Greetings from Dallas, Texas!

I returned to the USA safely on July 15th. My visa application is currently being processed. We turned it in at the end of June, and we should find out about the approval next month or in early September. I will return to Jamaica and work with the deaf ministry for two years after obtaining an official visa and having my financial goal met at $1000 a month.

After completing the 14-days quarantine in Jamaica, I met a lot of people, learned about Jamaican culture, took a weekend trip, tried many different foods, and went to a Jamaican beach for the first time. Of course, I have been doing staff training and continuing to build a strong pioneering team with Dan, Carole, and Anna.

(Pictured below: Anna, Me, Carole, & Dan)

SCRIPTURE

“...With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

KEYWORDS

YWAM- Youth With A Mission; DTS- Disciple Training School; CCCD- Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf; ASL- American Sign Language; Pro-Tactile- PT

Demonstration of the Power of God

At the YWAM base, I shared my testimony and a little about DeafBlind culture. It was an incredible experience, and God showed His perfect planning by placing Carole, Anna, and me in a team. Carole was my voice interpreter and Anna did the basics of PT on my back, letting me know what was going on in the audience with people’s emotions, questions, and answers. I have limited vision, so Anna provided the extra information that I could not see. Anyway, the point is it was a beautiful show of amazing teamwork as I shared my testimony and we made a huge impact through God’s power. YWAM Jamaica members were very inspired and amazed at how God uses me as a missionary despite my limitations. After that, the YWAM Jamaica members and I felt an immediate spiritual and emotional connection, and I felt like I am part of the YWAM Jamaica family. They took the initiative to communicate with me in basic sign language, genuinely wanted to get to know me, gave me plenty of fruits and foods, and provided accessibility (i.e. using the ASL worship videos during our worship time). Also, they learned how to do the basic PT signs that they will use to work with me in the future. It really inspired me because I haven’t seen this kind of special experience, that there is an organization who says yes to investing themselves to step out of their comfort zone and welcome diversity into their ministries- trusting that God can transform impossible situations.

(Anna did PT on my back - Pictured below)

Also, my team (Carole, Anna & I) joined with two YWAM members, Marion and Olivene, to go to their church in Kingston, Jamaica, about a 3-hour drive for a weekend trip. I shared my testimony there at three different services, sharing about how God called me to be a missionary and still uses me as a DeafBlind person, despite my limitations. During these services, Carole did PT and Anna voiced for me. It really impacted the congregations! People were astonished, it really made them think about how God could use them despite their situations, their struggles, and their limitations. Even if people do not know what to do and are uncomfortable, God wants them to step outside of their comfort zone. I could not do this work, it would be impossible for me without God. God is not limited, He can do anything! Without Him, I could not do this! God has given people His power all over the world to be able to become missionaries for Him. I also announced to the church that I am coming here to reach out to Deaf Jamaicans to come to be missionaries with us! I look forward to seeing God move within the Deaf community, and for them to be inspired and to know that Deaf people can travel around the globe to reach d bellow: people who do not know Jesus. Several Jamaicans told me that their nation is open to me!

(Pictured below: Marion introduced us to her church)

(Pictured below: Sharing the testimony with my team)

I would like to give an encouraging message for you - All of YOU. God is still using you no matter who you are, what you have, or how old you are. God calls you all to serve Him whether it is local and/or global missionaries. Satan will twist words by trying to tell you that you can’t be used by God because of your limitations. He will make you doubt your skills, your capacity, and your ability. Don’t let him win, you can do it with God’s power to make it happen. God has a plan for YOU. I know it is not easy for you and even myself, but we need to step out of the comfort zone and serve Him. God is the one who made us, saved us, and loves us enough to walk with us- even in the darkness we can trust Him.

My New Home for Furloughs

Maybe you are wondering why I am in Dallas, Texas? Well, let me tell you the story! God brought me to reconnect my friendship with Naomi for His beautiful purpose. Naomi and I were good friends in high school. We ran together for our cross country and track & field teams - Illinois School for the Deaf and Jacksonville High School. In addition, I recall clearly how her parents always gave me a warm welcome to their home, full of love. Naomi is hearing and took ASL classes, and always had a passion for learning ASL to communicate with me and other deaf people. We lost touch for 15 years because we went into different directions.

Recently we got reconnected and I learned an interesting thing about Naomi and her husband Josh- they have always been open to hosting people. Naomi has a missionary mindset, and always wanted to do mission work, but God set her on a different path. Josh's sister was a former international missionary too, so they wanted to support missionaries in other ways.

I reached out to her and we shared our faith and how God has changed us. She learned that God has called me to do mission work for life. She and Josh started seeing the clear plan of what God wanted them to do- they asked if they could adopt me to be a part of their home, and make it a place where I could feel at home as well. Here is the picture of my new supporters, Josh and Naomi.

YWAM Jamaica encourages missionaries to take a yearly furlough to connect with supporters and family, and to refresh and spend quality time with God away from the mission field to allow God to speak to us. During these future furloughs, I will continue to visit my family and friends in Illinois, Virginia, Iowa, and other places, but I will be adding Naomi's home in Dallas as well. After the furlough, I will return overseas to do mission work. It has been so fun to reconnect with Naomi in this way and grateful for God's family. I love to see God's purpose by putting people in our paths to build a Church through Jesus Christ!

YWAM Deaf World - Pioneering Team

Many of you who want to know what I will be doing with the deaf ministry in Jamaica for two years. I finally can give you a better picture of what God wants my deaf pioneering team to do. We have four purposes: First, Montego Bay doesn't have any deaf churches or even sign language interpreters in the worship services. Kingston does have several interpreters for the Deaf there, but it is three hours away from Montego Bay. God touched Dan and Carole's hearts to establish a deaf church in Montego Bay. I plan to help them plant the church! We are excited to let you know that we found an available place for the deaf church. We will start the deaf church on October 15. We are welcoming a few Deaf people who will do an internship with us to help us with the church!

Second, my team plans to educate and teach about Deaf culture, and teach sign language to YWAM Jamaica members. They are very open to diversity and are desiring to build relationships with deaf people, especially future Deaf missionaries. Third, we will be the DTS staff for future Deaf students, and our goal is to disciple them to get to know God and make God known to the unreached groups of Deaf people in the world. We will do international outreach trips. Last, we will do community outreach in Jamaica by providing worship, bible study classes, and Friday fellowship nights at CCCD. I am so glad that my team lives on CCCD campus so that we can develop a relationship with the young Deaf students and disciple them to grow spiritually mature in Christ. I hope it helps you to visualize better what my ministry in Jamaica will look like for the two years I am there.

Countless Blessings

My 31st birthday is upcoming this Saturday, August 1st. I looked back from the beginning of my 30th to the end of this week, and I have been thinking about the countless blessings God has given me that I am thankful for. God has drastically changed me to spiritually mature, develop humility, and improve my leadership abilities in my 30th year. God taught me that it is alright to make mistakes, learn from it, and grow spiritually in the process with the Holy Spirit’s help. In addition, God reminds me not to be afraid of sharing my struggles with others in Christ because He loves me despite my imperfection. God opened my eyes to see all His people placed in my life that I received amazing love from.

In closing, I appreciate your support to be a part of the missionary journey with me that God called me to two years ago; first in Brazil, Gambia, and now in Jamaica. I thank God for using you for His purpose. I look forward to growing spiritually through the upcoming trials and celebrating God’s transformations in people’s lives. In addition, I look forward to hearing a variety of amazing testimonies about what God has done for you and others in the future. God is so faithful! I am still faithful in prayer for receiving more financial supporters. I know that God can make it happen without doubt. From last month, it is still the same amount of $757.50 monthly. My goal is to return to Jamaica fully funded at $1,000 a month. The donation website: https://meigiving.org/donate-associate, please add my designation code is KV3690. I kindly ask you to continue supporting me on this new journey together - You, Me, & Jesus Christ.

The next newsletter will be August 28. Have a blessed month!

Warmly love,

Kevlasha Humphrey

(Enjoy the pictures from Jamaica below)