East Boulder Baptist Church Deaf Ministry Wonderful Women s Retreat! Calling all Deaf and hard-of-hearing women to a fabulous Christian women's retreat near beautiful Estes Park! The women of our church and their girlfriends, mothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters will gather together on Friday evening, October 5th, at 5 PM for a two-night time of refreshing, fun, and quiet reflection. We will enjoy teaching sessions, discussions, worship, games, great food, and free time on Saturday afternoon to explore the Rocky Mountains, do a service project, or sleep! Four meals and two night's lodging in a comfortable motel-like setting will be included in the retreat fee. If you register before Aug. 26th, the "Early Bird" deposit is $20, and after Aug. 26th it is $30. If you have 4 people in your room, the additional cost is $126. Three in a room is $155, 2 in a room is $160, and if you want a room alone, it will cost $280. We have four wonderful interpreters who will help you interact with all of the hearing women, so you will be included in everything! Please contact Barb at CoffanB@Juno.com for a registration brochure today!
New Deaf Ministry Director Praise the Lord! After three years of praying, God finally has brought a Deaf Ministry Director to us. Esperanza joined our church in June, and God has led her to fill this empty position. The following will tell you about this wonderful gal. My name is Esperanza. I was born in Denver, and at the age of 3 months, I lost my hearing due to an illness. I started attending Evans School in the Denver Public School system, but they did not allow sign language. This forced me to switch over to the Jefferson County schools where I attended Fletcher Miller Elementary School, then Lakewood Jr. High, and I started going to Jefferson High. For 8 years, my parents (and other parents of Deaf children) fought to get sign language into the Denver schools and they finally won! I went back to Denver and graduated from South High School in 1979. After that I attended the Community College of Denver. My friend took me to visit Applewood Baptist church for a Deaf Christmas Party. I met Gary S. there. Later, Gary S. and Jim R. came and visited my home. They explained to me about salvation. I realized Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior on April 12, 1978, and was baptized in May of 1981. I learned a lot about God's word in Sunday School, at SBCD, Christian workshops, and retreats. God called me be a missionary. Since 1981, I worked as a missionary in a few states with Deaf children and women's groups for a few years. I attended a Christian college, too. My last mission trip was to El Paso, Texas. Then, I stopped going to church for a while. I kept on looking for the right church, and God kept drawing my heart to the Southern Baptist denomination. I visited EBBC a few times, but God did not lead me there yet. Finally, I recently brought my close friend to visit EBBC, and God hit my heart and told me to join, because I want to help Deaf people. I became a member last June. I am so happy to serve God again and more! I have had 11 jobs. My last job was with the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier for 14 years, but in 2003 I began to get dizzy. Later I got dizzier with Meniere's disease in 2013. But I knew God's reason for my life. I took disability retirement because of my health issues. God needed me help and encourage Deaf or hearing people to know about JESUS! I am looking forward to teaching Deaf children, women, youth, and elderly people, and going on mission trips - as God leads. I love art, crossword puzzles, cross stitch, crafts, hiking, retreats, camps, travel, Christian workshops, Christian conferences, and SBCD too! I PRAY for Deaf and hearing people who need the LORD. My favorite verse is Ephesians 2:8, " For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Amen! Precious in Jesus, Esperanza
A Special Visit What a wonderful time our Deaf Ministry had the weekend of June 1st - 3rd! Job Ayantola flew in to share with our entire church, Deaf and hearing, about the word of God AND about the Deaf Training Center that he is trying to build in Ibadan, Nigeria. On Saturday, we had "A Trip to Nigeria" with Job at Barb s house, along with a nice meal. Immediately following that, a team went to visit an elderly Deaf lady. You will read about her in another article. Then, on Sunday, Job shared with us all in our Deaf Missionary Prayer Time, and he reached in the hearing church. Everyone loved him, and the way he preached the word! This photo shows the group that fellowshipped with him over a Chinese meal just before he flew home. Thank you, Job, for blessing us! Studying God's Word Together On Sunday Mornings Wow! Have you come to our Deaf Sunday School class lately? The group seems to grow each week, and the discussions are terrific! Presently, we are studying the book of II Samuel, and learning much about King David and his relatives, friends, and enemies. The funny thing is...these Old Testament stories actually relate to our lives in 2018! Please come and join us next Sunday at 10:45 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Why not bring a friend? What a Beautiful Girl - Inside and Out! If you haven't met Megan yet, you are missing out on a treat! Every Wednesday evening, rain or shine, Megan comes to our Deaf Bible study for learning, interpreting, and fellowship...from Estes Park! She says she makes it in 35 minutes, but I can't believe she doesn't get speeding tickets! Putting all that aside, Megan is a wonderful gal who works with troubled teens in a rehab facility up there. She also loves training dogs for PTSD victims. To top it all off, she just got married to a great guy!!! Now she's Megan M. Please come to our Wednesday night Bible study at The Legacy Assisted Living Community - 225 Waneka Parkway, Lafayette, to Page 3
Deaf Mission Trip to Ibadan, Nigeria, Africa Thank you so very much for praying for this mission trip to Nigeria. Thank you, too, for contributing financially. Our team started out on the plane with three of us, and we actually ended up with 7 people on the team - 5 Deaf and two hearing. It was awesome!!! We witnessed the Lord saving 58 people (adults, teens, and children). Two people rededicated their lives to the Lord, and 6 prayed to allow the Holy Spirit to fill their lives continually. We led a Deaf Family Fun Day (that had 91 participants), visited the 4-acres where Job Ayantola and the Christian Evangelistic Association is building a Christian training center for Deaf people, participated in an all-night prayer vigil, shared the plan of salvation at two Deaf schools, attended two Monday Night Deaf Bible Studies, attended two Deaf worship services (1 in Lagos, and 1 in Ibadan), helped lead a "Strengthening Your Church" Nigeria-wide conference (which had 110 participants), taught workshops, preached, witnessed, served the Nigerians with a Biblical foot-washing, signed American worship songs, painted an entire auditorium/worship center, built an office for C.E.A., met the future president of Nigeria, spent the day with the pastor who was kidnapped for 4 days and then freed because of the prayers of his people and because of his boldness to share Jesus with one of his captors, and gave and received lots and lots of hugs! To God be the Glory! Mat, Bob, Frona, Job, Wes, Bukola, and Barb. Page 4
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You Are Never Too Old for Jesus! On Saturday afternoon, June 2nd, several of us had a bit of free time after our "A Trip to Nigeria With Job" presentation. We decided to visit 92-year-old Hope in Thornton. Hope came to our Deaf Christmas party a few years ago, and we have visited her on several occasions. On this visit, her son had told us that Hope was not doing well. After a bit of chit chat, we presented her with God's Word on how to get to heaven. When asked if she wanted to trust Christ as her Savior and Lord, and if she wanted to invite Him into her heart, Hope's response was, "yes!" We all prayed for Hope, and then she prayed for her sins to be forgiven, and for her desire to open her heart to Him. What a blessing! She did! A few weeks later, Esperanza brought her to church. We are hopeful that soon Esperanza and Jon will speak to her abut baptism. To God be the Glory!!! Upcoming Meetings Please mark your calendars now for two important meetings that will be held on the same day. On Sunday, September 16th at noon, we will hold our bi-monthly Deaf Ministry Business Meeting in the Fellowship Hall. The theme for our luncheon that day is, "Fall Food/ Football Game Food". Immediately following our business meeting, we will hold our third Christmas Party Planning Meeting. Please pray that we soon will confirm a speaker for the weekend of December 1 and 2nd, and that the Lord leads us to "entertainment" for the party, too. Please do put December 1, 2018 on your calendars for our 28th Annual Deaf Christmas Party! Page 6
New Gal in Town Actually, this new gal is not really in our town! A few weeks ago, we were contacted by a Christian interpreter who said that she wanted to come to EBBC for our training program. She is a school interpreter who would like to improve her score on her interpreting test. We get requests like this all the time, so we welcomed her. Then, we found out that she lives in Scottsbluff, Nebraska! Amanda F. travels through 3 states each Wednesday evening, to join our group for Bible study. She will also be able to be with us on Sundays when she is not working the AV equipment at her church in Nebraska. Keep in mind that her trip one way, is 3 hours and 15 minutes! Now, that's dedication! Please pray that Amanda will be surrounded by angels on the roads, and that we will be a blessing to her life. A Hand Blessing As you know, every Sunday morning for the past 25 years, our Deaf Ministry at EBBC has had a special time from 8:30 AM - 9 AM. We call it, "Deaf Missionary Prayer Time". During the week, we get emails from our missionaries all over the world, and this is a time when we feature 3 or 4 families, and pray for their needs, and praises. Recently, we received a package from one missionary family in Thailand. It contained: a personal hand-written letter thanking us for ministering to them through prayer for many years, a little tin bowl, an artificial flower, prayer cards with a new picture of their sweet family, and several new booklets about Deaf missions printed by the International Mission Board. The letter explained how in Thailand, there is a tradition of pouring water over the hands of people, to give them a blessing. We decided to do the same last Sunday. We put water and the flower in the little bowl (as a symbol of what it might look like on a larger scale). Then, we had a basin, a towel, and a pitcher full of water. We went around to the people who came to Missionary Prayer Time that day and blessed them by pouring water over their hands. Oh, my goodness...it was sooo refreshing! We've now decided to adopt this new practice and bless special visitors who come to our Deaf Ministry in future weeks. PTL! Page 7
CALENDAR OF EVENTS September 5, 12, 19, 26 - Deaf Community Bible Study - The Legacy Assisted Living Community, 6:30-8 PM, 225 Waneka Parkway, Lafayette. Deaf and hearing people welcome. 14 and 15 - Deaf Christian Men's Conference - Bagdad, Ky. www.dmgathering.org 16 (Sun) - Deaf Business Meeting and Christmas Party Planning Meeting - Noon 26 (Wed) - EBBC Church Council Meeting - 8 PM at the church October 3,10,17,24,31 - Deaf Community Bible Study - 6:30-8 PM 5, 6, 7 (Fri. Sat. Sun.) - EBBC Women's Retreat in Allen's Park (near Estes Park) - Register now! 31 (Wed) - EBBC Church Council Meeting - 8 PM at the church (Every Sunday - 10:45 AM to Noon, Deaf Sunday School class in the Fellowship Hall) CoffanB@Juno.com 720/339-5331 (Text) East Boulder Baptist Church 7690 E. Baseline Road Boulder, CO 80303