In short, everyone’s healthy, and all is well. Now for the other stuff…
I spoke to a donor who had just been in contact with the ministry. The message they relayed to me got compressed down to “quitting ministry to care for parents.”
Well, yes and no. There’s more in process than this compressed message implies.
It’s time to go back to Ohio. Health, housing, and funds declare that this season in Indiana is done. Parent care is the primary, but not only, factor in that part of the decision.
The ministry has become stronger in workers than finances. Several parents and professionals have joined with the experience and capacity to come alongside parents of deaf children as mentors and encouragers. It is shifting, by financial necessity, to a volunteer team. I’m neither a parent, a deaf person, nor a funding generator, so my season there is ending.
What I am, and what the ministry needed during my tenure, is a person of versatile skills and ridiculous faith. I thank you – very much – for the encouragement and resources that have supported me for 11 years and more. I’ve had shelter, food, and lots of friendships. My bank account is small enough to scare a squirrel, but I’m well taken care of. God provides, often through His people.
Thanks to your support and God’s faithfulness, we finished season 5, developed the app, and taught the next person how to maintain it. The VBS didn’t survive Covid. Between the losses of traditional (hearing) church gatherings and the list of things that needed adjustments, we had to abandon that project. Most of the infrastructure work is now either obsolete due to the office move or being handled by experts in the appropriate fields.
My plans going forward are in resource development, I think. There are things I’d like to see, skills I have in creativity and computer work, and deaf friends with motivation and abilities on both sides of the camera. However, the recent 18 months have been full of the Bible’s warning that God is the director of our days, no matter what the calendar says. (James 4:13-15)
For now, the facts are these:
- I’m moving back to Ohio, and will be at my parents’ home for a while.
- I’m no longer on staff with the ministry nor funded through their accounts.
- Every gift given to the ministry for my support has been passed on to me as salary.
- The ministry has added funds above earmarked gifts in order to pay 20 hours weekly (reduced to 15 or less since 1/2023).
- More has been worked than billed, and Heaven has all the records that matter.
I encourage you to continue supporting the effort of introducing Deaf people to the biblical Jesus with your finances and/or prayers. See how each ministry focuses on a different age group, aspect, or territory, and give as God guides. There are people on every continent who literally aren’t hearing about God’s love, or they believe they’re automatically disqualified because their ears don’t work. Be part of the solution.
If it’s on your heart to support my efforts directly, know that I’m not a tax-deductible entity. Any gifts will go (as they have) into the account reserved for deaf ministry, and you’re welcome to ask how they’re spent. Current plans include attending the NAD conference in Chicago in July, because reaching people means going where they are.
We’ll see what’s next…