Thursday afternoon was the official close of the DeafNation World Expo event. We don’t have all the numbers yet, but we did pass out multiple thousands of tracts and Gospel DVDs. The team has seen 11 people saved so far this week. We still have one more full day of ministry left. Even though the one event ended Thursday there are still other smaller events for the Deaf that continue into Monday.

Sunday night we plan to return to the event that kicked off the week for us and continue to distribute tracts and DVDs. Even though the Gospel DVDs are specifically for the Deaf, they are a tremendously clear representation of the Gospel for the hearing as well.

On the final day of DeafNation I prayed and asked the Lord to allow me to lead a deaf person to an understanding of salvation that day. I really wanted to meet someone from Mexico and share the Gospel with them. About mid-morning I was told that there was a deaf man from Mexico who stopped by one of our booths. No one was able to communicate clearly with him. We started a 2 hour hunt to find the man in the crowd. However, we didn’t have to find him, he found us. He wandered back over to our table and I was able to meet with him. He is from Guadalajara, Mexico but did not know Mexican signs well. He also did not seem to know American Sign Language either. However he seemed intelligent and was able to communicate his level of understanding the Gospel when I presented God’s Word through pictures. It was my privilege to introduce him to the Savior standing in the aisle of the Sands Convention Center.

I appreciate your continued prayers as I will be in Las Vegas a couple more days. There is also still a financial need associated with the trip. God provided through the graciousness of others to pay for my expenses while in Las Vegas, but I still need about $1000 to finish paying for the plane ticket.

The cost of the trip was worth being part of a team effort to reach the Deaf. The team leader has encouraged us to see that this trip does not end here. Of our 34 person team, we are eager to see some follow the Lord into full time missions to the Deaf as a result of being in Las Vegas for DeafNation World Expo.

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In July I will take part in an evangelistic effort in Las Vegas, NV called Deaf Nation World Expo. I will work with a team from Silent Word Ministries to distribute tracts and conduct one-on-one evangelism. An estimated 50,000 Deaf will be at the Expo.

To learn more about the Deaf Nation trip and ways you can help prayerfully or financially take a look at the special page I have set up for the event.

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We have been in Argentina a little over a month. We found the house that we eventually rented on our 3rd day here. But it took us almost 4 weeks to take care of the paperwork and be able to move in. While we were frustrated by this, we hear that we were fortunate since it normally takes 2 to 3 months for a rental agreement to be signed.

We have met Deaf in various places. Just after trying to talk with a deaf man on a train, a deaf girl walked into our train car with her dad. I was not able to speak with them, but it was a reminder that even though we cannot communicate with the Deaf around us yet, they are still there. A few days later I met 2 deaf teens on a bus and was able to talk with them briefly. In all we have met about 15 Deaf and have friends in the church who can put us in contact with several others.

We have been learning some signs and are eager to put them to practice in teaching the Bible.

While we are working on getting started with the Deaf, we have been involved with a wonderful church in La Plata. I can’t say that I have agreed with every aspect of every church we have ever worked in, but I might be able to say that about this church. God is allowing us to carry out our ministry in a church that completely supports what we are trying to accomplish and I can fully support their program. The transition of working in a new country has been made easier because of the people we are privileged to work with.

Thank you for your prayers as we get settled in and get to work on the front lines.

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We arrived in Argentina on Wednesday morning of last week. We had a good trip with no surprises. All our bags arrived safely and at the same time we did. A wonderful answer to prayer.

Bro. Jeff Bush picked us up from the airport and took us to his house to rest and recover from the 10 hour overnight flight. Bro. Bush is the missionary we will be working with in one of the ministries we will start here. He graciously allowed me to preach and share my heart and goals with the church that night.

Thursday and Friday were spent looking at houses. Lord willing we will sign a rental agreement on a house on Monday morning. Because of the time of year and the dynamics of the town we are in there is quite a bit of competition for any available rental properties. We are praying to get one house in particular. However it is not a sure deal until papers are signed and money exchanged. Please pray that we will get the house the Lord has for us.

Saturday we met some Deaf in town and learned a few signs to get us started. The biggest thing we learned is that the sign language really is as different as we expected.

Thanks for your prayers through this first week. As busy as the week has been it has gone quite well. Praise the Lord.

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This is a video update concerning my recent trip to Nigeria, our move to Argentina and fact that we will be leaving on March 15.

Through some recent generous offerings we have been blessed with more than $5500 that we need for the move. We still need $1500, but this is enough to be able to set a date for our departure. We will be boarding a plane for Argentina on March 15.

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We have been focused the last few weeks on raising the money needed to make the move to Argentina. We estimate that it will cost us about $7,000. Because of some very generous gifts, we only lack $5,000 more. As soon as that amount is raised then we will be boarding a plane to make the move.

Will you consider a one time gift to help with the move?

To make a tax deductible donation you can send your gift through our mission board. If you have any questions you can give me a call or email me. All the contact information for our board or for us is at our contact page.

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It is good to be home. Here is a summary of how the trip went. I will break down my trip based on the initial three prayer requests that I had for the trip.

First, I asked you to pray for safety. I never experienced any illness nor was I ever concerned about how unsafe any situation might have been. God protected in every step of the trip. It was busy, but never too busy to get the rest I needed.

Gathered outside the Deaf church after my last service in Nigeria.

Secondly I asked you to pray for wisdom in what to teach in the churches as well as to Pastor Wale (Wally). God gave direction there and, while I had prepared some items specifically for the trip, God gave me foresight to grab several sermons from my files before I left. I ended up using more of the material that I had not previously planned to use than what I had prepared.

The final thing I asked you to pray for was discernment in some decisions that needed to be made. God gave clear direction in a couple of specific areas. Basically we learned that we would not be able to work as closely with another group as I had hoped we could. The other group is doing a great job in education of the Deaf, but the churches they are aligned with are not theologically strong. While there may be a possible future relationship with them, we feel that is not appropriate at this time.

I was able to see 9 saved during the trip. Of the nine, three were Deaf and the rest hearing.

There are many stories that could be told about the trip and I may share some of those here. One of the biggest lessons I was able to take away from this trip is that though I was hesitant to take the position with the mission board that I currently hold (Director of Deaf Ministries), I see now that this is the type of ministry that I have always done and feel called to. My wife and I have been called to train and capacitate others in their efforts to reach the Deaf. While we are still focused on Latin America, God has shown me that our ministry is needed around the world. We just need to be willing to befriend those that God brings into our lives and pour ourselves into them in any way that we can so that they can more effectively reach the Deaf around them.

Thank you again for praying.

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Some of the Deaf leaders and I. (I'm the pale looking one.)

Today I preached my 10th time in 12 days. There were 24 who came forward during the invitation this morning. Most came forward to confess sin and ask the Lord for forgiveness. There were 6 who came for salvation. Half were hearing children and the other half were Deaf adults. All 6 showed an understanding of the Gospel and accepted the Lord today!

Over the last couple of days I have been teaching the leaders from 4 different deaf churches. We have had a great time of fellowship learning from one another. It was interesting to see that while they use signs from the United States, they do not use the philosophy of ASL (American Sign Language). Last night several of the Deaf and I had conversation about sign language and the difference in the way they sign and the way we do in America. All of the interpreters here seem to pride themselves on how much they have been able to keep up with the ASL way of signing, but the Deaf all knew that the way they sign in Nigeria is philosophically different than the way the Deaf communicate in the US.

I also visited a few deaf schools over the last couple of days too. I am encouraged to see the level of education the Deaf have available to them in Nigeria. However, there are still many Deaf who have no education nor any opportunity to go to school. While some may live where a school is available, their parents either don’t know about the schools, or can’t afford the bus fares to transport the children back and forth.

I have fewer than 24 hours left in Nigeria. The trip has been profitable for both the national pastor and myself. I am very pleased with the direction of ministry as well as the future potential of expanded ministry among the Deaf.

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This last weekend was spent in ministry with the hearing church that Bro. Wale (Wally) pastors. While handing out tracts on Saturday I shared the Gospel with a group of teenagers. A 16 year old boy in the group, Kenny, prayed and asked the Lord to save him.

On Sunday I preached twice in the church and 2 people came forward for salvation. I took 14 year old Peter to the side to help him make a decision for Christ. Peter has been in church for a while and was deeply convicted of his sin. I spent quite a bit of time with him concerning assurance of salvation.

Monday was a day off in which we only spent 5 hours in traffic trying to accomplish one thing. Today we were gone 11 hours. We probably spent close to 7 of those 11 in traffic. I look forward to moving from the big city of Lagos to the smaller town of Abeokuta tomorrow to leave this traffic behind.

The boy on the right is about 14, Deaf. Has no education.

While at the market today we met a deaf boy who did not know his name. He was probably 14 years old. He was not in school and had no language skills. Through some simple games I was able to determine that he was very intelligent. Pastor Wally is going to try and help get him into a deaf school.

As we move to the town where Pastor Wally’s deaf church is, we will be visiting in other ministries. Wednesday I will preach in a Deaf church. Thursday we will visit another deaf church and school. This school is a private Christian school that was started by the man who God used to start many of the ministries and schools in Nigeria for the Deaf, Andrew Foster.

Friday through Sunday I will be preaching several times to the Deaf of Wally’s congregation as well as the leaders of several surrounding ministries and churches for the Deaf. It will be a busy few days.

I am praying for continued safety and good health. It would be easy to get sick and complicate the packed schedule. It has been in the mid-90s each day and we rarely have electricity in the house–much less air conditioning.

Categories: Ministry Update, Personal
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I arrived safely in Nigeria on Wednesday morning. We don’t have electricity all the time here, but just riding around in the car is entertainment enough to keep me from getting bored. Every country I go to says they have the worst drivers. While I don’t know that this is the worst I have ever seen, it certainly keeps me prayed up with the Lord.

Wednesday night at church I was able to preach to the hearing church. We will have special services with them this weekend. We will go on visitation on Saturday to invite the church member’s friends and families to the services on Sunday. Then I will preach to the seminary students and pastors. Sunday will be an evangelistic outreach day as I present the Gospel. We are praying for a good number of visitors who may have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.

Before we travel to the town where I will preach in the deaf church for 2 days next week, we will be visiting other deaf churches and schools in surrounding towns.

I had asked for prayer for three things. One was safety. I praise God that He has kept me safe thus far and trust that He will continue to do so. Wisdom was needed in preaching. God has given me clear direction up to this point.

The third thing I asked you to pray for was discernment in some decisions about the ministry here and future possibilities. My time here will be wrapped up in gathering information for some of these decisions. Please pray earnestly that I will know how to council those involved. The pastor here has shared with me much of the information I need to know. God has knitted our hearts together and we are absolutely interested in heading the same direction with future ministry. As you pray I know that God will give wisdom and direction.

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