Deaf believers in Mauritius
Meredith Henderson
Missionary
During our week
in Mauritius in July 2023, we spent time with Deaf people from all over the island.
They had varying backgrounds and family/relational dynamics. As we
expected, when it comes to Sign Language, we found Mauritian Sign
Language to be different from American Sign Language. There was enough
similarity that with some effort and by God's grace, we could
effectively communicate. Sadly, what we soon learned was the Deaf there
lacked an understanding of who God is. To our knowledge, there were no
followers of Jesus in the Mauritian Deaf community. A few knew of Jesus,
but never had seen a clear and complete Gospel presentation in Sign
Language. Others had never even heard of Jesus, His love, or His offer
of salvation.
On our first full day, we met with the leadership of an NGO that provides job placement training for Deaf people. While there, we met Christopher & Suffian, along with other Deaf adults. As many had been praying, our next steps were clear. We were led to spend more time with Christopher and Suffian in the days ahead. On Tuesday we spent several hours with them. Two of our teammates had the opportunity to clearly explain the Gospel to Christopher in sign language, he responded and asked to be baptized. Then on Friday evening, after hearing the Gospel as Christopher shared his salvation story another young Deaf man, Yeshdev, came to saving faith and asked to be baptized the next day.
The work of the Lord in their lives was exciting to watch. We were also able to watch the interest other Deaf had in learning more about Jesus Christ and the impact He has had in the lives of our host and in our lives. Many seeds were planted and we are praying for a harvest of more and more Deaf believers, starting in Mauritius and fanning out to the neighboring islands and countries around the Indian Ocean. We are continuing to meet via Zoom with five of them in a Discovery Bible study. And the Deaf Catalyst team is seeking the Lord's timing about returning for another visit to Mauritius.
On our first full day, we met with the leadership of an NGO that provides job placement training for Deaf people. While there, we met Christopher & Suffian, along with other Deaf adults. As many had been praying, our next steps were clear. We were led to spend more time with Christopher and Suffian in the days ahead. On Tuesday we spent several hours with them. Two of our teammates had the opportunity to clearly explain the Gospel to Christopher in sign language, he responded and asked to be baptized. Then on Friday evening, after hearing the Gospel as Christopher shared his salvation story another young Deaf man, Yeshdev, came to saving faith and asked to be baptized the next day.
The work of the Lord in their lives was exciting to watch. We were also able to watch the interest other Deaf had in learning more about Jesus Christ and the impact He has had in the lives of our host and in our lives. Many seeds were planted and we are praying for a harvest of more and more Deaf believers, starting in Mauritius and fanning out to the neighboring islands and countries around the Indian Ocean. We are continuing to meet via Zoom with five of them in a Discovery Bible study. And the Deaf Catalyst team is seeking the Lord's timing about returning for another visit to Mauritius.
Meredith Henderson, Missionary
Help Meredith to serve Deaf global workers and Deaf leaders as an interpreter as they mobilize to create a Gospel movement among Deaf people in the US and worldwide.
