Kenya and Uganda

Greetings! I was staying in Brazil with my fiancé for 2 months and it was great time to get to know each other before getting married on September 8th. I’m really looking forward to it! For now, I’m leaving on this Friday for Kenya for a week. It’s for deaf conference hosted by Deaf Ministries International (DMI). There will be deaf leaders and people coming from various countries. It would be a good opportunity to meet some old and new faces there. And then, I’m going to Uganda for a workshop. It’s for Bible translation. There will be a new group joining to their project. Uganda already has a DOT project for few years so I’m looking forward to see 2 groups work together.

Prayer requests:

  • Arrive safely in Kenya and Uganda.
  • Guide us to lead and teach.
  • Wisdom and understanding the Scriptures for translators and interpreters.
  • To grow spiritually in translators
  • Ugandan Sign Language Bible translation will impact deaf people in Uganda.

Thank you for your support! I will update after Kenya and Uganda trips.

Nigeria DOT Bible Translation

Greetings! It was my second time that I have gone to Nigeria. First one was for SUN workshop last December (deaf who are unable to read and do not know or know a little sign language). This time it’s for DOT Bible translation workshop. It went well. There were a lot of challenges. The translators realized that there is much work to do and were very glad for this opportunity to grow spiritually. There is a deaf/blind man who participated in this workshop. He was able to see when he was young but gradually became blind later. He is able to read very barely but he has good knowledge of Bible. Other translators were helping him with checking process and advised him to translate better. He was able to complete a chapter. He was a great inspiration for us. I believe they will continue to do translation work soon because they really enjoyed it. Pray for them for wisdom and guidance for the future work on their translation.

The training for Bible translation started.

They were working on translation for Book of Mark.

They did checking as group, preparing a studio, and making a final filming.

We did go to their church on Sunday and made introductions ourselves. We asked them to support a Bible translation team and pray for them.

They faced a lot of challenges in translation but they did a great job. They have learned a ton! Pray for them to continue their translation and there is a huge population of deaf people in Nigeria that needs to know Bible in their heart language.

Nigeria DOT Trip

Greetings! It’s been a while since I post my blog. My next trip will be Nigeria for DOT workshop. I have gone to Nigeria last December for SUN workshop. It was fruitful event. This time will be Bible translation. There is a huge need for Nigeria because of very large deaf population there. Pray for us (me, Parfait and Denis) to arrive there safely. I’m looking forward to train them to translate their sign language.

Prayer requests:

  • Arrive there safely and protection during 2 weeks.
  • Guide us to lead and teach.
  • Wisdom and understanding the Scriptures for translators and interpreters.
  • To grow spiritually in translators.
  • Nigerian Sign Language translation will impact deaf people in Nigeria.

Thank you for your support! I will post a blog after workshop.

Deaf Russians in Türkiye

Greetings! We had a Bible translation event for Russians in Istanbul, Türkiye (Turkey) for 2 weeks. It was a great event for them. Their pastor had some experience doing on videos for years. They also brought in their own video equipment. They wanted to do their own filming. Normally we train people to do tech work like setting up equipment, recording, editing videos but Russians have a lot of experience. We just taught to do translation for their sign language. It was great experience for them. I pray for them to continue to do their translation in St Petersburg, Russia. Here are some pictures I took in Türkiye. Enjoy!

They did drafting in translation and did some checking. They discussed how to translate their sign language. It’s a challenge.

They did final filming for their chapters. They did complete 9 chapters of Mark.

Istanbul is a beautiful city with long history, culture and beauty. We really enjoyed our sightseeing.

Thank you for your time and your support! My next mission may be Nigeria for DOT event on May. Nigeria has one of largest populations for deaf people there. It’s essential for deaf people to know Jesus Christ. I’m looking forward to it!

Blessings!

I’m back!

Greetings! After 2 months break, I’m ready to go back on mission trip! This time will be a workshop with deaf Russians. We will go to undisclosed location where we will train Russians for Bible translation. We had been waiting for this opportunity with Russians for a while. Ukraine war has prevented us to go to Russia and we had to look for a neutral location where we can meet and have a workshop. I’m looking forward to it!

Prayer requests:

  • To have all participants and leaders arrive in undisclosed location safely.
  • Wisdom and guidance for leading a workshop.
  • Help us to communicate better with Russians.
  • For Russians to understand God’s Word to translate.

Thank you for your support! I will post some pictures after the workshop completes.

Blessings!

Merry Christmas!

Greetings! I just want to say thank you very much for your support! It’s been an amazing year! I’m looking forward to 2023! The plans for 2023 are not yet official but there is a good chance that I may have sign language groups in various countries that needs to have Bible translation.

My prayer requests for 2023 are to have more opportunities for Bible translation and SUN events, more deaf people in the world to know about Jesus Christ, and to grow spiritually and love for God and people.

May God bless you with a joy, loving and peaceful celebration for this Christmas and all throughout the 2023!

Nigeria SUN Event

Greetings! The event was great for all of us. For those who don’t know SUN, Symbolic Universal Notation (SUN) is a program that brings Scripture to the uneducated deaf who can’t read as well as the deaf-blind. Using a symbolic system of writing, the deaf who may not educated in sign language as well as the deaf-blind can read God’s word for themselves. It’s difficult for deaf to learn the alphabet and words which takes very long time to learn. With these symbols, they can learn quickly and may take weeks to know God’s Word. As Adefala Alaba in Nigeria said, “SUN is not a substitute to any Sign Language but it’s rather a compliment.” God has always find ways to reach out for uneducated deaf and deaf-blind people. We did have a deaf-blind man participated in this workshop. He was happy to learn symbols and want to learn more! I want to share some pictures during the workshop.

We taught symbols to deaf uneducated and facilitators. We normally use cards for symbols but this time we use PowerPoint to help them to learn more quickly.

It’s the facilitators’ turn to teach the deaf. One day, after the workshop ends, they brought SUN dictionary and Book of Mark to the hotel. They were really exciting to learn more about symbols and more importantly, God’s Word. They need to continue to teach more deaf people in Nigeria. There are over a million deaf people living in Nigeria. I believe they will do it!

There is a good possibility that we will have DOT (Bible translation for sign language) event in Nigeria next year. I’m looking forward to it!

This was my last mission for 2022. Right now, I’m taking a 2-month long break from missions. I will teach Bible seminary for deaf on January. My next possible mission may be on late February 2023.

Thank you for your support in 2022! It’s been a great year especially after COVID shutdown with many countries. God has opened the doors for us to go! Pray that there will be more opportunities in 2023! God bless you all!

One More Mission for 2022

Greetings! I’m leaving tomorrow (Friday) for Nigeria trip. This is for SUN event (SUN – Symbolic Universal Notation is a program that brings Scripture to the illiterate deaf as well as the deaf-blind. Using a symbolic system of writing, the illiterate deaf who may not educated in sign language as well as the deaf-blind can read God’s word for themselves.). I will stay in Lagos, Nigeria for a week. I’m looking forward to teach deaf people in this workshop.

Prayer requests:

Pray all my flights are on time (I have short layovers.)

Protection for me and my partner during our stay in Nigeria.

Wisdom and guidance for us in the workshop.

I will share an update about this workshop later. Thank you for your support!

Kavumu Deaf School in DR Congo

Greetings! I just got back from Kazakhstan on October 20th and stayed in America for a week and then traveled to DR Congo for deaf school in Kavumu. Needless to say, it was exhausting but it’s well worth it! We made a lot of planning for months for this trip. On October 27th, we traveled to Kigali, Rwanda and then stayed for a night. Next morning, we took a scenic ride to Bukavu, DRC where we stayed for 4 nights. We went to deaf church in Bukavu. We enjoyed our time there. On next day, we had a big event at deaf school in Kavumu. We gave backpacks with school supplies for every kid at school and we enjoyed fellowship with them. Deaf kids at center really enjoyed painting. We had few meetings with leaders and we encouraged and gave them some advice. We will continue to support a deaf school so they can continue to learn and have a productive life. I will share a lot of pictures below. I hope you enjoy it!!!

We arrived in Kigali, Rwanda and took a bus ride to Bukavu DRC. Rwanda is such a beautiful country. The ride was a stunning scenery.

After we arrived in Bukavu safely, we went to deaf church in Bukavu on next day. We preached, worshipped and prayed together. It was awesome!

We went to deaf school in Kavumu on next day. It was joyful to watch deaf kids at school. They performed songs and do sign language. We gave them backpacks with school supplies. Fun day at school!

We went to deaf center where some kids sleep there. Some of them are orphans. We did a painting activity for kids. They were enjoying! We did a meeting for teachers and they need some help to support them. We also gave some backpacks to other deaf school, they were happy.

We also took another meeting for school and plans. We gave some advice to support a deaf school. We did a fellowship and enjoyed homemade Congo food. It was great!

We went back to Rwanda for a trip back home. We stopped by a beautiful coffee shop and met couple of deaf women who work there. I also went to deaf owned shop that sells beautiful products made by deaf. We did a fellowship with Patrick & his pregnant wife and friends. I’m thankful for Patrick to help and guide us in Kigali.

I will post a blog later about supporting a deaf school in Kavumu. They need our help to provide their needs monthly. Pray for them! Thank you for your time!

Central Asia Workshop Report

Greetings! The workshop went well despite limited hours of DOT workshop on each day for 2 weeks. They had their own Bible school in the mornings and DOT workshops in the afternoons. They understood translation methodology for translate God’s Word into their sign language. They worked hard and faced some challenges for difficult verses. They have learned a lot. Pray that they will continue to translate God’s Word in the near future. It was a blessing to see them work hard and encourage each other.

They were checking their videos and encourage to improve their translation. The group picture was for Bible Class.

They’re setting a studio up for final filming. The tech person was learning about editing videos. 2 translators did their own chapter.

Great fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. A group picture after they received certificates.