It was Sunday morning in Ethiopia.
As the Deaf start to arrive for worship service, much to Eunice's surprise, the DOOR-Africa graduates from Ethiopia sat in the back with her.
"They (DOOR graduates) had this look of CONFIDENCE; they didn't interfere with what was going on in the worship service or give instructions" wrote Eunice in her e-mail.
Everything was done the Deaf way -- with CONFIDENCE -- by the Deaf of Ethiopia. One of the Deaf leaders signed the story from 1Samuel 19:1-24 (King Saul trying to kill David).
"They did not try to read the Scriptures the hearing way. No! They even had a dialogue session and discussed how the story applies to their lives. Wow!! My heart just rejoiced and praised God for what He is doing among the Deaf people here in Addis and the surrounding regions. There were about 40 Deaf people in the Service, but I am told sometimes they have as many as 60 attending." (Eunice, hearing office manager at DOOR-Africa, on a follow-up trip to Ethiopia.)
DOOR's goal of "bringing
God's Word and true worship to the Deaf of the world" is being accomplished.
AND THERE IS MORE!
With CONFIDENCE, the Deaf leaders negotiated with the management of a flower farm that employs many Deaf. There are three buses that pick up the Deaf workers (95!!) from a centralized place in Addis Ababa city centre every Monday to Saturday, taking them to work in the flower gardens outside the city. During the bus ride (free), the Deaf leaders can easily stand on the bus and teach Bible stories without any problem. What a unique opportunity!
The team is so grateful for this opportunity!
- PRAY that things work out --their 1st "Bus Evangelism" was to be on Monday the 25th of February.
- PRAY that the Deaf on the buses will open their hearts to the idea of listening (see) and accepting the Bible stories.
- PRAY for wisdom as the Deaf leaders plan their daily schedules.
- PRAISE God for the excellent training the Deaf graduates received at DOOR-Africa!
- PRAISE God for the excellent training the DOOR graduates are "passing along" to the Deaf in Ethiopia.
- PRAISE God for the Ethiopian translation teams as they share the 32 Evangelism Bible stories they translated last year (2007) in Ethiopian Sign Language - a FIRST!
- PRAY the Ethiopian translation team will be able to return to DOOR-Africa in 2009 to translate the 77 Discipleship Bible stories.
Want to know more about DOOR-Africa and the Kenya staff there? Check out DOOR's new web site at: DOORInternational.com. Become a partner in this amazing ministry!