How Shall They Hear? - Deaf Ministry in Brazil

By John Peterson

In the past, deafness was a cause for shame among Brazilians. The deaf were hidden from sight or their deafness was denied. In parts of Brazil the deaf are neglected, considered useless and unable to learn. They are denied the right to own property. A deaf girl was found chained to the kitchen table in a home in Natal. A girl in the Amazon was confined in a one-room house while her father was at work (her mother had abandoned the family). Metal strips were nailed over the windows to keep the girl in and intruders out.

Jean and I arrived in Brazil in 1965 with a desire to work with the deaf. In 1978, Marilyn Decker, a missionary working with us in Campinas, met some deaf people on the street. She and Jean learned sign language from them, and taught the first sign language class at the Vila Teixeira Baptist Church where I pastored.

For years we taught sign language from a word list containing written instructions, explaining the gestures. Then Judy Ensminger, who worked with the deaf in Minneapolis, came to Brazil and drew a sign language book. We produced and distributed about 14,000 copies, and our second book, with an expanded vocabulary to meet the needs of the progressing deaf, is now ready.

The best method of teaching sign language has been a two-week course which we teach at Bible schools and churches. This concentrated study, five nights a week, allows students to learn and practice with a sufficient vocabulary to begin conversing with the deaf and interpreting for them. Those who take the course are encouraged to gather students and teach what they have learned. Today there are deaf ministries in all the major cities of Brazil because of these courses.

In January 1979 we held Brazil's first deaf camp with 25 deaf people attending. During that one-week camp, 22 accepted the Lord as Savior. They were the focus for the interpreted services at the Nova Europa Baptist Church we were planting. This church later became the starting point for the deaf church in the center of Campinas.

Because the deaf ride buses, the main church needed to be located in the center of the city where it was easily accessible to all. However, urban land prices were prohibitive. In November 1983, we purchased a lot in the center of the city for $28,000, but the city refused to approve our building plans. God worked matters so we could sell that lot for $85,000 and purchase a larger piece of property in a better location for $110,000. We now have constructed four levels, giving us 11,000 square feet of space including basement -level parking, an auditorium, and social/recreational space. The building is used by the deaf church, a hearing church, English classes, music classes, the Bible Institute, and an area pastors' fellowship.

The deaf church became separate from the hearing church in 1985, and was officially organized in November of that year when they called their own pastor. Deaf churches have been established in São Paulo and Bahia, and dozens of churches across the country now have interpreted services.

Camps have been one of the best tools for winning the deaf to Christ. The week of concentrated study gives time to understand the gospel, under the Holy Spirit's conviction. Some camps are small, while others run over 300 in attendance. Hundreds of deaf Brazilians have been saved at camp.

Brazilians thought deaf people were not able to hold a job, so from the beginning of our work we emphasized it was important for them to work. Now many of the deaf can't get time off work to attend camp.

Brazilians also thought that the deaf could not marry. You should have seen the faces of a group of deaf campers from Fortaleza when I showed the video of a wedding I performed in sign language.

A young man who heard the gospel at camp asked me how long people in America had known about Jesus. I told him the gospel had been known for hundreds of years, and that I had known since childhood. Then he asked how long people had been telling the deaf about Jesus. I answered that evangelism to the deaf had gone on in America for many years, but in Brazil only since 1979. His next question threw me: "Then why didn't someone come and tell us before? My grandfather and my father both died without hearing." I had no answer for him.

Back to Top	Respond to this Article Email Article to a Friend Print this Article