YWAM Deaf World Event: Beautiful faces of our Support Family

Posted by Dan and Carole McClelland

 

We had many long- time supporters and friends attend the event, who believed in our

calling and started supporting us before God gave the vision of working with the Deaf.

 We had representation from many local churches that have developed a relationship

with us over the last year. Also attending the event were some of our new Deaf friends

that we have made in the area! Many people brought cookies to share, SO MANY

COOKIES! Thank you to all who donated them. Others allowed us to borrow chairs,

tables, and sound equipment for the event. In addition to attendees who were local,

we had in attendance one of our first mentors in DC, a Deaf pastor and his wife, who drove

from MD to show their support, a friend from DC that had moved to Pittsburgh, and

a Deaf youth group from Ohio who drove 1 1/2 hours to be here so the Deaf students

could meet the 6 Deaf missionaries who were here! What a beautiful reflection

of the body of Christ! 

The Event Begins

We opened with a thank you and a welcome! I, Carole, was overwhelmed by all of the faces as I prayed, but I remember praying, out of all of these beautiful people, Jesus, you are the most beautiful being in the world! 

 

Peta-gay from Jamaica and Kevlasha from America led a Deaf worship song based on Luke 10:2, asking for the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers into the harvest field.  

The Past Year Recap for YWAM Deaf World

Next Dan gave an update on the past year for YWAM Deaf World which included ministry, trips and building project pictures (BLOG with pictures)!  We had a TV with pictures of the updated staff apartment and ways to give toward the furnishing of it. In his year highlights, Dan shared that Jamaica had a DTS with 15 students and sent 3 outreach teams from this DTS to Mexico, the Gambia and Jamaica. This is the first Deaf DTS that has sent outreach teams to multiple locations! Dan also shared how, during this past year, we as a couple completed a week of debrief focusing on our 5 years in Jamaica. This week brought so much healing and restoration to us, that I, Carole, then got trained on leading a debrief week. Since then, we have had 4 other missionaries in Deaf World do this debrief week, offered by trained staff to YWAM leaders, with me interpreting some of these during the sessions. As part of our support to our Deaf missionaries, YWAM Deaf World was able to cover the cost for these sessions. For this upcoming fall, three more missionaries will experience a debrief week, and there are several more that have expressed interest in completing this program. Since we experienced firsthand the importance of this intense, healing week and know how important it is for our missionaries to be emotionally and spiritually healthy if they are to stay on the field, Deaf World's desire is to cover the cost for many other Deaf World leaders to do this training! 

The Future Vision for YWAM Deaf World

During this part, Dan shared that he was glad to get through the past as his passion is the future and new vision. (But, I, Carole, love reflecting on the past, so together we make a good team drawing each other to the present.)  Dan, the visionary, always has more, which consistently keeps us moving forward towards God’s vision for all Deaf people to taste and experience Jesus! As always, we had a lot of fun leading and interpreting for each other.  

One of the other future, exciting announcements Dan made is that we have 4 staff joining us this fall in PA.  Tycen and Veledise Soza and Derick and Atty Robinson are two married couples teaming with us, and we are thrilled! (Tycen and Veledise already moved to PA in June.) The second Deaf World DTS in South Africa will happen this fall, and they have 10-11 students! Carole and Veledise will be able to go and teach in this DTS.  Jamaica will also be having another DTS, beginning this December, but they are pioneering a new style of DTS called the God’s Story DTS. This new format focuses on Biblical storytelling for unreached oral cultures and emphasizes self- discovery which is perfect for the Deaf community, especially the international Deaf community. At the end of his talk, Dan shared the bigger vision that God has given us related to reaching more Deaf people in the nations, but we will share more about that in the next newsletter!

Lastly, testimonies from the 6 YWAM Deaf World missionaries 

First, Veledise shared about the DTS in Jamaica and how God revealed to a student who believed God could not communicate with her that He knew sign language. This changed her relationship with God dramatically! Then Tycen shared about the journey of leaving the 99 , finding the one Deaf boy hidden in the mountains of Mexico, and staying connected to him even after leaving Mexico.  Veledise and Tycen just joined our staff team here in PA!

 

Caleb, from America but serving in Jamaica, shared about the DBS and told the story of a one student, a Deaf man from South Africa. For all his life he was told, and he believed, that he was Deaf because of his sin or the sin of his parents. When he understood the truth that God created him just the way he is and that God is the God who makes the Deaf and blind in Exodus 4:11, he understood God loved him. He was created to glorify God like the blind man in John 9, and this changed how he saw God and himself! Since then, He has wanted to share that with every Deaf person.  

Kevlasha, from America but serving in South Africa for the next 3 months, shared that she was able to take the Jesus film in ASL to multiple countries. The result within these Deaf communities throughout the world was a hunger to receive Jesus and a spreading of the gospel within these Deaf communities. She also saw that these new Deaf Christ-followers had such a desire to grow and be discipled, but there were no resources or churches to disciple these new Christians. As she was praying for a strategy for discipleship to these Deaf people who accept Jesus, she realized how Dan’s vision was an answer to her prayer.  

Finally, Kenroy and Peta-gay, a Deaf Jamaican couple, talked about how hard the last 5 years have been on the mission field in Jamaica as they have helped make a way for other Deaf Jamaicans to become missionaries.  They decided to take the one week of debrief that we encouraged them to do, and at the event they shared how it helped them unpack hard experiences and face the next season with new tools to stay healthy as a married couple and with God!  

Closing

Finally, Pastor Chris Hughes, who drove from MD with his wife Jennifer, closed us in prayer declaring Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings”, which was powerful! 

 

Faces of beautiful people

Heather, who runs Deaf Teen Quest with her husband in Cleveland, Ohio, drove 1.5 hours to be here with some people from her Deaf youth group! 

 

So fun to see faces from the Deaf Ministry at our current church, New Life Baptist in New

Wilmington!

 

As well as see so many friends and supporters from the area come out to our event and hear all that God has done!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It was a wonderful night of celebrating all that God has done with the people who have partnered with God and us to see it happen!