Learning from each other

When Yakup* and his family moved to West Asia, he had never thought about sign language nor had he ever shared the gospel with a Deaf person, and he had certainly never imagined that he would lead a ministry for the Deaf with a national reach.  

Before they married, Yakup and his wife Cansu* both knew God had called them to move overseas. Through different experiences, God placed Muslim people on their hearts. Later, He showed Cansu in a dream the area they would move to. The next summer, when the couple went on a short-term trip to a country in West Asia, Cansu recognised it as the place God had revealed to her.  

“We’re putting together a team here. Why don’t you join us?” invited an OM couple. living there. In mid-2019, after a year of prayer and preparation, Yakup, Cansu and their baby boy made the move.

Three months later, the OM couple who had invited Yakup and Cansu to move there was suddenly forced to leave the country.  

Six months later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Isolation made it hard to learn the language and connect with locals, but Yakup and Cansu did their best. They joined a local church and gathered as lockdowns allowed.  

When restrictions eased, their church leaders, John* and Bethany*, asked for a favour. They had been organising a meeting of Deaf believers for years, but no longer had the capacity to both host and lead.  

“We want to start the Deaf meeting again. Would you be willing to open your home to the group and provide tea and cookies?” they asked. “We’ll still lead the meeting.” 

Yakup and Cansu agreed, and the next week, around eight Deaf believers gathered in their home. For the most part, Yakup and Cansu just watched. First, Bethany shared a Bible story using pictures. Next, she assigned each person a character in the story, and they acted it out together. 

“I remember thinking, ‘This is really fun,’” Yakup recalled. “One of the challenges in sign language is differentiating voices. You can use something called ‘spatial grammar,’ but any more than two voices gets really tricky. So, the theatre helped them understand the story a lot better.” 

The other thing he remembers is how eager the group was for him to learn sign language. “One guy immediately started teaching me vocabulary, pointing at objects, then making the sign for them,” he said. “I realised how much Deaf people really want to communicate and be understood.” 

Access to the Word 

This arrangement continued for about a year. Then, in early 2021, John and Bethany were also faced with sudden deportation. They asked Yakup and another church member to take over the ministry. They both said yes, but over time, it became just Yakup. 

Since accepting the role, Yakup has learnt a lot, starting with sign language; he is now able to converse, narrate Bible stories and even translate. He’s also learnt a lot about what it means to be in relationship with Deaf people and how they experience God.  

“The Deaf are a special group of people. There’s a lot of joy, but also a lot of drama,” Yakup shared. “There aren’t the right accommodations for disabled people [in the country], so a lot of Deaf people are severely undereducated, and lots of them can’t read or write.” 

This means many need help with things like going to the hospital or anything official. Yakup shared about a woman who’d worked for years and saved enough funds to buy a house. Her savings were in physical gold, and she needed a lot of assistance with the legal processes. 

“They also often haven’t had the same socialisation [as hearing children], so they struggle with things like knowing what’s considered rude and emotional regulation,” Yakup continued, “This leads to a lot of interpersonal conflict, both in the group and in their lives in general. We have had to break up fist fights between brothers over conflicts, and many have even ghosted each other or moved cities because they took offence over small issues. Recently, the group decided to help a deaf homeless man. He’s estranged from his whole family, which isn’t unusual in the Deaf community. 

“At the same time, Deaf believers have this child-like wonder and awe when it comes to Jesus and His miracles. They also seem to hear from God in supernatural ways, like dreams and signs, more than others. I think the hearing church has a lot to learn from their Deaf brothers and sisters. It’s my vision to see Deaf communities not just supported by but also supporting hearing fellowships as they grow in holiness, reconciliation, evangelism and discipleship.” 

Yakup believes access to the Word in sign language is critical to seeing this vision come to life. Together with a small team, he’s started a social media channel with Bible stories, teachings and worship songs in sign language. This provides much-needed resources to Deaf fellowships and helps God’s Word reach Deaf believers and seekers even in the most remote parts of the country. 

When Yakup reflects on his journey with the Deaf ministry, he acknowledges the challenges. “I’ve thought about giving up many times,” he admitted, “But I don’t think that God is giving up on them, and I think He still wants to use me. As long as that’s true, I’ll continue.”  

“For a long time, there’s been a lot of shrinking in the community due to problems,” Yakup explained. Then he shifted to a hopeful note, speaking with a quiet but growing excitement, “I’m sure problems will continue, but I'm expecting growth locally and in other cities. I think there are a lot of great things that will happen — and that they will happen soon. I believe we will see a movement among Deaf people.” 

Please pray that God will continue to strengthen and equip Yakup to serve the Deaf community locally and nationally. Pray for the Deaf community to grow in grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. Pray that the social media channel will reach thousands of people with God’s good news. 

*name changed