Newsletter – June 2016

Greetings Friends and Co-laborers,

It is so exciting to see all God is doing in the Deaf world! I love hearing churches call the office saying “we are starting a new deaf ministry and we need help.” Our social media outreaches (Facebook, online catalog, SignTheBible.com, and more) seem to keep spreading and reaching into more and more places. Still, so much more needs to be done, and we need more help.

In March, I was blessed to help with three of our area-wide Fantastic Saturday meetings in Trenton and Snellville, Georgia, and in Rock Hill, South Carolina. In Snellville, I had the opportunity to teach the children’s program. One of our missionary ladies, Mrs. Donna Condra, normally leads the program during these meetings. This year, however, she was in Michigan, helping her sister who has dementia. Please pray for her as she travels to Michigan occasionally to help her mother and sister there.

Opportunities to interpret have also been abundant this spring. I regularly interpret at Piney Grove Baptist Church here in Trenton where I attend. On Easter Sunday, I interpreted at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Calhoun, Georgia, for a deaf lady. The regular interpreter there enjoyed spring break up north with her family that weekend.

In May, I was able to travel up to Tennessee to visit my family and my home church for my mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day. There God gave me the opportunity to share the Gospel with a sixth-grade girl who came forward during children’s church. She prayed to receive Jesus! I also had the privilege of interpreting in a Sunday morning service.

A couple of years ago, God opened the door for me to spend some time interpreting at a church in Alabama for a boy who is deaf. In May and June of this year, I again traveled to Alabama on Wednesday evenings to interpret for him. His mother and a friend (his interpreter) took a class to improve their ASL skills. This deaf young man has been attending Harvest Deaf Christian School in Ringgold, Georgia for the last few years, and I was excited to hear that just recently, he was saved! A few years ago, he was very limited in his language skills, and I am thrilled to see him improving and understanding much more. And it is such a joy to see the support his church gives to him and his family. Several times, groups from his church have come to our annual sign language class in January so they can better communicate with him. Even the pastor came! I cannot tell you how rare that is. So often, even the family members of deaf children do not learn sign language. I am looking forward to seeing what God has planned for this young deaf boy.

UPCOMING!
Next month (July 4-9) I will be part of the SWMI mission team to the DeafNation World Expo, a secular event anticipating over 20,000 Deaf attendees! I am excited about this opportunity to see Deaf people saved and the Gospel spread. The total cost of the trip is $1,330. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and churches who have already given, the current remaining balance needed is only $416 (to cover the airline ticket). Please pray for our team as we go: (Financial Need Has Been Met!!! Praise the Lord!)

• Courage, compassion, & communication
• Wisdom for the leaders in making decisions
• Protection – both spiritually and physically!

Thank you for partnering with me in ministry!

A Peek into the Deaf World
In sign language, the meaning of words must be considered.
Just as an English word may have more than one meaning, those meanings must be signed different ways.

For example: each of the following uses of the word “Make” would be signed completely different:
Make up, makeup, make sense, make light of, make haste, make contact, make money, make waves, make your bed.

(Truly Blessed)

Tabitha Beam