URGENT APPEAL:
A COMMITMENT OF LOVE IN FAVOUR OF THE DEAF MY EXPERIENCE WITH GOD
The Lord changed my life about 20 years ago. He let me become a son of God. That time my life was empty and sad, full of bitternesses and disappointments. In my adolescence there was a time in which I starved to die since my life was full of unsatisfaction. I could not see any possibility to change. I was wandering through the streets of this world without an aim, trying to fill my life getting some buses and going up and down without any goal. I was mourning and suffering because of all this. But one day a new light enlightened my mind and I started to look towards God, having the sheer sensation that He was near me. My bitternesses and worryings that were oppressing my mind went far away. This was my first approach to God, but in my whole life, I had other ones. Sometimes I did not understand that they were from Him while I was feeling them, but, as soon those feelings concluded, I could have the insurance that they were from Him. For three times (before to know this truth that now I have already experienced, for God’s sake) I lived a peculiar and wonderful experience. The first time while I was riding my bicycle, the second one while I was into an office, the third while I was in the bank to get some operations. In all the three I suddenly felt a wonderful feeling of deep joy, I was nearly to cry aloud. After some years the Lord called me. I started to read the Holy Bible and understood the truth about God, and I recognized my needing to receive the One who came from the Heaven to save all mankind, and, therefore, to save me too. So I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I put my life into His hands. I remember starting to humiliate myself in His presence, lying down at His feet, asking Him to convert my heart. Then I began to feel His sweet presence and He gave to me a wonderful peace. There, in that room, while the presence of the Lord was upon me (and I felt it really), from my heart and from my lips they began to come out some words I had never thought to say. They were like a river of words begotten by the Holy Spirit, which came out while my hands were lifted up towards Heaven. I remember that, before to live this blessed experience, I was suffering of different fears. For example, I was not able to sleep alone and in the dark. When I had to sleep in such conditions, I could not, because a great fear was possessing me. But when Jesus entered my life, these fears left me. Infact, afterwards I went trough a period of loneliness for about 5 years: I lived alone, I slept alone and in the dark, but I had no problems because the Lord chased these fears. Glory to His Name! And I remember that in the earliest period, when I sometimes was not home, I couldn’t wait to return there to pray and have a new marvelous encounter with my Saviour: I was born again, to a new reality, and I could feel that the chains of my spiritual prison in which I was forced to live before to accept the Lord Jesus, have been broken letting me be a free man. Glory to God!
THE BIRTH OF THE MISSION
Some years are passed by that precious experience and the Lord put in my heart the desire to share the Gospel with the deaf. I want to tell you as it came to happen. Some years ago (in 1989), I knew an association called “Light in the darkness”, they had the aim to share the Gospel with the blind. I had the chance to listen to wonderful cassettes which this association prepared for the blind. This made me happy but this also made me think of another category of disadvanteged people also in need of the message of Jesus Christ, the deaf. From this thought it was born the desire to found a mission to share the Word of God to the deaf. And so it happened. We began to write a first circular letter to present us to the deaf (those of whom we had the addresses). With this letter we enclosed two tracts: one contained a vey nice testimony which gave a more complete message. After some months we prepared the second circular letter with a copy of the Gospel according to the book of John and a testimony, and we sent by post to all the addresses we had got, and so we did for all the work that we prepared later on. Then we prepared a third circular letter with an illustrated tract, since, we thought, it could be more suitable, easier and more attractive to read for these people, because they have difficulty to learn the current language, properly for the lack of hearing. Then we realized also the fourth circular letter with an illustrated tract of our intentions. I have to say that the work of this last tract was very suffered, long and difficult, so we thought not to do other new tracts. But the Word of God says that God’s thoughts are not our ones (Is. 55:8). One day it happened we received a magazine by the mission “Joni and Friends” (an association for disable people), that contained a very nice testimony of a disable believer, Mariano La Franca, a man I personally knew. This fact produced in my heart the desire to realize a magazine for the deaf, with testimonies of deaf believers. So we printed, with the help of the Lord, a first magazine, to whom followed many others, all contained also an illustrated sheet. Now, returning back, when our mission was born, I have to say that one of the first problems we had to face, was to know names and addresses of deaf people to whom send our evangelical tracts. So we made an appeal to the whole of God’s people, asking if there were brothers or sisters in Christ who knew these people in order to have their names and addresses. We even made appeals through christian newspaper, evangelical radios and libraries, and also to the churches in Italy. I even refer to my friends and to my personal contacts about this, and all that has produced to reach about 350 deaf in 6 years. In Italy, however, there are about 60.000 deaf, and we have reached only a little part of them.
APPEAL TO ALL THE BELIEVERS
The aim of the present tract is to make an appeal to all the believers of the world in order to interest them to the problem of the evangelization of the deaf. Infact, in all the world live millions of deaf. Only in Brasil there are about 5 millions of them; in U.S.A. many more. We want these people to be reached. We want to make a deep call to all the believers, in Italy and in the world, particulary to them who feel in their heart the desire to bring the Gospel to the deaf, and they don’t know the way. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and unique Leader of His Church. He chooses His children to give them some particular tasks, according to His will. So, we want to address this message to those believers who feel a call to serve the Lord in this field, and we want to make ourselves available to them by helping them to start an evangelist endeavor in this field. What we have done, till now, it can be done by an ordinary servant of the Lord, called by God for this task, and he can do it better than us, too. Among those who are reading or who will read this tract, perhaps there is someone who want to do something for the Lord, and it is good, because God has called us not to make nothing, but to encrease the talents He gave us. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there is much work to do in the great field of the Lord, and I believe that a field which needs many labourers is the one of the deaf. We want to pray the Lord for He help us to be good testimonies of Jesus Christ towards the deaf. I believe that even today the voice of God says the same thing to His people that He once said to the prophet Isaiah: “Who will I send? Who will go for us?” –And the prophet replied: “Here I am, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) Dear Brothers, please, reply positively to this appeal, as Isaiah did, don’t leaving without reply the request of the Lord. In these last years, it’s still open the chance to learn the language of the signs (the gesture language used by the deaf); infact, in Italy, the National Organization for the deaf (E.N.S.), performs every year some specific courses, so that, who is interested, may attend to these courses and learn the L.I.S. (the sign italian language), and to have an approach with the world of the deaf. We believe that in other Nations there is the same possibility. We ask you to pray the Lord so that, if it is His will for you, He, Himself, will lead you, will enlighten you and will put in your heart an ardent desire to bring His message to these people. Please, help us to pray for the Lord call many labourers in the world to proclaim the Gospel to the deaf. We ask you, please, do not remain indifferent to this appeal. Please, pray continually so that the Lord show you in what field you may serve Him, and, if you feel a call or a particular desire towards the deaf, we ask you to contact us for we can give you further informations, but also our evangelistic material specifically prepared for these people. I want underline that it’s necessary to understand the particular need of these ones, since without hearing they have great difficulty to receive the message of the Word of God, overall when it is preached with living voice; secondly, many deaf even if they have got a normal intelligence level, they have some difficulties in learning well the writing language. But it’s also true that there are deaf people who have reached a very good degree of instruction. For that it is necessary try to use the best suitable communication-means to proclaim them the Gospel, and that is what we are trying to do, with the help of the Lord. So, we want to ask you to pray a lot for us, so that the Lord will lead us, will enlighten us and will make us able to serve Him efficaciously, in this task that we are getting for His Glory. Our desire and prayer is that this message may push many brothers and sisters in Christ to begin an evangelistic work among the deaf. Also, we are available to help those who will manifest a true desire to serve our beloved Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this delicate field. God bless you.
Your brother in Christ Amedeo Bruno
Our address is: BUONE NOTIZIE (Good News) – Casella postale 67 – Ufficio postale PA 48 – Via Roma – 90133 Palermo – Italia (Italy) – E. mail: b.notizie@virgilio.it Web Site: www.sordi-buonenotizie.it |