Put Feet to My Faith

Put Feet to My Faith

Greetings!

I hope your summer is off to a good start! As always, thank you for your prayers and support. I really appreciate your encouraging messages! I praise God for everything that He has done for us! I did so well during the Deaf Theology Center (DTC) season in Tennessee! I only have four weeks left to go! I am really looking forward to the DTC ceremony on June 3rd.

SCRIPTURE

"I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you."

Joshua 1:3

New Ministry in Process
I want to share a short update about my new ministry. I had a meeting with some very knowledgeable and experienced people related to establishing new ministries. We discussed cross-culture, vision, and bylaws for my ministry. I know it will take a while to prepare and develop, but I trust God to make it happen in His perfect timing. I am actively seeing how God places people in each other’s paths to get together for His purpose. I have already been blessed to have some partnerships in my life, supporting me wholeheartedly. It is a continued blessing to have support people agreeing to join me in this journey to establish a future new ministry. I will let you know when it's the right time and will share more. Please continue praying for us to take each step with God's help.

What’s New!
In other news, I am excited to share another big update with you all! After the DTC ceremony in June, I will head to Brazil the very next day! In my preview March newsletter, I know I mentioned that I might go to a nation somewhere in Africa. I am thrilled to share the story with you about how it all happened!

In early March, my missionary friend named Kees reached out to me and asked for resources regarding Deaf culture for his ministry in Brazil. I felt God trying to show me some kind of sign about him and his ministry; however, I was still heavily focused on traveling to a country in Africa. Suddenly, I no longer felt peace about my purpose in Africa. I decided to ask my prayer friend for help and guidance for a clear Holy Spirit lead direction. I wanted to be certain I was following His path and letting God guide me. My friend suggested that I leave it in God’s hands, and be open to wherever He leads. Up until this point, I had been so focused on African countries. God helped me realize that it was essential to be open to other countries as well. I thank God for the prayer people He’s put in my life to help mentor and give me wonderful advice. After letting go of the stubborn desire to seek only Africa, I started seeing a clear direction of an open door from God about another country.

On the evening of April 9th, I had a deep quiet time with God. I was looking at a beautiful painting of boats hanging on the wall in my furnished apartment. The country “Holland” appeared in my mind, and I instantly felt goosebumps. I meditated on the word Holland and recalled how I had spent two weeks there quite some time ago. During that time, I remembered seeing many boats which are very popular in Holland. It stirred my heart! However, I was not one hundred percent certain that I had heard God’s voice clearly and decided to let it go. That night, I was struggling to sleep and wondered why God had stirred my interest in Holland.

The next day very early in the morning, my prayer friend and I had a Zoom call to pray together before going to DTC class. We agreed that it felt very clear I was not supposed to go to an African country this summer. During the prayer, “Holland” and “Kees” appeared in my mind, but I really wanted to hear my friend out first before sharing what I received. She simply inquired, “How about Holland?” Instantly, my mouth dropped to the floor! This was definitely a confirmed word from God! We also felt strongly in our prayer time together that I would travel to Brazil and then Holland. We prayed and asked God to lead with wisdom and His right timing regarding when to reach out to my missionary friend, Kees.

We ended our Zoom call, and unexpectedly I checked my phone and received a message from Kees! He had sent a picture of a banner outside on the beach with a sign that read “Humphrey’s.” My name popped in his head after seeing the banner because that is my last name. I replied immediately and asked, “Where did you take that picture?” He replied, “now in Holland.” He and his wife, Victoria, are currently in Holland for their family visit and Disciple Training School (DTS) outreach preparation. We agreed that we needed to talk a few days later about how we each received signs from God. Sunday, April 16th, I explained in full detail to Kees through a Zoom call about the signs God was sending me about calling me to Brazil and Holland. When I finished, I saw his surprised reaction on his face. He informed me that his team in Brazil would be going to Holland for their outreach trip! All the dots were connecting! I started to understand why I received signs from God about Kees and his team in Brazil. The following day, he decided to share our discussion with his DTS team and encourage them to join us in praying about it. Collectively they felt so much peace and decided to welcome me as their teammate and volunteer worker! Kees and I can hardly believe that after five years, we will be reunited in Brazil to work together again! I’m very excited to see Kees, Victoria, and meet their DTS team!

- Pictured above: This was what I have gotten a picture from Kees, "Humphrey's" -

Some of you might be curious as to how my friend Kees and I met five years ago. Kees is originally from Holland. He came to the USA specifically to attend ASL DTS. We participated in the same DTS as students from September 2017 until February 2018. During that time, we both connected very well and became great friends. We would encourage and challenge each other on a regular basis and always had each other’s backs. The program has a 3-month long lecture phase and then an outreach phase for 2-months. Our outreach trip was in Brazil. There, we met a Brazilian woman named Victoria, who just became a new missionary working in Brazil full-time after her DTS. She finished her DTS in Brazil in 2017.

After we returned from our trip, Kees went back to his home country. A few months later, Kees and I met up again in Brazil to help the Brazilian team pioneer their deaf ministry. During that time, Kees and Victoria were in a relationship. I got to know Victoria more, and we became good friends during those three months. Victoria was one of the few missionaries in Brazil who desired to learn more about my DeafBlind culture. She gradually became more and more aware and sensitive to my needs. She always believed the best in me. I could really see her desire to learn more about the Deaf community grow, and what a wonderful deaf ally she would become.

After my time spent with them, I left Brazil and headed back to the USA to prepare for my next mission trip to Gambia, West Africa. A month later, Kees returned home to Holland. I went to Holland from Gambia for two weeks and had a chance to see Kees again before I returned to Gambia. Kees and Victoria both supported me during my difficult journey when I was doing mission work in Gambia in 2019. Kees moved to Brazil from Holland and got married to Victoria in 2020. For a few years, they worked as missionaries together. Later, they were both called to pioneer their first DTS for Deaf Brazilians, which will start on June 5th of this year! I am so blessed to see their spiritual journey with God grow and evolve! They are two of the most amazing people I know! I am pretty excited to see how God will move in the lives of Deaf Brazilians soon!

- Pictures were taken in Brazil in 2018 -

Here were Kees and Victoria!

Next Steps:

My plan is to stay in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to support and serve their DTS pioneering team through the lecture phase for three months. I will also be joining them for their outreach trip to Holland. I have already communicated with my mission supporters, who gave a one-time donation for my mission trip to Africa, that I plan to go to Brazil instead. I requested to see if I can use that funding to travel to Brazil. They agreed, and said I could use those funds to whichever country God leads me to. I have bought a ticket to Brazil for June 4th! I am so pleased to report that everything thus far has gone smoothly! God has made a way! I look forward to sharing with you more details about DTS’s outreach trip in the next newsletter. I kindly ask you to help with the funds for my outreach trip to Holland.

My DTC Family
Lastly, I would like to share about my experience at DTC before closing this newsletter. I can’t thank God enough for DTC. DTC has taught me a great deal and reminded me a lot about who God is through my heart language. I have seen God’s love and grace shine through my classmates. They all come from a variety of backgrounds, which fascinates me to learn more about them. I am so blessed to have different unique relationships with each and every one of them. I regard my classmates as my DTC family! During our time together, we often play games, go hiking, help each other out, encourage one another, provide fellowship meals, and worship God together. We agreed to make sure to always look out for each other. To always stay together and support each other through our storms. I will always cherish my experience, the beautiful unity and love we had together as a family! Please pray for us to stay faithful and finish strong with God's help, thank you!

Love in Christ,

Kevlasha Humphrey