Ten Tips for Working with the Deaf

Hello!  This is Selah's mother, Vonda Hamilton!  I am so thankful that I have been invited to blog on my beautiful daughter Selah's website.  I am celebrating her graduation from high school and imminent departure for college.  Selah has been blogging for several years and I am honored to be a guest blogger on one of her blogs.  I have just started my own blog for our mission, Expressions of Emmanuel, which you can find at www.expressionsofemmanuel.blogspot.com.

Ten Tips for Working with the Deaf

The tip of the arrow beautifully hit the bright red circle!  Yes!  You did it!  You hit a bull’s-eye!  When you interact with the Deaf, you also want to hit the bull’s eye and truly communicate.  Here are ten tips to help you successfully connect with Deaf people.­

Tip #1

Notice the word “with” in my sentences above. It is a great choice because the same sign “with” when moved in a circular motion means “together.”  Any people group must be approached in a manner of humility and camaraderie.  If you start a Deaf ministry program or any Deaf group and you use that little word “to” (i.e.”Ministry to the Deaf”), it can give the connotation that you are extending help.  Any ministry should extend help, but it is so much better to extend help and to receive help – to work together with the Deaf.  The word “with” can proclaim, “We are in this together.”

 You want to value each person: the Deaf, the hard-of-hearing, the hearing, and get input from them all to make your program a success.  When it comes to a Deaf ministry, the Deaf can give valuable input!  They can because they know the challenges and blessings of being Deaf.  However, just as all people differ, you will find that Deaf people may have a lot of common denominators, but each person is a unique child of God, too, and so each person will have different ideas and needs as well.  So, humbly work with the Deaf, they will help you more effectively serve.  Encourage the Deaf to be servants of Christ and leaders in Deaf ministry.

Tip #2

Learn sign language.  If you want to communicate with Deaf people, learn their language!  I encourage folks to first learn American Sign Language and then later learn signed English.  It is important to work towards fluency and be able to communicate with Deaf people who use different sign systems.  Lose your pride and strive to communicate.  Never nervously let your hands flap, aimlessly pretending to sign.  It is not funny, it is actually insulting! 

If you have to mime, draw pictures, or write notes, take the plunge to communicate!  If a Deaf person wants to read your lips, then move your mouth.  If they want ASL with no mouthing, then do that!  Immerse yourself in sign language communication with Deaf people. 

Edwin Westlake is a brilliant older Deaf man, who said to me, “People learning to sign need to remember to not only learn to sign, but to also work on their receptive skills and learn what the Deaf have to say, too!”  It can be a terrible bore and disappointment to the Deaf if you don’t take time to listen with your eyes to what they have to say!  So, work on fluency with expressive and receptive communication skills!  But don’t expect it to be easy!  You won’t be a perfect signer at first!  “Baby talk” in sign language, but keep growing!  Be patient with yourself!  But also keep motivated and never give up!  You can hit the bull’s- eye of communication!

Tip #3

Reciprocate!  People love to share!  You should seek to be a blessing to Deaf people, but you should allow them to be a blessing to you as well!  Learn to serve each other with love.  Also, if a Deaf person pours their heart out to you, they want you to share from your heart, as well. 

Effective Deaf mission work will be accomplished when we learn to serve others with love.  It is important for us to value each other and bear one another’s burdens.  To share one’s struggles in this life (share what you feel comfortable sharing however) is a candid way of valuing each other.  So, with wisdom, share deeply from your hearts.  Reciprocate. Help each other!

Tip #4

Treat Deaf people as equals.  We are all equals.  Don’t pity or feel sorry for Deaf people, they are valuable people.  But, do have compassion for them in their individual challenges, as you would for any person!  No one wants to be devalued with pity.  No one wants to feel “looked down upon” because we are all beautiful in God’s eyes!  Value the deaf!  Learn from them!  Help them grow!  Let Deaf people help you grow in Christ, too!

Tip #5

When teaching the Deaf, use lots of visuals!  Deaf people think visually; approach them using their own learning style to teach excellently!  Use props and all kinds of visuals. 

Also, don’t do obnoxious visual movements that obstruct learning!  Don’t do nervous leg shaking or finger tapping in the view of interpreting or Bible teaching!  (These visuals and those vibrations can detract from learning.)  Also, avoid, walking in front of the interpreter, Bible teacher, or preacher.  When people are drawing or doing overactive movements in the line of the presentation, it can be very distracting.  The profoundly Deaf can only learn with their eyes, so distractions must be minimized!  Remember, keep your visuals forefront in your teaching so as to keep the attention of the audience and to help them “see” the truth!

Tip #6

Don’t expect Deaf people to have the same writing and reading skills that you do!  Most Deaf people have an amazing command of American Sign Language – which is a true language.  You can learn lots from Deaf people about how to develop fluency with their beautiful cherished language!  There are many Deaf people who are fluent in reading and writing English or whatever is the spoken or written language of the land.  However, the majority of Deaf people struggle with reading and writing.  Once again, that does not mean that Deaf people lack intelligence! 

Hearing people take for granted that we learn words from hearing and overhearing them.  Being able to hear our parents and teachers scold us about verb tenses helped us learn to write and read.  If one doesn’t hear, they might be unaware of many words, verb tenses, etc. 

Deaf people often will not find our puns to be humorous. Puns are funny due to their sound, so since the Deaf don’t hear the “funny pun-ny” it might be misunderstood and not at all humorous.  Even it is explained, often the humor of puns is lost in the translation.  Also, hearing people have been raised learning lots of idiomatic expressions.  Deaf people have not had the same access to numerous idioms.  However, some Deaf people do know LOTS of idioms, because they find that idioms are interesting, so they study to become familiar with idioms!  If they are unfamiliar with an idiom, they could be perplexed.  For example, if the Deaf person didn’t know the idiom, “it’s raining cats and dogs,” they might really scratch their head in bewilderment.  Be purposeful and sensitive to truly communicate with everyone you meet.  So, beware of puns, and make sure your idioms are understood when communicating with Deaf people.

Tip #7

Offer all forms of communication.  Although some Deaf people can struggle with reading and writing, still work towards all forms of communication access.  Add closed captioning and open captioning to everything that you can!  But, also always make provision for everyone to have access to teaching/preaching with sign language.  Offer excellent interpretation for services.  Make sure to get a Christian interpreter to interpret services.  The Spirit of Christ will illumine and shine forth from them as they share God’s Word. 

Statistical research show that Deaf worship services and Sunday School classes where everything is done first in sign language (not interpreted) is often more effective in reaching the Deaf for Christ.  So, prayerfully consider helping start a Deaf Sunday School program and worship service which will often offer more clarity in explanation, more service leadership opportunities, and deeper fellowship.  However, some Deaf people really do prefer interpreted services.  Be sensitive and try to help meet the needs of the Deaf in as many ways as possible.

Tip #8

Be respectful and attentive when talking with Deaf people.  If you are communicating with a Deaf person, and you continually break eye contact and look away, you send a message of rejection.  Always looking away states, “You and what you have to say is not as important to me as all the sounds around me.”  You need to focus on the person you are talking to! 

Did you ever see the movie “Up?”  Well, the dog in the story would always get distracted from his current activity and look at the squirrels!  He would turn his head, widen his eyes, and cry out, “Squirrel!”  When communicating with the Deaf, don’t be crying “Squirrel” all the time! 

Emergencies do arise!  Important things can interrupt any good conversation between any two human beings, whether they are Deaf or hearing, but if you must take a break in a conversation, then respectfully say, “Please hold just a second,” before breaking eye contact if at all possible.  Sometimes babies will stick their fingers in electrical outlets and perhaps you might have some circumstances where you just have to disengage, but typically you can show respect and value to the Deaf person by politely saying, “Please hold!”  So, make your goal to be attentive in conversations, giving facial feedback and comments showing that you are truly engaged in the conversation!

Tip #9

Teach Jesus first.  When sharing God’s Word with Deaf children or Deaf people who don’t have a lot of Biblical knowledge, share the stories of Jesus first.  Of the trinity, Jesus is the most visual.  Jesus is the Son of God and Son of Man, who came to show us the way. 

Since on earth, no eye has fully seen God, the concept of God is challenging at first for “visual” people and really all people.  The Holy Spirit being spirit is harder to explain at first too, so begin first in teaching Jesus.  Sharing Christ’s love and the message of the Gospel should be our greatestrgoal of imparting to others.  Since the Deaf have not had opportunity to receive the word of Christ we should be passionate about Deaf people having opportunity to “hear” (actually “see”) the Good News.  (Romans 10:14-15)

Tip #10

Don’t be a “fly by night” friend of the Deaf, ministry team member or missionary!  Be committed!  Seek God about how much time you can dedicate, but whatever God leads you to do, be devoted to ministry with the Deaf.  So many people are so fascinated with the beauty of sign language that they “jump on the bandwagon” (get excited to learn) to learn sign language, but with time their enthusiasm fizzles out.  People learning any language must know that the point of learning the language is to love and know the people. 

In missionary commitment, there can be different stages: the honeymoon, then the green banana stage, and then finally the committed missionary stage.  When working with any other cultural group, people can first experience “the honeymoon” stage where everything is exciting and wonderful!  What a thrill to learn to use sign language, to be understood!  How moving it is to sign songs passionately and expressively from your heart!  But then later, the “green banana” stage can hit!  Signing can be tiring, challenges can be overwhelming!  When trials come, we can tend to see everything as a “yucky green banana” and just want to quit.  It is in the “green banana” stage that we must remember our commitment to love and work alongside and with the Deaf to see the Deaf come to Christ.

 When we are able to face the “dark clouds” (discouragement) and the sunshine (exciting good times) and come what may, still make the choice to be committed to Deaf ministry, it is then you become a dedicated Deaf ministry servant.  But, of course, we must keep on rededicating ourselves to God’ service as more challenges come our way.  (Galatians 6:9)

So, put the arrow in your hand, make it ready to pull back the bow!  Use these 10 helpful tips to assist you in successfully working with the Deaf!  As you trust God and remember these tips, you will find yourself hitting the “bull’s- eye” and having victory in serving God with the Deaf.

Give your best to serving others.

Give your best to the Deaf.

Give your life to Jesus!

Watch our video, "Pigs or Pearls," on our YouTube channel!

Ezekiel 18

     I have found an awesome place to have my daily devotional and I am just loving it! I have set up camp on our balcony, and it’s really special. I hope that you have a special place where you find peace and are able to focus on God and the things He wants to teach you!! Today I read Ezekiel chapter eighteen. The main idea of the chapter is to get across the point that, “The soul who sins is the one who will die”. What it means is that you are responsible for your life and you will be judged for what you have done and not for the sins of your parents.. In today’s time we must know that each person will deal with the judgment of their own sins and not for the sins of others.

     Also that chapter in Ezekiel discusses how a wicked man who turns away from his sins and follows God and does what is just and right in the eyes of the Lord, will surely live and not die. Then it goes on to state how if a righteous man turns from the Lord and does detestable things as a wicked man does, he will surely die.  After that the Bible says, “None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered.” Wow, if that doesn’t make you stop in your tracks, I don’t know what would!

     This brought me back to really think about the fact that many people in this world are tricked into the mindset that their good would outweigh their bad. This is not the case, at all. Christ wants followers! He wants people who are going to do good things in the name of Lord and not stray from the path that he has called us to follow. To elaborate on that, I just think we should do our best so that Christ can get all the recognition that He deserves. Also something else that I think is very important to remember is that God forgives the wicked man, who repents, of his sins and he who changes his ways and follows the Lord is going to live. What good news, we have sinned and we are all wicked but we can become righteous through Christ!! Praise the Lord. This is just an excerpt from my devotional this morning. I hope it challenges you like it did me.

Jonah..

Today I flipped open my Bible, and stumbled across the book of Jonah. It’s a story that I am really familiar with and so I almost turned the page. But thankfully I didn’t because I read some stuff that caused me to really think. Most people know the story, but I’ll go ahead and review it if you don’t. Jonah was one of God’s prophets and He was told by God to go to Nineveh and preach against people because of their wickedness. Well even though Jonah was one of God’s prophets, he didn’t want to go and so he disobeyed God and jumped onto a ship that was going in the opposite direction. Well God caused this HUGE storm to hit the ship and Jonah asked to get thrown overboard so the storm would cease. When he hit the water he was swallowed by a large fish and then spit up on the shore and God again commanded him to go and he went. Jonah preached to the people to repent of their sins and they did and Jonah was not happy about it! He went outside of town and watched to see what would happen next. While he was waiting this vine grew and gave him shade against the fierce heat. The next day the vine died and Jonah was furious..  

God rebuked Jonah, because Jonah was more concerned about the life of the vine then he was about the lives of more than a hundred and twenty thousand people..

That got me to thinking… Are we ever more concerned with things that are not important like how we are going to get the hottest new gadget on the market, rather than being kind to the hurting people that are right in front of us?

I mean sometimes it is hard for us to go out of the way to be kind to people who we wouldn’t necessarily hand pick as a friend, but Christ went out of His way for us – even to the point of death! I was just considering this: would I like to be remembered like Jonah was for his disobedient and selfish desires. Would you want to be remembered for that?

I know there have been times where I didn’t feel like being kind to people because I have been more concerned about my life, but that needs to change. I mean it’s not something you can just say and it happens! It takes work and courage and I want to be remembered for serving God wholeheartedly not like Jonah is remembered. I pray that you open your eyes to the situations and people that might be right in front of you, because that is my prayer! God bless you.

Are you listening?

     God blesses me with these thoughts that just pop up, and help to teach me a lesson. For example this summer I went to Alaska with my family, and we visited a camp. One day I was having my personal quiet time with the Lord, and I had positioned myself where I could gaze at the lake. It was beautiful and everyone around me was absolutely silent. When I allowed myself to be still and silent I could hear things I didn't hear before. I could hear kids from across the lake laughing and playing together. I could hear the birds chirping together. It was such a peaceful moment and exciting to be able to hear things that I wasn't able to pay attention to before.

     When I was praying it was as if the situation was meant to be, because it helped me really understand that we as Christians need to make sure that we are listening for Christ. We get so caught up in doing what we think is important, that sometimes we don't stop and listen to the things that could be heard clearly if we would just listen. My point is God can show us awesome and beautiful things when we allow ourselves to be still and rely on Him.

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

What effect has Abortion had on your generation?

         Abortion has allowed us to ask ourselves, “What’s the big deal anyway?” Our society tends to say it’s just a simple surgery. Abortions take place because we tend to think of the situation as a condition, a complication, a bodily invasion, and an unwanted expectation that we can fix with a medical eradication. We simply call a child in the womb a fetus and don’t remember that we were in that situation at one point in time. At 10 weeks old in the womb, a babe has all the organs necessary for life.  Did you know that abortion is the most common surgery for women in the United States? It isn’t just a snip snap – a medical procedure that is harmless - it kills a life, the life of an unborn child.

This summer I visited a camp in Alaska and a woman came and spoke about her life and told us, crying, that she had aborted her twin daughters. Over 35 years later and she still faced the consequences and pain of having an abortion. At the point in time at which she had her abortion, she was so focused on the effects of having a child that she didn’t consider the lives that she was destroying. Permitting abortion has allowed people to think that they can discard their “mistakes” but in reality we will eventually have to face our mistakes and learn from them, or live a life of denial and unresolved guilt. Adoption is available to people who don’t want or feel they cannot handle the responsibility of raising a child.

Abortion installs a mindset in people that disregards human life, the life of a child. When we disregard one life, what stops us from disregarding life in general? You can see examples of humans doubting each other’s worth, in forms of lack of respect for the elderly, aging, or infirmed. Even if people believe their own lie that abortion is just a procedure eventually they will feel the pain of the unknown, of what could have been.

Allowing abortion has led us to become self-centered, because we are just focusing on getting rid of the “problem” and not allowing that “problem” to be considered a blessing. It must be conveyed that abortion is wrong because if two people have come together and a baby is formed, who are they to say that what has been created is not worthy to live?  There are many brilliant lives that never had the opportunity to share their story with us, because their flame was extinguished before they had a chance to illuminate the world.

Today’s youth have embraced the idea of abortion as a “solution” to their mistakes. The outcome is more sexual activity which in turn leads to lack of commitments and purity in dating or courting relationships.

Abortion is wrong and I’m appalled that we have allowed it this long; we need to put an end to this closed door form of a Holocaust!

Taking Out the Trash.

I just took out the trash. When I took out the trash it was dark, so originally I didn't want to drag the cans out to the street. Although I didn't feel like taking out the trash I did it anyway because I knew it was necessary. You need to take trash out of your house because it smells, also there nothing uplifting and exciting about old banana peels. Plus when you miss trash day and you will have two weeks’ worth of trash pilling up in your trash cans, it takes up space and on the next trash day you have to do extra work to take all the trash to the curb. Therefore it makes a lot of sense to take out the trash on time, because it helps the house stay clean. Also when your trash cans are empty and friends come to visit, it shows them that you took time to clean up for them and make your home special and fresh.

I know you might be thinking, what is Selah talking about!! NO, I have not gotten a job at the dump or picking up trash. I was just thinking about this in relation to Christ and how it can be used as a teaching point.

Each of us has our homes (bodies). We are commanded to take care of our bodies and be good stewards of what we have been given. I was considering this while dragging cans to the front yard... We need to clean ourselves and take out our trash daily, from a spiritual standpoint. As Christians we can't just let our sin and trash pile up and hit the point where we ignore it and just live in filth. We should be observant in what we are letting into our hearts and minds and making sure that we are cleaning out the sin (taking out the trash). It's such an important part of our lives, to ask for forgiveness from Christ and strive to follow His pure example. Often times when it comes to dealing with trash in reality I want to say to my mom, "I'll take out the trash later", Sometimes when I say I'll do it later I forget about it. Therefore I bring myself to consider, have I forgotten to take out my inward trash and sin. If I don't make sure that I am clean inside, then why is it important to take out the garbage for my parents?

One of my points is that we take the trash to the curb every week so we don't have an overflow. It's the same idea with our sin and baggage that we hold onto. We need to make sure that we aren't holding onto jealousy, anger, and hate. Those things can really burden us and make taking out the inward trash hard. We need to make sure that we are reviewing ourselves so that we can strive to be a clean and good example of Christ!

It's the same idea for when you have special guests staying at your home, you take out the trash! You want your home to be presentable for others. If you're a Christian, Christ dwells in you! We take out the trash for our parents. Why can't we take out the trash for Christ?

These were just my thoughts one dark Wednesday night while hauling some garbage cans. I hope this post has challenged you to clean your heart and take out your trash! God bless you!

Unknown Blessings

The book titled “The Gift of the Blessing” is good for people who don’t understand how blessings are important. The first chapter is very important because it discusses the first kind of blessing that we come across in our life. A parent’s blessing is very important to a child. Missing out on the approval of parents can be heartbreaking for a child, and may cause issues for the child as they enter and experience adulthood. This book also speaks about how we are in search of our blessing. You will not always receive the blessing you are expecting, but God’s blessing is beyond what you could ever expect.

In the first chapter of the Book it has two stories, stories about Brian and Nancy. Brian was raised by a father who had been a career Marine Officer.  His father was very strict and was not sympathetic or loving towards his son. The way that Brian’s father raised him, was hard for Brian because he was brought up without any form of tenderness. In the end, when his father was on his deathbed he cried out for his father to say the words that he had been longing to hear, “I love you, son.” He never heard those words, because his father had already passed on. Nancy’s mother had two daughters. She favored the Nancy’s sister, because she thought that Nancy’s sister was better looking. The way that Nancy felt left out over the years struck her at the core. She faced all kinds of issues because of the low self esteem her mother had installed into her. Both of these people missed out on their parents’ blessing and it wasn’t by their own merit that this took place. This chapter helps remind parents how you must install confidence and encouragement and love into a child at a young age and continue to love them for as long as they live.

People often wonder if a blessing is really important in today’s day and time. The answer to that is yes, blessings are important! A blessing can be the way somebody loves you, teaches you a lesson, or just encourages you. There are all different kinds of ways to go about blessing. Parents should bless their children. Husbands should bless their wives as wives should bless their husbands. Everyone should bless and be blessed.

A blessing is created by the combination of meaningful touch, spoken message of high value, a special future, and active commitment. Meaningful touch is described as kissing, hugging, or laying hands on a person. Meaningful touch is giving proof to the person that you are trying to bless them by reaching out and laying your hands upon them as an act of love. A spoken message of high value is encouraging someone with words. It’s letting them know that they do have value and they are precious! Many times in our day and culture we forget to tell others how much we admire, value, and love them. While in some cases, we speak so freely and slightly of love that when you tell someone you love them, they might not believe you. We must have a good balance of the words that we say to others. A blessing can only be fully known when you speak it. God spoke the earth into its form. He said let there be light and there was light. It’s the same kind of idea; we should speak blessings over each other and let the blessings form. The only thing that silence conveys to a child is confusion. Therefore parents should speak encouraging words and bless your children often, so they may know how you are blessing them.  When attaching high value it is best to give a visual to your child to show them how special they are in your eyes. When attaching a visual to the blessing it helps the child see what they are to become and how they must strive towards improving. When picturing a special future, we must know that we do not have the ability to predict someone’s future. We can establish knowledge into the child that helps them to make future goals for their life. The child must know that they gifts they have been given were a gift to them from God. Therefore, they should dedicate their lives to serving Him. The fifth part of a blessing is an active commitment. Parents need to trust in God to provide them with the ability to help their child confirm their blessing. A child cannot be successful without their parents helping them. That’s the same idea that fits with a blessing, as parents you must stand by your child and help them to attain their blessing.

This book really goes into depth discussing the five different parts of a blessing. Each part of the blessing has a whole chapter dedicated to explaining in depth the parts of blessings. Physical touch is very important. The book discusses one woman who had severe pain, but wasn’t allowed to have pain medication because it would put her at further risk. The nurses had to ignore her cries for pain medication and it really hurt her soul. In the end, the nurses gave her pain hugs instead of pain medication. Those pain hugs meant a great deal to her because it showed that someone cared about her and wanted to help her.  It’s the same idea for children and human beings in general; we need to love each other through affections as well as verbally.

People need to hear words of acceptance and encouragement. We need to make sure that we speak words of kindness paired along with physical touch, when giving someone a blessing. Parents in our culture have shied away from blessing their children. Some parents realize this later in life and at that point it is hard for the parent to express their feelings. “For example a father trying to let his son know how he feels about him right before he goes to college, but his son is too busy getting ready to listen. Or a mother trying to impart to her daughter words of wisdom about life in the bridal room, but a photographer shoos her out, so they can get the perfect shot. Spoken words of blessings should start in the delivery room and continue throughout life.” Often times our excuses for not blessing one another is that we simply don’t have enough time. We say things like I’ll tell them tomorrow how I feel about them, but in reality tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Words are not enough in a blessing. You need to put a commitment behind it, show the person how you will stand by them until they see their goals fulfilled. You need to show them that you are willing to sacrifice time and efforts to help them succeed. We need to take action to help the person ensure their blessing, because mere words of encouragement alone are not enough.

Whenever giving a blessing we always want to link the blessing back to God. When you commit someone to the Lord it helps them realize that as much as we might care about them, God cares about them so much more! Whenever you introduce the Lord into your blessings it shows them that even though we can’t really control tomorrow, God can and we have opened their eyes to see how much more He wants to bless them.

Also we need to realize that blessings and discipline are cousins. If we really love someone we will not let him or her fall into sin or hurt themselves without trying to correct them in a loving manner.

Active listening is very important to a blessing. If we do not know what the person is interested in or anything about them in a deep manner then how can we expect to bless them properly? Active listening lets people know that we accept them and care about what they have to say. Just listening to somebody talk about their day can be a simple blessing of its own.

The blessing is not meant just for parents to bestow upon their children. A blessing is something that should be shared between siblings, close friends, people dating, married couples, and your church family.  Every blessing is different, but it is made up of the five same things: meaningful touch, spoken words, high value, picturing a special future, and an active commitment. This book has really encouraged and inspired me to bless others daily and in new creative ways. It has gone in depth and really strives to teach you how to bless others. A blessing isn’t just a onetime thing; it’s encouraging and providing small acts of love on a daily basis. Let’s bless people!