Grief into JOY - Part 2

Greetings from Kansas!

(Pictured Above: This was the last picture of me in Jamaica before I left.)

Grief into JOY - Part 2

Greetings from Kansas! Outreach Trip I can hardly believe that on June 18th our DTS season ended! Before the season started, God showed us during a prayer for our team that He would use us in many ways. Specifically to bring the joy of being alive again through Jesus Christ to others! He also told us we should call our team, “Sunrise of Zoe”. Sunrise represents hope. Zoe, is a Greek word that means “life”.    Our outreach was truly an amazing experience. We got to see how God touched many people's lives here in Jamaica! We traveled to 12 out of the 14 parishes in Jamaica! We accomplished many things during our outreach trip. This included a project helping a Deaf person build his backyard fence to prevent goats from eating his garden. As well as sharing the gospel and testimonies with three Deaf schools and a few churches. We taught about the Trinity, having a personal relationship with God, and blessed several Deaf Jamaican families. Nine people decided to accept Jesus as their personal Savior too! God stirred my heart when I witnessed this, and it inspired me to share God’s powerful gospel with others. Please feel free to watch a video of Sunrise of Zoe's Outreach Trip below.

SCRIPTURES   John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”   (Statement from a Previous Newsletter) April 11, 2022 “During my prayer time recently I have been having so many realizations that God cares for each of us so much! He truly feels our heartache. For those of you who feel hopeless and wonder why you go through struggles, and what is the point of being here on this earth? Well, take heart because God truly sees all of us, grieving right alongside us when we are in despair. It’s so interesting how God meets us right where we are through life’s ups and downs.” -Kevlasha Humphrey

Grief to Joy  In my last newsletter, I shared about transforming grief into joy.  This is the second part of that same topic which focuses on my challenging journey leading this DTS. DTS has a very full schedule. This includes 50 hours of work a week for leaders. This season all those questions and problems were directed to me which was very overwhelming. As I was trying to take on all these new responsibilities related to the school, I was still experiencing health problems. I needed to take time off to recover and allow my body to rest. On a regular basis, my strength and energy was quick to drain out. Also, God was doing so much inside of me that I was still processing so many personal things.  I realized that I needed time to process with God the things he was teaching and growing in me. I learned that leading DTS is not what God desires for me at this point in time.  While I was processing all of this with God, I felt like a bat in the dark just wanting to hide. I was asking myself “Why am I here?” I lost all motivation and felt worthless. I was tempted to quit and not be involved with anything.  After taking time to process with God, I chose to continue to lead the DTS, but I changed my focus. I turned my focus on my relationship with God and pouring into the students. During this time God started showing me puzzle pieces of how He created me and how He wants to use me in the future. God revealed two hidden passions of mine: cross-cultural unity between hearing and Deaf people in missions, and helping people who have experienced past traumas. God turned my grieving into joy, as He showed me who I am and what He is calling me to do.  I am not called to lead DTS seasons in the future; however, my community told me that I am still an amazing and strong leader. I agree with them and declare this truth. No matter what I will always be a missionary for the Lord! I am a person who has an explosive impact on people when I share and present to them.  I am a great motivational and inspirational speaker. I also love to pray and encourage people who have experienced any kind of trauma.  God uses my story to impact others who have experienced hard things in life. I am so excited to share that through this recent season, He has shown me a new chapter in my life as a missionary.

New Chapter as a Missionary  God is stirring the hearts of hearing people from YWAM bases worldwide. During this DTS season we observed that many of them want to learn about Deaf awareness. I was asked to lead several workshops via Zoom with my team. Educating hearing people is one of my passions! Once they learn that Deaf people are one of the top unreached groups, they are passionately motivated to partner with Deaf people like us to help more Deaf people come to know Christ. Right now only 2% of Deaf people around the world know Jesus personally.   Looking back, I have been traveling around the world to encourage and inspire others through testimonies, gospel, workshops, etc. I have seen how God used me as a cross-cultural bridge between hearing and Deaf people.  I made it through with the Holy Spirit’s help and the team’s support to complete this DTS season. I want to make a significant note that it is no coincidence that God placed me in the position to lead the DTS because He wanted to reveal something to me about my personality, limitations, strengths, and passions. If I would have not obeyed God and lead this season, I would not know more about myself and the specific calling of what He wants me to be. God gave me a new role as a representative and presenter including encouraging and teaching too. My new role description is added below:   I am honored to be in the new pioneering role as a YWAM Deaf World Representative. In this new role, I will operate independently from the YWAM campus. This includes being online via zoom and in-person at a different base in the United States and internationally. At different times I will be able to provide various training workshops and events regarding spreading Deaf awareness in different ministries. I will be doing what I love, encouraging and reconnecting with former YWAM Deaf World students and staff, gathering YWAM individuals to start or run a Deaf ministry of their own. Lastly, I will be involved with YWAM Frontier Mission (FM). This ministry mainly focuses on unreached people groups, and Deaf people are definitely one of those groups. I will bring a lot of encouragement and advice to reflect God’s love and unity for everyone including cross-cultural mediation. I will keep sharing my testimony and the gospel. Whatever God calls me to go through during my new role I am ready and able!

Taking a Furlough I am on summer break from the ministry for the month of July. I am in the process of transitioning to a new role in August. I am currently with my very good friend Veledise who will get married in July, and I am so excited for her! I am helping her prepare for her wedding. After that, I am open to places where God welcomes me into people's homes.

(Pictured Above: Mrs. Soza to Be, Me, Mr. Soza, and their adorable dogs)

Just to clarify I am not going back to Jamaica. I will be staying in the US looking for more permanent housing while I am doing zoom trainings, in person, and education webinars when YWAM or various ministries call open me.    By the way, your prayers have been answered about Veledise! Praise God that her health has been improving. She is back to being stable with eating, sleeping, and her general physical health. She is grateful that this situation happened becuase it helped her grow closer to God. Again, your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Prayer Points   Please Pray for me: Pray for some places to stay until March 2023. Pray for a stable place where it would be my home base in the USA. Pray for the wisdom to go through the transition process into a new role. Your prayers would greatly appreciated! Many thanks! Thank you for all of your prayers and support through this DTS season! Have a blessed summer!   Love,   Kevlasha Humphrey

WEBSITE DONATION https://meigiving.org/donate/ywam-kevlasha

WEBSITE DONATION https://meigiving.org/donate/ywam-kevlasha