The New Journey Begins

Happy New Year, Everyone!   As I look back at the beginning of January 2021 till now I can’t help but think, wow! Thank you for all the support that you’ve offered me throughout my mission. All of the prayers, advice, and encouragement truly touched my heart. Some of you even provided a place for me to stay and resources during my travels-thank you! I really appreciate the financial support when I sent out various newsletters requesting help after experiencing some unforeseen hurdles. Thank you for your faithfulness! I can’t imagine doing this without you! I will continue to post blessings and God's word while praying for more disciple missionaries. There are only a handful of missionaries out there who can reach Deaf communities. We need more! Join me in prayer for this need so we can reach more Deaf people all around the world and share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ! We are doing this for Gods’ kingdom. So again, a big thank you for making all of this happen.   Seattle Trip God sent the right person who was willing to share resources with us in Seattle. This woman is DeafBlind and works as an SSP coordinator. She provides services for the DeafBlind community all over Washington state by finding ideal matches for DeafBlind clients and SSP guides. When she, Veledise, and I initially met we instantly hit it off. I felt like God prompted me to ask her if she would be willing to provide resources and teach Veledise about SSP. She agreed and even after a full day of work the next day, she taught them (Emily included as well) way into the late hours of the night. Praise God for the willing vessel He made in her!    During her teaching time with them, she let them try special eye goggles which simulated what it would be like to be partially blind.  For example, one feature of the glasses would only allow you to see through random spots or blurry holes, while another pair only allowed you to see straight ahead and not out of your peripheral vision. Switching back and forth between the different goggles and having the other person lead them through various daily situations was a really big eye-opening experience for them to learn about the struggles of Deaf-blind people. Veledise especially felt very overwhelmed and was taken back at the tremendous added communication hurdle, gaining an even deeper respect for the target community we are on missions to serve. During that experience, her passion to help DeafBlind people grew even stronger! While watching Veledise’s experience with the goggles, I realized what an incredible opportunity it would be to bring these goggles back to Jamaica to help educate other people in the same way. Unfortunately, the goggles are extremely expensive. But God gave Emily a vision of how to make our own version! We bought swim goggles and used various strips of materials as well as straw and paint. We were so thrilled to bring our newly constructed DeafBlind simulated goggles back to Jamaica with us! I also wanted to note what a blessing it was to have such wonderful friends and sisters in Christ on the trip with me! I was so blessed by Emily’s servant heart being so willing to drive several hours to and from Seattle and Spokane. In many ways, I have seen such generosity and kindness in both their hearts. I especially look forward to Emily becoming one of my DTS students this September!

DeafBlind Workshop After arriving home, we immediately got to work sharing our experience on what we learned while in Seattle. Veledise did a great job preparing our lessons! We taught our team about DeafBlind culture, shared with them some Do’s and Don’ts, and let them experience our homemade goggles first hand. The goggle activity was held outside and we instructed them to go back and forth between the two goggles as well as using a blindfold over their eyes. In some situations, we gave them a person who acted as an SSP guide, and other times we left them alone. It really gave my team a deeper sense of what it would be like to be DeafBlind. They realized it’s an even greater struggle to get around and you feel left out during some situations. Deaf people already miss out on a lot of information, but being DeafBlind there’s even more communication barriers and missed information. In the end, I asked my team what their feedback was and they shared similar feelings of being overwhelmed and having a greater respect for the DeafBlind people who experience this each and everyday. After that, they even made more of an effort to use touch, as well as PT and tactile signing approaches. I really appreciate the way our trip to Seattle has impacted my team for the better. It has really bonded us here in Jamaica, and I feel honored and touched that they are being extra considerate of my needs. I feel very inspired, and realize how education and the use of resources can really impact people and their perspectives.

YWAM Deaf World Jamaica - Ministries: My team and I will be busy this year and next year as well. I am pretty excited to share what we have in store for our ministry. After you read this, please pray that we come to God with humility and honest faith to request physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength during our journey. Thank you in advance, and please continue reading below about our ministries:   Church - A few months ago, we established a new “church” ministry called Jesus Gathering. Our purpose is to have a place of prayer in Jamaica. We have wonderful fellowship with deaf Jamaicans who are thirsty and hungry for Jesus. Our goal is to show God’s kingdom culture and teach them about the character of God. We want them to feel welcome and to feel like family. We do that by spending time together, and chatting, swimming, playing board/card games, outdoor activities, etc. Our ministry provides a lunch meal to eat together. In addition, we have a prayer gathering for two hours to give them an opportunity to experience God. This happens every Saturday from 10:00am-4:00pm.   Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf (CCCD) - Our team has a good relationship with CCCD. Once a week they have been inviting us to share a devotional with them. Also, we have a weekly evangelism ministry called “YWAM Club”. Its purpose is to build relationships with our students and share testimonies of how God transformed our lives. Our goal is to show them how God embraces relationships.   Discipleship Training School (DTS) - We will have two upcoming DTS seasons this year! It is going to be very busy around here, but we are excited to see more people become missionaries! We look forward to increasing the percentage of missionaries in order to reach out to deaf people around the world! The first DTS will start on January 20th and the second in September. I will lead both schools with the support of my wonderful team. If you would like to know more information about DTS or share with others who might be interested in joining the September DTS, here is the website:  https://www.ywamdeafworldjamaica.org/.   Secondary School - In April 2023, we will have a new secondary school! It is called Discipleship Bible School (DBS) for the signers. This school is geared towards students who have completed their DTS. It will take 3 months to study throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Our purpose is to give them the opportunity to understand the Bible better. It will help them to learn how to apply their lives by growing closer to the truth of God. Caleb is the leader of this new school! I look forward to being a student of this new school myself and learning a lot!     Please keep us in your prayers, thank you! Have a blessed year!   Love in Christ,   Kevlasha Humphrey YWAM - Deaf World Jamaica

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