Samuel's Adventures: August 2014

This weekend we were all exceedingly blessed to witness a baptism of a deaf member at our church here in Auguilares. Verónica had been a Christian and coming to church for quite some time now, but it wasn't until Sunday that she publicly announced her desire to be an active part of the body of Christ. It was a ceremony that I'll never forget.

But a little bit of background first...

Verónica is a part of the large Rosales family that also has five other deaf children. Two of her sisters, Ana and Teresa, attend the deaf school here at CICS. Longer ago, Verónica also attended school here, after her parents discovered this deaf ministry.

Life hasn't always been easy for Verónica--she had (and still has) a father that frequently gets drunk and she had to work hard helping her mom selling vegetables in the market. Her mom needed all the help she could get to support the family, since Dad frequently spent the money he earned on more beer.

When she turned 18, she had to stay at home once again, since CICS doesn't teach students older than that. God only knows what would have happened, had we not needed a cook after some difficulty replacing the cook that left. So Verónica was asked to come back to learn how to make lots of good food under the supervision of an experienced teacher. She learned rapidly, and in about a year she was on her own. She's been doing a wonderful job ever since!

I don't know when or how Verónica became a Christian. But I'm convinced she is. Recently she spoke to Nata and asked about the possibility of being baptized. All the preliminaries were taken care of and the date for a special baptismal service was set.

We had the service in the afternoon, so that people who have their own church in the morning could be present. People came from far and near to witness this special event. I think our poor little church was about bursting by the time everyone arrived! And the singing...it was heavenly! Imagine a small-ish building with a tin roof, filled with people singing praises at the top of their lungs. You had to be there, but let me assure you that it was wonderful!

Many people from Verónica's friends and family were present, but I think the person whose presence meant the most to her was her mom's. Why was this so great? Because her mom almost never comes to church, because of having to work, and things like that. After the baptism, her mom stood up and even affirmed Verónica in what she was doing. Very special moment, indeed!

After church was over, everyone fellowship-ed over tamales, hot chocolate, and coffee. It was great time of meeting friends all over El Salvador.

Like I said, the service was one I'll never forget, which is true for more than one reason. The obvious one is the language differences. Verónica is deaf, so everything needed to be translated especially for her. We had special singing in sign language. Verónica signed her testimony which was translated into Spanish. The baptismal vows were done in sign language. Additionally, the service was translated into English for Andrea's family that was visiting. Three languages for one service! It made me think of the Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter to God what language we speak! We can cry to him in our thoughts or any conceivable language and He will hear. How awesome is that!

Another thing that made this service so special was the affirmation it brought to the on-going deaf ministry here at CICS. Of course, we know that God is at work here, but sometimes it's really nice to see it firsthand if you know what I mean. This Sunday afternoon was the answer to many, many prayers! To God be all the glory!

And if you think about it, please pray for Verónica. Life isn't easy for any of us and being deaf presents extra challenges. Pray that God would show Himself mightily in her life. Pray that she could grow spiritually and be a mentor to the deaf children that look up to her. Pray that we could be an encouragement to her wherever possible. And don't forget to praise Him as well for his goodness. It is truly never-ending...