreach
We have had an exceptionally busy Summer and Fall. It is exciting to
see the new things the Lord is doing in the lives of the people He has brought
to us. We are seeing the revival fires being fanned in the hearts of the Deaf.
God has given us two new preaching points to reach the Deaf. We have been asked
to begin meetings in these two new areas, and though we are being stretched, we
believe these are "stretchings" we are to accept. People have been driving from
near New York State (over 40 miles) to come to our meetings to hear the Gospel.
This summer we were able to send one Deaf staff member to minister to Deaf people in England. The people had a heart to Ahear@ the gospel preached. In one city many Deaf came to a park to learn more about Jesus. Two notable situations were one Deaf Hindu man receiving Christ as Savior and another returning from his backslidden state. Others were curious and want to have summer meetings set up for 2005. We are working on this for an English outreach. Pray for the success so the planting and harvesting will continue.
As we have stepped out in faith, we are seeing hearts hungry for the Word of God and His presence, being opened and filled. In the most recent open door, we were asked to come and start services for the Deaf and their families. In this city there is no Deaf church.
We accepted the call to go and took a team of seven with us. To our amazement, 27 people came to hear the preaching of the Word of God. Following the meeting many came to ask that the meetings continue and a Deaf church be set up.
Even, reportedly, Ahardened@ Deaf people were sending emails and text messaging back and forth wanting another meeting and a church to be established. We are now answering the call and seeking the Lord for His wisdom and ways to see this established. It thrills our hearts to see the Deaf so hungry, like new born birds opening their mouths to the sky waiting to be filled with spiritual food!
During the summer we continued our second year doing monthly ATV rallies for the Deaf and traveling to participate in rallies with the Deaf in Ohio as well. This has taken quite a bit of effort, the maintaining of trails, and property, and all the logistical work that needs to be done as well as continuing the ministering to the saints that come to our weekly meetings at the New Life Deaf Church and Bible Studies.
Maintaining old equipment has been quite a task, and now with two vehicles on Adeath row@ we need to see a major outpouring of finances to see them replaced. This ministry requires extensive travel on the roads between distant Deaf homes, and cities, as we make contact, follow-up on new disciples and pastor over much of the western Pennsylvania area. With the cost of gasoline ever increasing, our cost increases and newer, more efficient vehicles are needed.
We have launched a new project to set up a campground primarily for the Deaf to be able to come, relax and enjoy God=s creation. This involves clearing land for camping sites, making available sites which can be reached by roads, which will need to be built. Our goal is to provide cabins, replacing worn out, inefficient, heat leaking, mobile homes for staff and some for campers. Currently we have two places that can accept travel trailers and three areas that are used for tent sites. More are needed.
What an opportunity to use this wonderful property to help the Deaf draw close to God and give them spiritual nourishment, as well. Our Labor Day ATV rally which extended from September 2 - 6, 2004, was a beginning. The Deaf came and camped over the holiday and were able to enjoy the outdoors and eat and fellowship together and hear anointed preaching. This brought in both Christian and non-Christian Deaf people. You can see a pictorial demonstration of this if you log onto our web site at
https://deafworldministries.com and click on the APhoto Stories.@ This will take you to a site we use to publish pictures of some of our ministries, and later will be used to give pictorial gospel messages.Needs
We are seeking the Lord for His provision and we believe we are to ask the Body of Christ at large to help us meet our ministry needs of two vehicles, both to be SUV/4X4 vehicles. These will help in our traveling as a team, during winter, as well as fair weather, to do our ministry, which as I have said includes a lot of driving. They will replace two vehicles which are both old - 1985, 1987.
Additionally we need to see some back bills paid off to bring us to ground level. Then we need some capital for making roads, and begin building some small cabins. Our goal is to raise $50,000 to meet our objectives.
Will you pray? Will you help? We know there are many who could easily pay all of this without even feeling a pinch, but it seems most often it is God= s way to use the many to build His kingdom and live sacrificially to build for eternity.
Please gather together with us in prayer and financial support as God leads you. Let us trust Him together and rejoice as He receives the glory for what He does through us and what we do for Him.
Until the Deaf have heard,
Ron Southwick
Director
Summer Report 2002
"In that Day the Deaf shall hear the words of the book.@ Isaiah 29:18
We have had a busy summer. It has been exciting but very draining as well. Praise the Lord for His promise that His strength to be made perfect in our weakness! This has been true. Our hears have been burdened with reaching these lost people. We are happy that the Lord has given us creative ideas to use to impact the world of the Deaf.
We have been working to reach this Unreached People Group, the Deaf Nation with the Gospel. Without having the Good News preached in their own language, Satan will continue to have them hindered from "hearing@ the life saving message that will bring them the ultimate freedom and happiness. He has been successful for thousands of years. We are bringing a stop to this.
In addition to language barriers, there are cultural barriers that can not be overcome through traditional missionary outreaches. There must be a developed sensitivity to their culture, and an understanding of how to successfully minister within that culture. Unless we do this they will not have adequate or equal access to the Word of Life. Over 25 million Deaf and Hard of Hearing live in the USA alone. Millions more exist throughout the world isolated and unseen in their own countries and cultures. Only 2% of the Deaf Nation are professing Christians! We need to find effective ways to reach this unnoticed and often neglected people for whom Christ died.
Deaf Way II
We were able to attend Deaf Way II international gathering of over 8,000 Deaf leaders from around the world. It was also exciting to meet many people we have made contact with over the past years in Denmark, England and other countries as well as new contacts we have made during the time in Washington DC. There were many challenging presentations that brought a focus to the Deaf needs in the USA and around the world. There were also great opportunities to witness as well as fellowship with other Christians.
DWM has begun the process of launching the "Christian Deaf Advocacy Program,@ (CDA). The goal of this program is to create a greater awareness of the needs involved in reaching the Deaf with the gospel. We are currently developing contacts who will become influential in their communities and circle of relationships.
The goals of the CDA Program are to inform the churches, fellowships, etc., about the "Deaf Nation" giving them facts and statistics, prayer targets, various organizations working within the Deaf Nation in a particular people group. It will encourage networking of various hearing and Deaf mission organizations and ministries to accomplish the task of reaching this unreached people group before Jesus returns.
There are only a handful of mission works that include the Deaf as a target group. Many other mission groups target the hearing of a people group, not realizing that within that group is a core of Deaf, who without special means will never learn about Jesus. People need special tools, equipping and training to effectively reach the Deaf in any culture. They are the unseen minority.
Deaf ATV Rallies
Our summer was filled with ATV rallies and preparations. A lot of work was involved in setting up and scouting out trails to use. In June Deaf World Ministries began an outreach to Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio Deaf and their families. Each rally was a success. At the first rally over forty people attended with 17 ATV=s. At each event the Gospel was preached to many wonderful, but unchurched Deaf people.
These rallies provided wonderful opportunities to build relationships with some people we had never met and to be a witness in both lifestyle, testimony, and personal evangelism and continuing follow-up.
In one situation while talking to a lady about her soul, she asked, "What does the word sin mean?" What an open door! We were able to explain what sin is, why it is so bad, the consequences of sin and how to be freed from it. The lady became very upset. She was not upset with the explanation, but she was angry because she had never heard about sin before. No one had ever told her! She did not become a Christian that day, but she has been very open and friendly since that time. We believe God has a wonderful plan for her life.
Summer Camps
We were able to share at a Christian "Sports
Camp" this summer to over 60 hearing participants. This included preaching
the gospel, teaching some basic sign language, sharing on Deaf culture and
explaining some Deaf devices. The children were very attentive and interested in
the Deaf world, so were the counselors and staff. At one point we noticed the
jaws of all the people drop and gasp as we shared about the situations the Deaf
in America find themselves in today.
Then in July we were asked to speak one week at a
camp with about 70-80 attending. The topic given to us was "Deaf
Missions." This was a wonderful opportunity to present God's heart for the
Deaf, an unseen and often neglected field in foreign and home missions. At the
beginning of the week the children were hesitant to sit with us at lunch,
because they experienced the awkwardness of being with a "different kind of
people." However as the week went on there was not enough room for them to
sit
at
our lunch table with us! They continuously asked us to join them in their other
activities, which we did.
During the week we presented the challenge involved in reaching the Deaf for Christ. These young people saw that the job was more than providing hearing aids. They learned there is a whole cultural system that needs to be understood, a language to be learned if we are to be effective to reach the Deaf people group. They saw the need to bond to the people and their culture so they would more easily receive the Gospel. The same preparation to reach any foreign culture is needed to reach the Deaf Nation. The week ended with a challenge to submit to God's call to missions, not only for Deaf Missions, although that was the emphasis, but to obey whatever God's call no matter what He says to do. We were impressed with the willingness and desire to follow the Lord in missions.
Deaf Church Camp
We conducted our first Deaf church camp at a nearby lake. It was a great time as we taught the Word of God. The deaf were taught the meaning of "Christian Meditation" and having a "Quiet Time@ (Daily Devotional Time) with their Lord. This was a revolutionary concept for many of them. There was time for emphasis on a personal walk with Jesus and upon Christian baptism. We baptized seven (7) Deaf people. We praise God for the response.
There was time for personal devotions, games, swimming, boating, campfires, and chats. Times of individual ministry also took place as we counseled with different individuals. We felt the presence of the Lord during this camp!
We believe it is the beginning
of greater things. The Bible tells us, "despise not the days of small
beginnings.@ But the transformed life
is
not a small beginning!
Dear Mission
Friends,
I want to support outreach to the Deaf
World!
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Original Page date -
November 20, 2002
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