The Silent Petén

My journey to the Silent Petén all started the summer of 2007. Our youth group had planned a mission’s trip to Guatemala in order to help the Dinsmores start a brand new ministry. That was the end of my senior year, which was a major crossroad in my life. Before that trip I had been on several trips and knew for sure that missions was what God wanted me to spend the rest of my life doing. I didn’t know where or in what capacity. We spent that whole week in a village that has never heard the truth about God and His love for them. The Sunday before we left, we had a small church service on the lake, and Jimmy challenged us to go BIG with our lives, and that stuck with me. At the end of the trip, I knew that God had made a small place in my heart for Guatemala, but little did I know that God would continue to grow that love.

A little over a year later, I made my second trip to the Petén. I was full of anticipation and excitement! I was able to go back into New Horizons and see all the people that we ministered to on the first trip! We then went into another village that had no gospel, and helped Jim and Shelley start their ministry there in Santa Rita. God’s light was starting to become a little brighter in both villages. It was on that trip that I inquired about the deaf population in Guatemala. Many of you know that my dad is deaf, as well as several other family members. My first language was sign-language and deaf culture was a major part of my life. After doing some research, we discovered that Guatemala has a population of over 700,000 deaf. That sparked an interest, and I immediately started to pray that God would bring a deaf person into my path. We did learn about two deaf people that lived in a neighboring ex-guerrilla village. I didn’t have the opportunity to meet them, but I didn’t soon forget about them. Thanksgiving night we had dinner at a friend’s restaurant on Lake Itza. While everyone was eating a delicious dinner, I snuck outside down to the small dock. All I could see was the moon’s reflection in the water and hundreds of stars in the clear dark sky. It was in the quietness of that moment, that I knew God wanted me to spend the rest of my life reaching the deaf people of the Petén.

Upon arriving home, I immediately started doing research and discovered very little about the deaf population in Guatemala. I did learn that there is a Guatemalan Sign-Language as well as several variations of that Sign-Language throughout the different regions of Guatemala. The capital city has several schools for the deaf as well a few other neighboring cities. However in the Petén there is no school for deaf children. I was astounded when I learned there is a population of 53,000 deaf living in the Petén, yet there is no mode of communication or way of education for them. After a year of research, praying, and many sleepless nights, I was on my way back to the Petén for an extended trip! Everywhere we went we would ask if they knew of any deaf people, and it wasn’t too long we were off to meet some! Jaime and Maria Jose, cousins, are both deaf and live in San Juan, a small town about 10 minutes from where I stay in El Chal! They do not use the Guatemalan Sign Language, but instead their own homemade signs. Maria Jose’s mom is a teacher here in a local school, and she really embraced my passion for reaching the deaf here in the Petén. We spent a whole day traveling from town to town, school to school, meeting principals and teachers, and discussing the need for a school for the deaf here in the Petén.

My heart broke when I met my first deaf little girl. Her teachers told me that every day on her way to school; she gets sticks and rocks thrown at her because she is “different.” She had no language and no way to communicate with her family and friends. When she is scared, no one can tell her it will be all right. When she is sick, no one can console her. When she is happy, no understands why. How will she ever know that she is loved? How will she ever know how to read or write? But even more importantly, how will she ever know there is a God who made her, who loves her, and who sent His only son to be her Savior?

If someone would be willing to teach the deaf of Petén a language, then they could one day know and experience the truth of God’s Word. I can’t even fathom why God would choose me to take on this overwhelming challenge and am certain that of myself I could do nothing. Starting a school for the deaf here in the Petén is just the beginning, and I know God has something so much bigger planned than I could ever hope or ask for! I want to see Him flex His muscles and perfect strength through my weaknesses. I want to see Maria Jose, Jaime, and Yenifer one day accept Jesus as their Savior and become my brother and sisters in Christ!

These next three years are going to be packed full of Deaf Education classes, Spanish lessons, grant writing, raising support, and growing more and more everyday! God has already provided land in the Petén for a school, which is the first of many steps in getting the gospel to these unreached people! Please pray with me that God will supply all the needs for this school, and you can stay up to date on how God’s answers by reading about the Time in Between!