Check out what is happening with the GO Team!
You can't find a better guy anywhere! Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband, father, preacher and friend!
I’m in Wynnum, Queensland for a family event this week, before heading to our National Baptist Fellowship in the western suburbs of Melbourne next week. I’m thankful that our little team of interpreters were able to meet online this week to prepare for the NBF. Please pray that one of the Deaf group from church will be able to have time off work to attend. 🙂
One of the most important parts of the Go Deaf Missions team are our sign language interpreters. The Lord has blessed our team with wonderful and skilled interpreters with a heart for the Deaf. They do many hours of interpreting as we travel. A great thanks to Tricia, Timothy and Anna.
Quiero darle gracias a Dios por las personas que pone en nuestro camino.
Last night I finished preparing a video for one of my supporting churches. They asked for an update about my ministry with our Go Deaf team and with our Deaf Ministry at Wesburn. Hopefully I’ll be able to share that here with you soon too. I’ll be attending our National Baptist Fellowship conference on the other side of Melbourne next week and will have a missions table there. Please pray that it will be a fruitful time and that more churches here in Australia will learn about our ministry.
Thank you to all of you who are praying for us, whether regularly or as often as the Spirit moves you. Thank you to all who have sent messages to anyone on our team with encouraging words and personal interest in the Go Team and what God is doing in our lives. Thank you to all who read our letters and social media posts, and react to or comment on them. Thank you to all who have given any gift, whether monetary or physical. Thank you to all who have spent time helping with projects or invited us to share a meal or activity with you. Thank you to all who share our prayer letters and prayer cards with churches, friends, family, and neighbors.
1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV — I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
Es tan grato poder finalmente repartir estas tarjetas de oración.
These last several weeks have been so difficult with Amanda. Two weeks ago, after a few courses of medication, we were so relieved to see her start to improve but it was short lived. After about four good days the confusion and sleeplessness returned along with a host of other things. We did some tests and found she had another UTI. More doctors and more tests are in our near future. Please keep praying for a full recovery. It is a blessing to know so many people who care. Thank you all.
🙏Here are specific prayers requests for our spirital, personal and ministry equpment needs. Pray for our team's needs. Thank you. 🙏
Even though our travel plans have been interrupted, the time we are at home trying to help Amanda has been good in other ways as well. Slowly but surely, important household tasks are getting scratched off the "to do" list and little projects are getting accomplished. Out of the last two years, I don't think we were home even ten weeks of nights. We stayed on the road, but always with a nagging feeling about the growing list of household needs. I will be the first to admit that the timing of all this does not seem convenient, but I believe God has a purpose in it all. For now, I am thankful to have some time to focus on some household items that have been needing attention. There are more than a few.
Today I have been at home, and one of my housemates and I decided to prune back our grape vine. I was reminded of one of my favourite passages of scripture in John chapter 15, about the true vine. When I was baptised, I was asked which verses I would like to have written in calligraphy on a certificate to remember my baptism day. I chose this passage and it’s been a helpful passage to come back to time and again in my life. I’m thankful for how it has become richer to me in meaning over time. I am honoured that God continues to take time to prune out areas of my life that need to be purged, and helps me to grow in ways that are honouring to Him.
A verse that's been on my mind lately:
Hurricane Idalia went by us In Jacksonville on the north, and we got mostly rain and wind. I thank the Lord for his protection and I pray for those affected by the hurricane that they will recover quickly. Also, I thank the responders for going out to help those in need, for the technicians working to restore electricity to those without power, and for the people praying for safety.
It is about as hot and muggy in Jacksonville as it can get. We are busy batting down the hatches as we keep one eye on Idalia making it's way into the Gulf. We have not made a decision to leave town as of yet but it is still on the table for consideration.
Today, Amanda drew her own prayer card, wanting it to be like a tract. She said, ""I want to give out the gospel tracts to people.". I thank the Lord she is showing improvement in her health and compassion for those who are lost. Thank you all for praying. Please keep on praying for her and her health!!
The last several weeks have been quite a roller coaster with Amanda. We have worked with several doctors and still don't have all the answers we need. This whole thing is one big snowball of physical, emotional, and spiritual needs all converging and conflicting at the same time. We have run a number of labs multiple times, contributing factors include a UTI, an amoeba, and scoliosis. Right now the latest two blood exams and the urine labs came back normal. We are asking God for great wisdom in helping Amanda and sticking pretty close to home while we sort this out. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Praise the Lord with me! I sent my passport for renewal the first week of May, and received a notice in July that my application was incomplete and had to fill out the application a second time. I have been hearing about multiple passport service delays and some people missing important trips due to not getting passports back in time. This week I received my new passport!
Last Wednesday night, after the service, the pastor and his wife took us out for dinner. It was a sweet time of fellowship, and they listened to us as we shared our burdens and needs. I thank the Lord for allowing this time together to pour our hearts.
Keep praying for Amanda, We are starting to get some answers and see improvement, but we still have need of your prayers.
I'm experiencing the crazy weather of a Florida summer for the first time!
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 KJV
ASL numbers from 0-100!😃🙌👍
youtu.be This lesson...Learn how to sign in ASL! “Numbers” Let’s go! Let’s learn ASL!🙌🙏🤟#randydignan #asl #americansignlanguage #learnasl #BlessGod #blessed #coda #l...
Several people have asked about Amanda. It has been a rough couple of weeks with many calls to the doctor and we are currently scheduled at a hematologist for Friday the 21st at a different provider than the one we requested. We are trying to get the appointment moved but holding this appointment in case we would have to wait longer at the other one. There has been a lot of run-around at our doctor's office and a lot of confusion about the lab reports.
Last Sunday, we visited two churches in which we presented our work two or three years ago. They both now want to start supporting us.
We have been waiting a few months for Amanda to be seen by our doctor's office. We finally got in last week and our PA called today to say Amanda has a low iron count and an elevated white blood cell count. She wants to repeat the test again tomorrow but without waiting for results is already referring us to hematology.
Last week, at the Deaf Baptist Fellowship of America, I taught a workshop on missions. After the class, one deaf man thanked me for teaching, and he had been praying about missions. In the service, this deaf man surrendered his life to deaf missions. Praise the Lord!
Interested in Sign Language? Here's help from Pastor Randy Dignan.Starts this week!
This week Dad passed unexpectedly from this earth to his heavenly home. I'm so thankful for the years God gave him, and for the father he was to my sister and brother and me, and the husband he was to my mom. We are praising God that my dad is in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ, not because he did good works to earn it, for eternal life in heaven can never be earned, but because he put his faith in Jesus Christ alone to forgive his sins and save his soul. He was a determined servant of the Lord, always encouraging others to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved," and leaving Gospel tracts with the tip at every restaurant where he ate. Though he had many ailments during his life with us, he is now completely healed in spirit, mind, and body.
Dean Carson Gilkey - View Obituary & Service Information www.heritageflagler.com Share Memories and Support the Family.
Over the last few months I’ve been working on a translation of a Gospel message in Auslan, after a friend asked me to prepare it. I’m thankful for my friend Susan, who helped to prepare a translation of the original English script in Auslan, which I was then able to use as a model, to learn how to convey some complex ideas! It was a challenge to work out how best to work with the material I had, with a few roadblock moments along the way, but I have learned a lot through the process.
Brokenness Unbroken: Gospel Message in Auslan www.youtube.com Note: The captions show the original English script. The Auslan translation includes unpacking of concepts, and reflects Auslan grammar, therefore it doesn’t...
We have been continuing with our Auslan classes at Wesburn, and having fun along the way! Please continue to pray for growing connections between the hearing and Deaf in our church, for our ministry to grow and for people to help with interpreting in the future.
Olson's Prayer Letter
Just to give you a glimpse of what it takes missionaries to get to the field, this is a part what we are trying to organize and sort out right now and complete by the end of summer in moving to Portugal
How to Get a Portuguese Visa - US Citizens - BarbaraGrassey.com barbaragrassey.com Applying for a long term (residency) Portuguese visa isn't hard but it does involve many tasks. Find out how to apply in this post.
By nature I am an organizer, but figuring out what to pack, what to leave in the house, what to pass onto adult kids, and what to donate is a pretty complicated process. I need a lot of prayer.
Last night I visited Southwood Baptist Church in Tallahassee with missionary friends. We had such a delightful experience there and the message was on James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you..." Pastor Sutton invited me to share about the ministry, and after church a teenage girl came to tell me that she felt God had been speaking to her about being a missionary. She thanked me for my testimony and she plans to write to me. Please pray with me for this young lady to follow God's plan for her life.
Prayer Requests...Pray for God to meet our needs: Spiritual, Personal and Ministry. I have attached the link to our prayer requests.
¡La semana pasada tuve mi primera experiencia en una conferencia campestre, y la disfruté! Constantemente he oído hablar del espíritu que tienen los cristianos en una conferencia campestre y desde que supe de ello, quise ser parte de uno. Estoy agradecido con Dios que pude ser parte de uno la semana pasada y tuve la oportunidad de interpretar grandes sermones de convicción y conocer a grandes hombres de Dios, estoy orando para que Dios abra las puertas para visitar sus iglesias algún día.
1 Chronicles ,4:10
We are mostly home for the next couple of months to pack and move to Portugal. Since the last time we looked, Portugal seems changed some of the information regarding visa requirements. A visit to their immigration website and a written request for information from the Portuguese consulate have left us confused about the order of steps we need to take and the length of time we have to be in Portugal to maintain a resident visa. Hopefully, a subsequent letter will help us gain specific information.
This week I sent off my passport for renewal and asked for expedited service. I expect to get it back with a new one in 7-9 weeks, just in time for our move to Portugal. In other news, I am getting close to my support goal. I am at nearly 90%! Praise the Lord! Just two days ago I made a follow-up call to a church I visited awhile back, and the pastor informed me that they voted to support me in their April business meeting. God is raising my support! If I have about 7 more churches support me, I'll be ready to go!
Last Sunday, our team visited Faith Baptist Church in McClenny, Florida with Pastor Torrey Dismuke. We did not know there was a revival meeting from Sunday to Wednesday. One of the speakers was Evangelist Dean McNeese, who Tricia and I knew in our Bible College days. We attended all evening services, which was truly blessed much by the Lord. We thank the Lord for Dean's faithfulness in ministry, and his preaching encouraged us. Tricia and I value the friendship we have with Dean. May God find us faithful till He comes!!
God has been so good to us!
Some sweet ladies from Good News Baptist Church invited us to tea today. We had a lovely time together. Always sad to say goodbye. We have been so blessed to be here.
As we travel from city to city, state to state, and country to country, we find a need for someone to reach the Deaf with the Gospel in almost every place. As we are preparing to leave Grand Cayman, again I feel that familiar tug to stay because as in almost every place we have gone the Deaf desire someone would minister to them. There is a need for someone to preach for the Deaf here and it burdens my heart.
Remembering Patch the Pirate
Cantamos este himno el Domingo de Resurrección, pero debido a algunas complicaciones con el sistema de sonido, no se pudo comunicar el mensaje de la canción con precisión, por lo que decidimos tratar de solucionar el problema y cantarla una vez más el próximo domingo. En las misiones, y en la vida en general, siempre puede pasar lo inesperado, y aunque creas que preparaste todo con anticipación, siempre puede pasar algo que nos dé una sacudida, pero que no debe impedirnos seguir dando lo mejor de nosotros. a llevar el Evangelio.
Missions is why we are here in Grand Cayman. Missions is why we will go to Europe. Missions is why we will go to South America. Missions is why we will go Africa. Missions is why we will go to the uttermost part of the earth.
In Grand Cayman, we have met three deaf men, and they are all Christians. They are thankful for the fellowship with our team, and they miss being in a church. They have given us names of other deaf here on the island. Pray for a great day of deaf outreach on Easter Sunday!
Conseguí enfermarme en este viaje! No es realmente algo que quisiera que me sucediera, pero saben amigos, como dijo Anna hace tiempo, solo somos personas, siervos imperfectos que quieren seguir la voluntad de un Dios perfecto. Fue frustrante tener que quedarme en cama sin hacer nada durante un par de días, pero a veces esos momentos de descanso son cuando podemos tener comunión con Él por más tiempo. Ahora quiero agradecer a Dios que estoy mejorando y puedo continuar trabajando, descansado y con más energía para dejar que Dios use a este siervo imperfecto.
Pray for this ASL class at Good News Baptist Church in Grand Cayman. Three classes are offered for this month.
Last night I headed from work directly to the airport, flew to Brisbane, and then was driven to Toowoomba, Queensland. The weather was a bit grey in Melbourne last night!
Update:
Please watch this video, The Gospel for the Deaf, signed in ASL for the deaf and voiced for the hearing. Share this with your deaf and hearing friends.
Please take time to read this page about the Gospel. it is for every one.
Normalmente, cuando encuentra una persona sorda, uno puede averiguar dónde es que el resto de su comunidad se reúne o pasa el rato, pero aquí en Gran Caimán, la comunidad Sorda no parece estar tan bien conectada como estamos acostumbrados a ver en otros lugares. Me alegré mucho cuando vi a esta persona Sorda, que conocimos en una tienda al por mayor, entrando por las puertas de la iglesia en el culto de esta noche. Él ya conoce a Cristo como su Salvador y estaba emocionado por la prédica de John y la comunión que tuvimos después. Él tiene baja visión y tuve el privilegio de interpretar en sus manos una parte del culto de esta noche.
Speaking with Bro Jerry Rowland of Baptist Church Planting at a conference in Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Cayman, I enjoy finding out that we know some of the same people in the ministry:. David Peach, Randy Dignan and Nick Dignan.
Timothy and I've been volunteering in a school with an adorable little deaf girl who is just learning language. In so many ways she reminds me of Amanda at the time we adopted her. The family is in Cayman from another country and we were able to meet with some of them today. We are hoping they can make it to some of the upcoming services and also to our sign language classes and that we can help her family find good education solutions. Please pray with us that God will put his blessing on this work and help this family in every way they need. They are such sweet people.
Timothy was invited to lead the congregation in signing while at the same time singing in Spanish!
This meeting begins tomorrow. Yesterday and today, we went out visiting, looking for deaf. We found two today. Pray they will come, for our interpreters, and for the speakers.
The past two weeks in Grand Cayman, I have had the privilege of going with David to experience the Christian school setting. Interpreting is a great job. I get to be part of the fun but still go relatively unnoticed. David has so enjoyed being a part of the Christian school here, making friends, learning from different teachers, and having a tight schedule. The kids and teachers love him, too. David has spread "awareness" about deaf people and sign language just by being himself, and doing normal everyday things.
I thank the Lord for our Go Deaf Team. We are here in the Cayman Islands to teach American Sign Language in two churches. Each person on the team helps in this endeavor. I teach teens and adults; Tricia interprets for me; Amanda passes out the handouts; Timothy runs the sound and camera equipment and leads songs in ASL; David helps with the video recording; and Anna teaches the children. What a blessing for us to serve the Lord together!
S. Marcos 16:15 RVR1960
Pray for this meeting next week! m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=585357736950920&id=100064300975348&mibextid=Nif5oz
We are thrilled that our sending church started this deaf church in Pinellas Park, Florida. The church is just over a year old and doing well.
Last Sunday was a great day at with a full house at church. Two children received Jesus Christ as Savior after my message, and we met a deaf man after the service!! He said he can show me his deaf friends. To God be the Glory!
Yesterday through Zoom, we had the privilege of presenting our ministry to a church in Europe from our living room in the Cayman Islands, thanks to the time difference between here and there, some incredible technology, and some people who know how to operate the technology!
Last Saturday, our team went with Calvary Baptist Church of Georgetown to pass out info for a Bible study in the West Bay of Cayman Islands. The goal is to eventually start a church from the Bible study. What a blessing to be part of this new church plant! Sometimes we are blessed to serve the hearing church in their endeavors to pass out the gospel in the community.
Our sign language classes in Grand Cayman started today!
Pray for our sign language class, we trust God will do something with this!GoDeaf Ministry is offering free drop-in ASL classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for the next 8 weeks.
Yesterday Go partnered with the church here going door-to-door inviting folks to church and Bible study in the community. I also asked about deaf people and a couple of ladies told me about a deaf woman who wanders the street regularly, and another deaf woman whose mother lives on a nearby street. They also said we can check the post office because at least two deaf work there. This morning, the lady who taught the teens' Sunday school knows a deaf woman who comes to the bank where she works. We are excited to follow up on these leads. Pray for us!
My devotions are currently focused on the book of Proverbs, and I am thankful that God leads us through different seasons in life with just what we need as we read from His word.
Landed in Charlotte, NC. Next flight to Cayman Islands. Pray for our two months missions trip!!
It is almost 1:30 a.m. and we are about ready to head out on a missions trip to the Cayman Islands. It's going to be a long night! Two churches have prepared for us to come and help them prepare to start deaf ministries. The turn around from the last trip was pretty quick. When we come back at the end of April, Lord willing, we will be packing up the house and preparing to move to Portugal. Pray for a good trip and for souls to be saved in Cayman.
While I was with our team in the Caribbean Islands, we recorded a translation of my bio from our website in Auslan (Australian Sign Language). I've prepared captions and a voice-over as well. There is a little film snippet towards the end from one of my ministry trips to the Solomon Islands. I hope this may be a blessing to you!
Last week I graduated with a Christian Worker’s Certificate from Victoria Baptist Bible College. I’m thankful for my teachers who worked diligently to prepare classes and who encouraged us along the way. It was so good to meet our teachers and fellow students face to face, most for the first time! The majority of our classes were online, through the long lockdowns in Melbourne. Please pray for the full time students that are commencing their studies this year through the college, and for strong leaders to continue sharing the Gospel here in Australia.
Our three months missions trip to St Lucia, Grenada and Dominica ended yesterday. We are back in the US. 14 deaf and 4 hearing trusted Jesus as their Saviour. Also, many hours were spent in teaching sign language. Thank you all for your prayers.
I'm so thankful for times of rest in my life, times of refreshing, times of fun. Although I have had several meetings this month, I've also been able to rest, enjoy seeing my family and friends, and have a little down time between meetings. God knew I needed it. I'm truly thankful.
Thanking the Lord for two more deaf saved tonight! The lady I led to the Lord has gone to church all her life and has always felt something was missing. She was so excited to receive Christ personally for the forgiveness of sins. When she learned we are leaving tomorrow she was convinced she just got in in the nick of time. What a great way to end a missions trip! God has really blessed!
Timothy arrived safely today back in Peru after 3 months with us in St Lucia, Grenada and Dominica. Thank you for your prayers. Looking forward to serving together in the near future. Pray for his visa, and for our trips this year.
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