Missions Newsletter

Greetings, friends for the Deaf!

During the month of November our missionary to Mexico, Robert Morgret, spent three weeks in Leon with our good friend and Mexican Sign Language teacher, Alberto Alcantar. It was a great time of fellowship for them both. In our conversations with Alberto, we have learned that there is no church family in Leon that he knows of where he could attend and be taught the Word of God. It’s not that there are no churches. There are plenty of churches. But no interpreters for the Deaf. There are very few provisions made for the Deaf anywhere in Mexico, whether it be in the churches or in the schools or anywhere else. In fact, on one occasion Alberto went to the local Office for the Disabled. They would not provide an interpreter for Alberto in order for him to have an appointment. He was told he had to supply his own interpreter. He doesn’t know of any.

So you can only imagine how little access the Deaf have to any truly biblical teaching. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are working hard among the Deaf in Mexico, as are other cults. But there are very, very few works aimed at taking the true, biblical, saving gospel message to the Deaf. That is why we are hoping to address that huge problem to the best of our ability and to the extent that our funds will allow. We pray the Lord will see fit to use Grace Deaf Missions as a means of providing access for the Deaf to the Lord Jesus through the preaching of the gospel using Mexican Sign Language.

Another interesting development which we’re seeing take place is the creation of a school for the Deaf. For all practical purposes, there are no Deaf schools in Mexico, according to what Alberto has told us. However, he has begun to make inroads in this direction. Unofficially, Alberto is already teaching a number of people, children and adults, hearing and Deaf. He teaches one hearing couple that lives 90 minutes away. He does all of this at his own expense with no help or reimbursement from the government (which is probably a good thing). But there is only so much one man can do, paying for it out of his own pocket. This is the kind of work we hope to encourage and support as we’re able. Alberto understands the need for someone to come alongside him to teach the Bible. Robert would like to be that man.

The picture you see here is an example of the kind of ministry we hope to have. The seven year old twins on the left, Jesus and Miguel, and their five year old brother on the right, Leonardo, are all deaf. Their parents are also deaf.  Jesus is wearing dark glasses because he just had surgery on one eye. It is possible he will become blind in that eye. What will this little boy do if he becomes both deaf and blind? I am grateful to God for His mercy in sending Alberto and Robert to him to encourage him to look to the Lord Jesus as his Savior.

If the blessings the Deaf in America take for granted are completely beyond the reach of the Deaf of Mexico,

how far removed is the gospel?

This month we received an invitation from the Green Mountain Baptist Association of Vermont to attend their Spring Meeting in April in order to present a breakout session regarding our ministry to the Deaf. Please pray we will be well-received and the Lord would move others to join us in this seemingly impossible task. One of our immediate needs is for professionally-produced literature. If you know of people who could help us out in this area, it would be GREATLY appreciated!

As a final reminder, when sending your financial gifts, please make your check out to Grace Fellowship and on the memo line be sure to write “For Grace Deaf Missions”.

May the Lord bless you all as you celebrate the incarnation of our wonderful Savior!

Keith Doster and the Grace Deaf Missions Team

This morning I received a call from the Sorensen Video Relay Service. It was an American Sign Language interpreter speaking for our deaf friend Joanna, who lives a couple of miles away. Usually these calls are casual conversations, while at other times it may be a request for assistance in communicating with hearing people.

Today it was the latter. Joanna asked if I could come to their house and interpret for them. A couple of guys were installing a new wood stove in their basement and Joanna’s husband, Bill, had some questions for the installers. Thankfully this was one of those mundane, non-emergency situations and I was able to help.

This kind of scenario is totally foreign to the vast majority of the Deaf in Mexico. They do not have the magnificent luxury of a free Video Relay system at their disposal which allows them to see and talk to both deaf and hearing people as easily as you and I talk on the phone. Nor do they have interpreters or anyone else who knows Mexican Sign Language, including their parents, living in their neighborhoods. Nor do they own their own homes, a virtual impossibility. What I experienced with Bill and Joanna this morning is nearly beyond the imagination of multitudes of Deaf people in Mexico.

If the everyday blessings the Deaf in America take for granted are completely beyond the reach of the Deaf of Mexico,

how far removed is the gospel?

Grace Deaf Missions is continuing to make plans for our first gospel outreach event next year. The tentative plan at this point is to have some evangelistic meetings in the city of Leon. Leon is about 8 hours northwest of Mexico City and is the home of our friend and Mexican Sign Language teacher, Alberto Alcantar.

On November 7th, Robert Morgret will be flying from Danville, Kentucky to Leon to spend three weeks with Alberto to “spy out the

land” so we will have a better idea how to plan for our outreach there in October of 2012, Lord willing.  In the meantime, Sharon continues to study Mexican Sign Language three days a week with Alberto in Leon via Skype, while Robert continues his theological studies with our friend, Rev. Kevin Hamilton of Deaf Reformed Church in Danville. And they like to eat too, as you can see!

Please pray with us for the needed grace to do this good work in a manner that is pleasing to our heavenly Father. If you’re able to do so without neglecting the support of your own church, we would deeply appreciate your continued giving so that we might take the biblical gospel message to the Deaf of Leon. Be sure to make your check out to Grace Fellowship. A heart-felt “Gracias!” to you all for your past support of Grace Deaf Missions.

One final note: Our mailing address has changed slightly. Please be sure to mail any future gifts to PO Box 121 in Pine Grove Mills, PA - 16868.

Grace and peace,

Keith Doster, for the Grace Deaf Missions team!

Greetings friends!

As you can see from this letter, much has happened in recent days with our brother, Robert Morgret. You all should have received a letter in June from David Sitton of To Every Tribe Ministries explaining Robert’s transition. He is now a missionary with Grace Deaf Missions, a new organization we’ve begun as a ministry of our church, Grace Fellowship of Pine Grove Mills.

We are excited about what the Lord is doing! Anytime a new work begins, there are endless details to tend to in order to simply become operational. Over the last two months we have:

1. Consulted with an attorney regarding the legal ramifications of a new missionary outreach.

2. Gotten our banking “ducks in a row” in order to facilitate smooth transactions between us and those of you

who support this work financially. (And on that note, please make your checks payable to Grace Fellowship Church and be sure to write Grace Deaf Missions on the memo line.)

3. Created return receipts, mailing lists, address label templates, and this newsletter in order to keep in contact with you all more consistently.

4. Made lots of phone calls and written bunches of emails to answer your questions about Robert’s transitioning from To Every Tribe Ministries to Grace Deaf Missions.

5. Begun setting up our church website in order to accept funds electronically for Grace Deaf Missions.

6. Begun working with our good friend Alberto Alcantar in Mexico. He is teaching Sharon Mexican Sign Language via Skype five days a week (or as often as possible), one and one-half hours a day. A huge task, and a huge blessing! Sharon will eventually be teaching me LSM.

(So now you really know how to pray!)

7. Attended the annual Deaf Reformed Ministries Conference in Indianapolis which was excellent! (You can learn more about them at www.deafreformed.org)

8. Brought our entire church family on board to be the administrative support team for Grace Deaf Missions. (And started an American Sign Language class at church!)

We’ve been busy! Once we get situated to actually perform the work of running this ministry, then comes the planning of excursions into Mexico, the raising of additional funds to go there, the coordination of the outreach activities, etc., etc., etc. Lots and lots of work yet to do!

So please be patient with us as we slowly move ahead into unfamiliar territory. The Lord’s leading has been quite evident and we are happy to be a part of His plan to take the Gospel to people who have never heard it. But they won’t hear it from us either! By the Lord’s grace, they will see it through our hands and our faces and come to understand the greatness of our Savior as we communicate through Mexican Sign Language the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace,

Keith Doster for the Grace Deaf Missions team