Today, “it is past the beta point; teams are using all of the functionality that’s available right now,” Rob Myers of DOOR International says.

Sign Language Translation Tool in use.
(Screenshot courtesy of Stuart Thiessen via DOOR International)

“We have a couple of staff members who are meeting with teams, gathering information, and finding out what functionality is missing to improve the quality of the tool and how it matches the needs of the community.”

Tools like the SLTT allow Deaf Christians to reach the world’s unreached Deaf communities. Less than two percent of the global Deaf population can access Scripture or a Deaf church.

Thankfully, this statistic is changing. “Technology has allowed Deaf ministry to blossom in the last 20 to 30 years where it couldn’t before,” Myers says.

“Good sign language communication is visual; it’s [taking place through] video” instead of written text.

Change happens faster with help from people like you. “If this is the first time you’re hearing about Deaf ministry, God’s putting this on your radar to let other people know, too, so spread the word!” Myers says.

“Many people (Christians) don’t even realize that Deaf communities are cut off from the Gospel,” he continues.

“We don’t want Deaf ministry and Deaf people to be the last part of the Great Commission.”

Along with raising awareness, Myers describes two tactical ways to support DOOR’s efforts.

“First, I strongly encourage people to pray for the existing translation work. DOOR has a prayer calendar that we put out regularly,” he says. Download a copy of the prayer calendar here.

Secondly, “If you have financial resources and feel the Lord’s prompting, we would love to see your partnership in this incredibly critical work.”

Explore ways to invest in DOOR’s work here.

Header image depicts the Notes section of the Sign Language Translation Tool, which allows team members to communicate their thoughts in written or signed form.(Screenshot courtesy of Stuart Thiessen via DOOR International) 

“Of the 375 sign languages globally, [only] 70 to 75 have active Bible translation work,” Rob Myers of DOOR International says.

These active translations represent less than “25 percent of the sign languages out there, and that’s something we need to change,” he continues.

“There are still millions of Deaf people who don’t have one verse of Scripture yet in their heart language. [Sign language Bible translation] allows people access to God’s Word when they never had it before.”

A software called Sign Language Translation Tool (SLTT) is streamlining the Bible translation process for Deaf teams. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Deaf Bible Society, United Bible Societies, and others, the SLTT grew from an idea to a reality.

“Around 80 percent of the active sign language translation community is using this platform, so you can see how critical this tool is,” Myers says.

“This is the first time in history that this kind of platform has been available.”

Why SLTT matters

Putting a sign language Bible translation together used to be a logistical nightmare. “There’s file-moving [happening] everywhere, and trying to keep track of all that information is challenging,” Myers explains.

“A translator would set up a video camera in a studio with a green screen and record their video. Then, they’d take that file and hand it to someone else. It would be stored somewhere and edited. Eventually, someone else will come in and give feedback [on the video file].”

Now, Deaf translators can log into the SLTT and “record [or edit] the video right there” in the platform, Myers says.

The Notes section of the Sign Language Translation Tool allows team members to communicate their thoughts and feedback in written or signed form.
(Screenshot courtesy of Stuart Thiessen via DOOR International)

Using their laptop or phone’s built-in camera, translation consultants can “provide sign language feedback right at the minute and second point where feedback is needed, and that gets recorded and kept [in SLTT].”

DOOR is creating training resources for the SLTT with help from the 4.2.20 Foundation. These tools are similar to the study tools found on Bible Gateway.

“If you log into Bible Gateway and you’re reading Scripture, and you want to know something more about a particular word, or context for a particular time in biblical history, you’ve got plenty of written language content that you can click on,” Myers says.

Developing items like these in sign languages “become an awesome resource readily available to a (Deaf) translation team if we can get it in something like the SLTT platform.”

Now that you know, how will you respond? Use the prompts listed alongside this article to find your place in the story!

Header image is a screenshot of the Sign Language Translation Tool. Photo courtesy of Stuart Thiessen via DOOR International.  

Deaf Bible Society works alongside sign language Bible translators to close the Scripture gap. As the Americas Field Coordinator for DBS, Azael BuPerry– a Deaf man – ensures everyone is on the same page.

“Wycliffe, I believe all of them can hear,” BuPerry says through a female interpreter.

“It’s hard (for them) to have direct communications with the Deaf community and especially with the translation team.”

Language barriers between Deaf and hearing people prove a constant challenge, as discussed previously here. BuPerry serves as a liaison between Deaf translators in the Americas and the non-Deaf support team connected to each project.

Click here to support sign language Bible translations in the Americas.

Why is sign language Scripture important?

(Graphic courtesy of Deaf Bible Society)

Deaf Bible Society currently works alongside Wycliffe USA and The Seed Company to translate God’s Word into the sign languages of Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Brazil. Next year, they hope to expand and start new translation work in Ecuador, Guatemala, the Dominion Republic, and Costa Rica.

Multiple Spanish and English versions of the Bible are available for free on platforms like BibleGateway.com. However, written text doesn’t quite meet the spiritual needs of Deaf communities.

See how sign language Scripture transforms Deaf people like Maria.

Sign language Scripture is so critical because it unlocks understanding for the Deaf, BuPerry explains.

“I can read and write in English, and I can understand it. But, when I actually watch the Scriptures in my heart language, (American Sign Language) I can clearly understand what the Scriptures are saying.”

He compares the language difference to eating soup with a fork.

“If we’re trying to eat a bowl of soup with a fork, you can taste it but you don’t actually get to have all of it. So, it’s better to eat a bowl of soup with a spoon because then you get all of the food,” BuPerry says.

“It’s just like reading the Scriptures. If you’re able to see in your heart language, then you get all of the Word.”

How can I help?

(Graphic courtesy of Deaf Bible Society)

Ongoing prayer and financial support are critical to “closing the Scripture gap” in the Americas. Click here to get started.

“It’s going to be a long time before we finish [all the translation work],” BuPerry says.

“Pray that we are able to at least start these projects for all of the Americas.”

Header image courtesy of aitoff via Pixabay.

A Nigerian Deaf translator signs in front of the green screen.
(Photo courtesy DOOR International)

This fall, a Nigerian Deaf translation team working with DOOR International will complete a Chronological Bible Translation (CBT). This translation will be the first Scripture ever produced in Nigerian Sign Language. More about CBT here.

The translation isn’t completed yet, but transformation is already underway.  

“His life has changed; [Femi is] a new person, he’s a new creation in Christ, and God is doing an amazing work,” shares DOOR President Rob Myers.

Femi’s Story

Obafemi “Femi” moved to Lagos a few years ago. Opportunity was rare in his home village, and the “big city” seemed to shine with promise.

Femi’s perspective quickly changed when he began work as a day laborer. The money ran out long before the bills did. Frustration mounted as he struggled to pay his bills and send money home to support his family. He turned to alcohol, and his life quickly spiraled out of control.

Whenever he received a paycheck, Femi spent the entire thing on booze. His wife pleaded for money to pay for food and other essentials, and Femi irritably denied her requests. It wasn’t long before Femi’s wife left him and took the children with her. Femi sank further into addiction and despair.

A Deaf man asks a question in Nigerian Sign Language.
(Photo courtesy DOOR International)

God’s grace saved Femi from the brink of destruction. One evening, Femi headed out for a drink after work. A crowd had gathered around a stranger (one of DOOR’s Deaf church planters) and Femi’s curiosity drew him closer.

The Deaf man was sharing an overview of God’s plan of salvation in Nigerian Sign Language. As Femi watched the man sign in his heart language, one point would not leave his mind. The man claimed that God had a plan for all who put their faith in Him.

“I felt God strongly impressing in my heart that it was time to make a turn around, that my life would lead me to the grave,” Femi told one of DOOR’s Deaf leaders.

“I felt very guilty about my sinful life. I talked to the Deaf man and asked him to pray for me. After that prayer, I was hungry to learn more…

“I began attending the Deaf believers’ fellowship and my life has changed dramatically. I am always looking forward to the next time I will be fellowshipping with Deaf believers to learn God’s Word.”

Femi is even being reconciled to his wife and children. He realized the depth of hurt he brought to his loved ones and is seeking their forgiveness. Please pray for restoration.

“Through the work of DOOR and our partner organizations, hope is coming to the Deaf in Nigeria,” says Myers.

Help support Nigerian Deaf translators and church planters!

Pastraporn Sarakong is a leader in the Thai translation team. (Photo courtesy of Wycliffe USA)

Wycliffe Bible Translators USA has been involved in sign language Bible translations projects for about two decades now. Wycliffe’s Andy Keener says, as more sign language projects are taken up within Bible translation, they’ve witnessed a joy akin to that in the early Church as the Gospel was spread.

He says, “Many have never thought about Bible translation. They’ve seen the Bible as a book that is for hearing people, and not for them. And so, these initial engagements have begun to generate a lot of excitement and enthusiasm in communities around the world.”

Getting the work done together

(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe USA)

Wycliffe USA primarily plays a support and partnership role in the translation process as they provide funding and workers. In this work, they help to identify people who are good story tellers in their sign language and coach them in interacting with the Scriptures. The end goal is to video record the Bible passages so they can be distributed.

Keener says they work with many partners — notably DOOR International and Deaf Bible Society. Wycliffe partners with deaf-led regional organizations as well.

“We’re very much interested in partnering with organizations that are working both in their own communities at regional levels, and then some of these international organizations that really focus globally on seeing sign language Bible translation available for all.”

The Thai Church

Right now, Wycliffe is involved in about ten translation projects, including one in Thailand. Keener explains that the Thai Sign Language translation project is less than a decade old. The team working on it right now consists of a few different groups who are translating the Bible chronologically.

Keener explains why: “We found that this is a really key way of engaging the Deaf because in sign language, doing things in a storying fashion chronologically is really powerful and Deaf people have found it a very appropriate way culturally to understand Scripture and to understand the message of Salvation.”

The storying format means Scripture is cut into full stories, much like we might see in a Bible story book.

“When we do that, within sign language, we’re able to have someone in the signing take that entire story and craft that together, having every segment of what is in the Scripture part of that story, but done in a visual way.”

Transformation

As we’ve shared in the past with translation stories, hearing the Gospel in your heart language is so different than having to learn it through a secondary language. It’s the same for the Deaf community. Their heart language is a sign language, and even if they can read, it’s still like learning through a second language.

“They can interact with Scripture some,” Keener says, “but when they get it in their heart language, it really impacts them at a deeper level.”

So as Scripture is translated into Thai Sign Language, more and more in this community are able to hear the Gospel and respond.

“Many people are for the first time realizing, there’s a message here that’s for them and not just for hearing people. They’ve seen that as a huge gulf — less than 0.1 percent of the Deaf community in Thailand are known or expected to be believers at this point,” Keener says.

So as they continue in this work, there are a few things we can do. First and most importantly, we can pray. Ask God to raise up spiritual leaders in all of the Deaf communities around the world, even those that have no witness at this time. Ask Him to give courage, safety, and the power of the Holy Spirit to translation teams who are crossing borders to share the Good News with other Deaf communities.

And this is our motivation for prayer: “Every country in the world has Deaf people. And in each of those places there are Deaf people who the way that they communicate is through sign language. [There’s] not a single sign language in the world today that has a complete Bible. In most sign languages in the world today, there’s not even a single verse that is available in that language.”

Secondly, you can give. Click here to learn more about financial gifts to the sign language translation work.

And finally, consider going. Keener says to watch their website for opportunities to serve overseas.

FOBAI is a coalition of groups involved in Bible translation that pools resources and ideas. For only the second time in its 25-year history, a Deaf believer led one of FOBAI’s plenary sessions. Read about the first FOBAI encounter here.

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“Several people in the audience said it was the best presentation out of the entire forum,” says DOOR International President Rob Myers.

“I was so encouraged to see Deaf leaders taking their place in the realm of Bible translation.”

Tesfaye Moges, one of DOOR’s Deaf consultants-in-training, led a session on the visual context of Scripture. He signed the following in a recent update sent to DOOR:

“I am thankful to God for this opportunity to explain…about the visual context of the Bible, and how that connects to Deaf translation work. As I made the presentation, I noticed that one of the interpreters was actually sobbing! She later told me how much the presentation affected her, and how she felt that now was God’s timing for the Deaf to get His Word.

“One person stood up during the end of the presentation and said how clear and eye-opening it had been. It had inspired and informed him at the same time. As we broke from the plenary session, many people – both Deaf and hearing – came up and told me how much my presentation had affected them.”

“I am so thankful for the training I am getting. It’s opening opportunities for me to serve God, to train and equip others, and to grow. At FOBAI, I also learned what is happening across the world for sign language Bible translation. It’s very exciting to see what God is doing. Please pray for this work.”

Moges’s presentation was inspirational in more ways than one. Neighbors in Ethiopia previously knew him as “the one not even God could save.”

From ruffian to DOOR leader

According to Myers, the DOOR leader who captivated people at this year’s FOBAI summit has a dark past.

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“He was feared in the Ethiopian Deaf community, and he was known as someone you needed to stay away from,” shares Myers.

“He first got involved in Bible translation, not because he was interested in the translation itself, but because it gave him the opportunity to travel. And then, all of a sudden, he encountered the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.”

Moges had no idea what that crucifixion actually meant. However, his heart began to change as he and his teammates began translating the account into Ethiopian Sign Language. For the very first time, Moges received details in his heart language about the price Christ paid for humanity.

“In light of that amazing sacrifice, Tesfaye couldn’t do anything but surrender his life to his amazing Savior…and his life radically changed.”

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

Visit DOOR’s blog to read Tesfaye’s full testimony.

“I’m encouraged just even knowing Tesfaye’s story because it reassures me that no one is too far for the Gospel…and the Gospel is for everyone,” says Myers.

“It’s for the Deaf, it’s for the hearing. It’s for people who are far off from God, or the people who think they are close to God.”

For 98 percent of the world’s 70 million Deaf people, Christ is not a prophet or a teacher. He is a complete stranger because they have not seen the Gospel in their heart sign language.

Partner with DOOR International here to change that statistic.

Over the weekend, attackers killed seven aid workers as they transported food aid from the capital to a smaller village. According to BBC News, this was “the deadliest single incident for humanitarians since the country’s civil war began” in 2013.

(Photo credit: United Nations via Flickr)

The UN Secretary General recently accused South Sudan’s leaders of virtually ignoring their nation’s plight:

• Over 5.5 million people face death by starvation (that’s roughly half the population),
• Another 1.5 million have fled to neighboring nations like Uganda, making South Sudan’s refugee crisis the third-largest in the world, and
• Approximately 86 percent of these refugees are women and children.

Their reason for leaving is clear.

“They’ve seen family members killed, they’ve seen friends killed,” says Rob Myers of DOOR International. “Betrayal is a very real issue in South Sudan.”

Yet, hope remains.

“The words of eternal life are beginning to come to the Deaf in South Sudan. That is the one thing that can bring hope in the midst of this very, very, very difficult situation.”

Pray for South Sudan

Though scores of people are leaving South Sudan daily, Deaf people stay. It’s not necessarily a choice they make willingly; the Deaf have little-to-no financial resources.

This oft-overlooked people group truly is the “least of the least,” says Myers.

Unreached Deaf people watch attentively as one of DOOR’s Deaf church planters signs the Gospel.
(Photo, caption courtesy of DOOR International)

“Deaf people need hope there, maybe even more than any other place in Africa right now,” he states.

“For the most part, the Deaf children have absolutely no access to education…. That also means it’s very difficult for them to get access to training or trade skills so they can maintain a job.”

DOOR International translates the Bible into sign languages so they can train Deaf missionaries to share the Gospel and plant Deaf-led churches. South Sudanese Deaf have been working with DOOR since 2015.

Myers shares, “There was one particular passage that was brought back to the Deaf community after it was translated; it was Genesis 18. It’s the story of Abraham receiving three strangers and showing hospitality to them — inviting them to come and rest, preparing a meal for them, and serving them.

Deaf people discuss God’s Word.
(Photo, caption courtesy of DOOR International)

“That story had an incredibly radical impact on the Deaf people who were there. One of the women explained why the passage had such meaning to her and, what she signed to our leaders she said, ‘God’s Word is teaching us that we don’t need to allow our past experiences to hinder us.’

“Instead of being suspicious and instead of living in fear, God’s calling her and God’s calling other people in the Deaf community to come together and to begin to trust again.”

Some of DOOR’s leaders are in South Sudan this week working with Deaf church planters. Deaf evangelists are using sign language Scripture to share the Gospel.

TAKE ACTION:

• Please ask the Lord to bring hope and healing to South Sudan.
• Learn more about Deaf church planting here.
• Support a Deaf church planter through DOOR International.

(Photo courtesy DOOR International)

After completing a final draft of the passages, Deaf translators “wanted to bring these Scriptures into the community to get community feedback,” shares DOOR International President Rob Myers.

“Whenever you’re doing Bible translation, it’s very critical that the translation doesn’t just happen in a bubble, but the entire community has the opportunity for involvement.”

Community testing serves two vital purposes — first, it serves to bring sign language Scripture to the Deaf community; and secondly, it helps show the DOOR team how to improve their translation. Two Deaf churches agreed to help DOOR’s translation team hold the community test.

“We had recently completed a section of Deaf Translators’ Notes, and were bringing the Scriptures to a local Deaf community to make sure the signs we used were clear and natural,” shares Deaf translator, James Kinuthia, in a recent blog.

“Upon our arrival, we were shocked to realize the two Deaf churches in the area couldn’t agree about anything. They were acting like rivals.”

Though initially concerning, it was all according to God’s purpose.

“God had planned for this to happen; it turned out the passage they (the Deaf translators) were bringing was exactly on reconciliation,” Myers says.

(Photo courtesy DOOR)

“Philippians 4:2-3 talk about two women that Paul was encouraging to agree in the Lord. As these churches…saw the Scripture translated in their heart language for the first time and they began to digest it,…reconciliation began to happen, and God began to bring these two churches back together.

“It’s the power of God’s Word working through the hands and through the lives of people who are ministering in the Deaf community.”

Less than ten percent of the world’s 400-plus sign languages have any portions of translated Scripture. Support sign language Bible translation through DOOR International.

Read more about this story at DOOR International’s website here.