Sign Language Territory

I really admire the work that the brothers do here. Preaching is exhausting. I think it´s because of all the walking that we do, and the heat on top of that.
Service with the ASL group is a challenge. A lot of the work has been done already...finding the deaf ones.
After walking in the morning to meet the service group, we are assigned one or two deaf homes to visit. Then we walk to the house, and whether or not the deaf person will be there is a challenge in itself, and, in fact, we very rarely find them home. Most of the deaf receive our visits gladly...but the parents who have deaf children are weary of our visits, since the deaf school here told them all to not let the Witnesses visit their children. The deaf ones who know sign language have a very basic knowledge of it, and many of them don´t know any at all, and must first be taught.
Despite the many challenges, the work is being blessed. The number of deaf attending our meetings is slowly climbing. In the short time that I have been here I have seen the progress of a few of them, their bible knowledge, however basic it is, is nonetheless growing...its wonderful to see them recognize who Jehovah is, and the hope they have for the future. They feel comfortable in the meetings, the brothers hug them and welcome them just the same as any one, and I think they feel the warmth in the congregation, something that so many people deprive them of.