Liz Ortiz
- Apr 1, 2019

Do you remember the way?

“Do you remember the way?” asked my collegue, Christy. I looked around at my surroundings on the unmarked dirt road. “Not really. This looks familiar though.” We continued to drive, trying to remember the way to the Deaf school. Christy made a turn, “Ah! This looks right!” Sure enough it was. Just a little further down I could see the sign for the Deaf school. It had been a little over a month since we last visited the school. We had been wanting to show the “Jesus film” in American Sign Language at the school, and we finally got the okay from the school’s director that we could show it today.

When we pulled into the school, the kids swarmed the car with big smiles. We greeted the kids, they remembered who we were and were happy to see us again. They were intrigued with the equipment we brought to show the film. There is no power at the school, so we brought a small generator to run the projector. The hearing students from the school next to the Deaf school were curious at what we were doing as well. As we got ready to start the film, the room filled with both Deaf and hearing students.

Throughout the film, it was interesting to see the students’ expressions change. When it came to the scene of the feeding of the 5,000, the students were puzzled and pleasantly surprised when the empty basket was filled again. They were amazed that Jesus was able to feed the 5,000 with only 5 loaves and 2 fish! The older students seemed to understand the sign well. They asked a lot of great questions throughout the film. A common question was, “Did Jesus really die? Wasn’t He just sleeping?” We explained that “Yes, Jesus truly did die. But three days after His death, God raised Him back to life!” We left them with some tracts to read over before they left for their spring break. Please pray for these students. We plan to return after their spring break to help clarify and share the gospel further.

Another key aspect to my ministry is media. This month I have finished 8 videos! I praise God for the motivation, focus, and determination to get the videos done. The videos will be used in a variety of ways. Some will be used in furlough presentations for missionaries and others to promote ministries and recruit. This is separate from the “Heroes of the Bible” children’s series that I shared about last month. Those are a work in progress.

By the time you get this email, I will be in South Africa! You may be wondering why am I there? This year the West Africa Regional conference is being hosted in South Africa. All of the career missionaries are required to go. There has not been a West Africa Regional conference since 2011. Although I am not a career missionary, I was asked if I could go and do media coverage for the event. I am excited for this opportunity! Please pray for wisdom and strength as this week progresses.

Praises:

We showed the Jesus film at the Deaf school!

8 videos were finished this month for different ministries!

Pray Requests:

Please pray that God will continue work in the hearts of the Deaf students

Please pray for wisdom in reaching the Deaf for Christ

Please pray for the West Africa Regional Conference in South Africa (March 31-April 6th)