ASL FOUNDATIONS, NO ENGLISH

 Prayers Appreciated! 

I am in the beginning stages of developing a new way of teaching American Sign Language (ASL).  This approach to teaching ASL as a second language, as a completely separate language from English, was one I began to envision, develop and use almost 7 years ago when I could not find anything else already published.

When God called me to all things Signs for Hope​, in 2008, I let go of this "vision".  Little did I know He would bring it back to me.

About 7 months ago, while teaching on the college campus and at the same time hearing multiple pleas from hearing parents who have adopted deaf children begging for HELP to learn ASL, I began my search again for an ASL curriculum using this method. NOTHING! 

Since that time, I have presented this idea to many hearing and Deaf folks and all are intrigued and wonder why no one has done this before now. 

I am not pleased with our current ASL teaching curricula as I see so many hearing folks struggling to learn the most basic and yet most vital foundational aspect of ASL, the ASL handshapes. 

There are differing opinions on how many handshapes there really are in ASL, but I will focus on what I believe to be the most commonly used across North America, initially. 

Please join me in praying for me as I continue to develop this curriculum and for this method to be one that will benefit greatly those desiring to learn and master ASL, especially family members with their deaf children.   

John 15:5b  Apart from Me, you can do nothing. 

Together for Adoption 2015! Orphan Care = Gospel

   

ASL INTERPRETERS PROVIDED!!
Please let us know you are coming!

I have exciting news to share with you!  Please share this with others! 

The Together for Adoption 2015 conference is coming to Durham, NC this November 5 - 7.  ASL interpreters have been secured for all aspects of this event, covering both adult and children's activities. 

I want to share a few quotes from Dr. Russell Moore, the eighth president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, from his 2009 SBC Resolution on Adoption & Orphan Care: 

“Something is afoot among Christian families and churches of virtually every kind.  God is calling the people of Christ to see the face of Jesus in the faces of orphans in North America and around the world. Southern Baptists have affirmed our belief in the authority of Scripture, and the Bible tells us pure religion is defined by care for the fatherless."

“We’ve been defined by our commitment to evangelism, and there is no greater field as `white unto harvest’ right now as children in orphanages, group homes, and the foster care system, children who don’t know a parent’s love and who don’t know the name of Jesus. When Satan wars against children, we should be the ones who have compassion on them, even as Jesus did and does…"

“My prayer is that twenty years from now there are thousands of Southern Baptist pastors, missionaries, and church leaders who started their lives as orphans, now preaching the gospel of God their Father.”

James 1:27 – PURE RELIGION

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

to look after orphans and widows in their distress and

to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Together for Adoption

“Over the past 5-7 years orphan care has become a bona fide movement within evangelicalism. This is why Together for Adoption’s primary focus 
is to look out 50 years and provide that which we know will sustain

the church’s long-term care for orphans, namely,

a vibrant gospel-centered theology of adoption.”

Our Mission:

Together for Adoption (T4A) exists to provide

 gospel-centered resources that

magnify the adopting grace of God the Father in Christ Jesus and

mobilize the church for global orphan care.

__________________________

Signs for Hope has secured ASL interpreters for this event and we have special rates for registration and hotel rooms for Deaf attendees.

Contact Becky Lloyd, asap, for all the details.  beckyblloyd@gmail.com

If you cannot attend this amazing conference, personally, please join us in praying God will be glorified and His kingdom advanced because of T4A 2015 and those who are obedient to 'care for the orphan' will spread the gospel as they do. 

 

What My Eyes Have Seen! Part 2 of...

2014
Eastern Europe 

Gender: Boy

Age: 4

Multiple special needs, including DEAFNESS

Weight: 10 lbs 

His picture and the label of deafness is what caught the attention of his unknowing soon-to-be parents, because they are Deaf themselves. 

I remember, vividly, the day his picture was shared in the adoption group in 2014. Even fully clothed, the years of limited nourishment were blatant, as was his distant stare.

Four years old and just 10 pounds?!  Surely that was a typo, a misprint or a gross understatement?  Maybe it was in kilograms instead of lbs?  That would make more sense for a four year old boy...roughly 18 kilograms, that would make more sense.   I remember soon-to-be mom commenting on advocating for this precious fragile one.  If she and soon-to-be dad had not just brought home their 2nd deaf adopted son earlier that year, maybe...

I remember thinking, "He looks like a __________ (last name of soon-to-be mom and dad).  No, I did not share that with them, then.  

A few weeks later, I just happened to be in soon-to-be mom and dad's home for a visit.  With great pleasure, I was observing the growth and improvements of their two already adopted deaf son's from the same country as this one.  

A few days prior, God had begun to open the windows of heaven for soon-to-be mom and dad to bring this third little one home.  I sat and smiled, shaking my head in agreement, as they shared with me story after story of the ways God was moving to convince them, especially soon-to-be dad, he was to become their third deaf adopted son and He would provide all the funds for his adoption and He would equip them to care for and raise him.

I had traveled twice before with this family to bring home their first two deaf adopted sons.  This time, I would actually be going into the orphanage with them, for their first of two required adoption trips, IF the orphanage director would allow it. 

We did not know it then, but it would be almost a year before that first trip would take place, but already my heart was pounding as I wondered how I would react to seeing this frail little one, for the first time...with my own eyes!

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Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant 

brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,  

equip you with everything good for doing His will, 

and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, 

through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13 : 20-21

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for 

teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  

so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3 : 16-17

 

 

 

COLOMBIA SFH DEAF ADOPTION MATCHING GRANT!

God places the lonely in families. 

Psalm 68:6

We are so thankful to be able to offer another matching grant for the Coleman family for the adoption of a precious deaf boy in Colombia, South America!  For every dollar you donate up to $750, Signs for Hope will match it!!   Read the first chapter of the Coleman Family's Deaf Adoption Journey below:

Hi! We are Jacob and Misti Coleman from Slidell, Louisiana. We have 3 biological children, Anna Beth (7), Lynnsie (6), and Creek (4).

We started the process to adopt from Colombia in January 2013. On our "special needs list" for our dossier, my husband and I both marked "Deaf" as a special need we were open to in our adoption. I grew up signing to music and have always loved the language and my husband had a very good friend when he was a child who was deaf. My husband also currently has a very good friend with a daughter who is deaf - which played a big role in him being open to deafness as a special need.

We were presented with the file of a precious 22 month old little Colombian boy in February 2015 who was diagnosed with profound deafness, following an audiogram in December 2014 and a delay in speech development. Our hearts screamed yes immediately, but we wanted to make sure we had the ability to provide an education for him through our school systems, first. We had already started discussions on the possibility of moving to be closer to the School for the Deaf an hour and a half away, if it was needed. It took 8 months for our son's orphanage to officially match us and send the referral. 

During our time of waiting, we completed several exercises of deaf education, as requested by Lifeline Children's Services, our adoption agency. We immediately began teaching our children sign language through the video series, Signing Time, at our local library and purchased the Learn and Master ASL DVD series for ourselves. We have also met with an ASL interpreter in our community who is willing to come work with our family in our home when we all return from Colombia. We have connected with several Deaf adopting families through Facebook, as well. In addition, our local Deaf action center has a monthly Deaf gathering at a local coffee shop that we plan to be a part of. 

One of our biggest prayers right now is to be able to connect with another Deaf child who is the same age as Silas. We hope that the Louisiana School for the Deaf can assist us in that.

We've also been extremely excited about the support we are receiving from our family, friends, and church family. Extended family and very close friends here are eager to learn ASL so they can communicate and love on Silas. Just yesterday, his future Sunday School teacher said we needed to plan an ASL training for the church volunteers who will be working with him. When I related this message to our preschool minister, she told me she had been praying about this very thing for a long time.