Praise God for everyone’s prayers last night! God was faithful & powerful to make today’s meeting a huge success. Several people who we did not know were coming showed up for the meeting, including a leader from Oradea.
We focused our meeting on making substantial progress with Bible translation work. The book of Mark & Genesis chapters 1-10 have already been completed for Romanian Sign Language. However, because of Satan’s work, the translation team here has fallen part twice. We started the meeting by discussing the current problems the team is facing, & then outlined the solutions to make sure this work continues. We currently have the same plan of action in place for the Moldovan Bible Translation work. We will be working with a video production studio in Timisoeara, Romania, called Alfa Omega. The teams will film there two times a year. There will be four signers who are working on their individual books. Each signer will be responsible for 200 verses each filming period. For both teams the four books that we will be working on are Luke, John, Acts, & 1 John.
The discussion was very productive. We were able to cover expectations for team members, & everyone there brainstormed a collection of skilled signers that represent all of the Romanian cities where there are deaf churches. We are now contacting all of the leaders in Romania to come to a meeting in March 2008. At this meeting, all of the plans will be finalized, & the translation work will be done so that the first four singers can start practising for filming shortly thereafter. As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done before the meeting. Please pray that this meeting will be well attended & that all of the necessary preparation can be completed accordingly. Please also pray that God will bless this team with perseverance so that the work may be sustained even in the face of the devil’s temptations.
Late on Wednesday night, Pastor Noah & Jacob had a discussion with the leader from Ploesti. He desperately wants to be a pastor, but because he was never taught how to read, he thinks his illiteracy stands in the way of him becoming a pastor. Pastor Noah & Jacob were able to visit a deaf pastor (Pastor Torok) who faces similar problems. They were accompanied by Pastor Lazlo, another deaf pastor from Cluj. While they were there, Pastor Torok had some business mail from the government that he didn’t understand, so he asked Pastor Lazlo to read the mail for him. This really struck bother Pastor Noah & Jacob because they have seen their deaf grandfather doing the same thing. So often, he receives important mail that he isn’t able to read, so he has to take it to other people to help him understand the text. It’s sad how behind deaf education & deaf rights are in America. Please pray that despite this enormous difference, we can cut down how long it will take to catch the Romanian deaf up with American deaf people, allowing development of rights to increase exponentially. Pastor Noah & Jacob were discussing with Pastor Lazlo last night about deaf education in Romania. Almost every single deaf school in Romania still uses the oral method (teaching speech), while only a few use simultaneous communication (signing & speaking simultaneously). America also tried simultaneous communication in deaf schools, but it failed miserably in the attempt to educate deaf children. This is because it is scientifically proven that when speaking two languages, one will lull into the native language & only sign two out of every five words in the native language. So whether under oral programs or simultaneous communication programs, the deaf in Romania simply aren’t learning. We know that God has a plan for the deaf people in Romania, so please pray that God guides us with His divine discernment every step of the way. Also pray for deaf educators here in Romania to realize how beneficial it is to teach sign language to deaf children as a foundational, native language.
Tonight is our last night in Cluj. Our host families presented us with gifts this evening as it is our last night in Cluj. We were really surprised at their thoughtful gesture of generosity! The deaf people here are such a delight to be with & such humble people. Pray the Body of Christ here in Cluj continues to grow through God’s might & love.
Tomorrow we’re off to Bucharest again. Please pray for our train ride tomorrow. We’ll be on the tracks for eight hours, so pray that we wisely use the time God has given us. On the way to Cluj, we talked with two deaf peddlers. Pray that God orchestrates more divine appointments with deaf people tomorrow as we travel. Thank you for lifting us up in prayer. We appreciate your support!
God bless, The Romanian Team – Matthew 28:19-20
