One Word Makes All the Difference

George is a Deaf friend in Kenya who helps train Deaf church planters across Africa. George has many talents, especially in sports. But George is a GREAT storyteller. When he gets up to tell a story, everyone pays attention. About a month ago, George told a story that had us laughing so hard we cried. And the story hinged on a misunderstanding of one word. Here was his story:

A few months before, George had been visiting a Deaf church in Kenya. It is a common practice in Deaf churches for the leader to ask for volunteers to lead songs. (If you haven't ever seen a Deaf song, watch George lead one by clicking here.) One man got very excited to share a song with the church. He went to the front of the church, and began to sign his song. Here's an approximate translation of the song from Kenyan Sign Language into English: "I love you, Peter, because you eat My lambs." As George sat and watched the song, he was confused. What could the man possibly mean by "you eat My lambs"?

When the service finished, George approached the man and asked where he had gotten the song. The man responded that he had taken the song straight from Scripture. When George pressed a bit more, the man opened up the Bible to John 21. Here Jesus meets with Peter by the lakeshore, and the following exchange happens: "... Jesus said to Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'" (John 21:15-17) The man pointed to the passage and signed, "There! See? Jesus said, 'Eat My lambs!'" George realized that the man had mistaken the word "feed" for the word "eat," and that mistake meant that he had completely misunderstood the meaning of the text.

We all had a good laugh about the mistake, but there's a tragic side to this, too. So many Deaf people don't have access to Scripture in sign language, so they do their best making do with a printed version in a spoken language. Since spoken language is so different from sign language, and most Deaf people struggle with reading, this creates many potential misunderstandings when they try to read Scripture.

This is one reason why sign language Bible translations are so crucial. There is no way this Deaf man would have misunderstood the passage if it had been signed. In story after story, we hear of Deaf people who, when they encounter our translations for the first time, finally understand concepts they have struggled to understand for years; concepts like sin, death, salvation, marriage, and many more.

Would you consider giving a financial gift to help support the great work that DOOR continues to do in sign language Bible translation? Your support allows us to "feed His lambs"... to see God's Word reach people who have never understood it before, and allows us to equip them to share His Word with others!

Put Your Feet on the Pedals

Today we were out at a new park (at least, new to us), enjoying the warm sunshine and the open spaces. There's something exciting to our boys that comes with yet-unadventured playground equipment.

The boys also brought their scooters and bikes to the area, and enjoyed the interplay between alternately riding and climbing. They seemed to do this together as a herd: first climbing on the playset, then all rushing to get their scooters and bikes to ride around, then all rushing back to the playset again.

Our youngest has taken to "riding" his tricycle recently. I use the term "riding" loosely. Here's a video of him on the trike:

We affectionately call this "seated walking." We've tried to convince him again and again that he'll have more fun and be able to go faster if he puts his feet on the pedals and uses the trike as it's intended, but he's more comfortable right now simply walking with it underneath him.

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Passover/Easter, and a celebration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church in Acts 2. As we reflected on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives today, I couldn't help but wonder how much I "seat walk" in my own Christian life.

Sure, I'm a believer, and I would say that I follow Christ on a daily basis. But do I really depend on the Holy Spirit for moment-by-moment guidance, direction, correction, and encouragement? Do I take time to listen to his still, small voice through the Word, prayer, and the counsel of others? Do I yearn for it more than food and breath? Or do I just wander through my day, giving lip-service to following the Lord (just as my two-year-old would say he is on his bike), but lacking the power Jesus describes in Acts 1:8 that comes from the Holy Spirit working through me?

Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches. If anyone remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Only God can do a supernatural work in and through our lives. Lord, help me to remain, even just for today.

No more "seat walking." I'm putting my feet on the pedals.

Where in the World is the Myers Family?

These last two months have certainly been a whirlwind for our family! A few interesting facts about the last 60 days:

• We've stayed in 35 different locations (some of these on multiple occasions)! (Imagine moving the stuff needed for a family of six in and out of each of these!)
• We've driven over 7000 miles
• We've rented a moving truck on two separate occasions
• We have our possessions spread across six locations

What's been going on, where are we now, and what are the plans for the future?

The biggest news is that Rob has been appointed as CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of DOOR International! Rob will be working with the President (Mike Buus) and the Vice President of Ministry (Jojo Ninan) to help oversee this ministry of over 200 full-time staff, most of whom are native Deaf working in their own countries.

Here are some immediate questions we've gotten (a kind of "FAQ"):

• "Wait, I thought you were working in Bible translation. Where did this come from?!" Yes, our original focus as we joined DOOR was for Rob to train as a consultant-in-training (CIT) in order to work along sign language Bible translation teams. However, part of that plan was for Rob to potentially transition into a more administrative role after a few years. Some of this came from the experiences Rob brings into the ministry; he gained a fair amount of administrative experience from his time as department chair and dean at Bethel College, as well as his work as a deacon at Grace Church. The transition plan got accelerated due to some needs in the ministry, so he has now officially moved into that role.
• "So are you guys still on support?" Yes, we are definitely still on support! We need both your prayers and your financial partnership now as much as ever. Almost all of the positions at DOOR are support-based, and this position is no exception. For information about supporting our work, click here.
• "Where will your family live?" The CEO position is based state-side, but Rob will do a fair amount of traveling, both domestically and internationally.
• "Where will you be in the US?" Up until this point, DOOR hasn't really had a central office. But as an administrative leadership team has been forming, there has been more and more need for one. It's been decided that western Michigan would be the best place for DOOR to set up an office, and so we are moving to the greater Grand Rapids/Holland, MI, area. We currently have an apartment in Grand Rapids while we look for a house.
• "Are you still going to Africa?" We had still intended to spend some prolonged time on DOOR's Africa campus in Nairobi beginning in early June. However, due to some threats of terrorism by al-Shabaab (a Somali terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, who took over Westgate Mall in Nairobi last fall and held it for four days), we were advised against traveling. Thus, we're currently in west Michigan. This also gives Rob the opportunity to work with Mike and Jojo to get a good sense of how the administrative side of the ministry has functioned. We may still travel to the Africa campus in a few months.
• "Is Rob disappointed that he won't be working directly with translation teams?" Rob is very excited to be able to serve DOOR and the Deaf around the world in the best way he can. Yes, Rob would have loved working with translation teams, learning a particular country's sign language in depth, and developing his own linguistic skills. But part of serving in ministry is being willing to serve the Lord in whatever capacity he desires. We just want to be available to the Lord for the work he has; we don't want to dictate to him how we want to serve. Additionally, the CEO position gives Rob the capacity to help the ministry on a much larger scale. There are so many exciting things in DOOR's future, and we are so blessed and humbled to be a part of helping that unfold!

If you have other questions, please don't hesitate to contact us! We've wanted to tell all of you for some time, but haven't had the capacity, as the final decisions had not been made.

Here are a few other highlights from the last month:

• India: Rob spent three weeks in May in India. During two weeks of this trip he was involved in meetings with the International Leadership Team (ILT), a team of mostly Deaf that sets the vision and plans for the coming few years. Following these meetings, Rob stayed an additional week to get to know the campus, the people working there, the sign languages used there (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh), and the local region. Rob also traveled about 12 hours to a wedding in an adjacent state in India. He brought back some fun souvenirs:

• Following Rob's India trip, our entire family went up to west Michigan for some administrative meetings and to look for an apartment (a temporary place while we search for a house to purchase). Thankfully through a connection and by God's grace, we were able to find an apartment, and over the past few days we took a couple of trips to bring some of our things up. Today is our first day officially in the apartment. We've also been house-hunting.

Thanks for your continued partnership with us as we walk in the ministry God has for us. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10)