Sign language is the heart language of millions of Deaf people around the world. The sign languages of various countries are rich, vibrant, complex languages with essentially no written form. The spoken and written language of the country is usually Deaf people's second language, and most core Deaf people never develop fluency or effective literacy in it. So for over two millenium, most Deaf people have had no Bible in their heart language.
DOOR, in cooperation with Wycliffe International, and with God's empowering and guidance, is setting out to change that.
DOOR's goal is to make a foundational set of over 100 key biblical passages available in at least one sign language in every country. (Some countries have more than one sign language.) DOOR is creating and providing extensive training in Bible translation principles (with assistance from Wycliffe) to Deaf translation teams from a number of countries. DOOR missionaries and other Deaf believers are helping to adapt this training to contextualize it to Deaf culture and sign languages.
Deaf translation teams are beginning to grapple with expressing God's Word as clearly, accurately, and naturally as possible in their own countries' sign languages. As Deaf translators try out various possible translations for a given passage, they're not scribbling notes to insert or change a word, but rather moving hands, testing facial expressions, tilting shoulders just so.
These translation teams have someone available onsite who can help them to access various translation helps, and a qualified Bible translation consultant available to answer questions through email or video conferencing if they get stuck. Of course, the final product may give a whole new meaning to the word "Bible," as it will not be a printed book, but rather a set of DVDs. (Deaf artists are also creating storyboards to represent the stories in a "low-tech" way for places where watching a DVD is not practical.)
Effective church planting movements are extremely diffficult, if not impossible, without access to God's Word. DOOR continues to develop and provide Deaf people with training and materials for evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and Christian leadership. The hope and fervent prayer is that translating God's Word into sign languages will lead to unstoppable church planting movements in the Deaf communities of the world.