BIMI Church Planting Missionaries |
I was born deaf from German's Measles. I grew up in the church without any sign language interpreter. I never heard the gospel clearly. When I was a teenager, I picked up a tract. After I read it, I had many spiritaul questions. I was searching for the turth and the Holy Spirit was working in my heart. Over the next few months I re-read the tract several times. The tract presented the clear message of the gospel. I trusted Christ as my savior in May 1984. It was the first time that I had peace in my heart. Three years later, I was baptized. After graduation from Gallaudet University, I attended a deaf Christian camp in Pennsylvania. The theme of this camp was on missions. One night God touched my heart about so many deaf people in Russian-speaking countries who had never heard the gospel. I surrendered to be a missionary in July 1994. I enrolled in the BIMI Deaf Bible Institute (a.k.a. Harvest Deaf Bible College) the following fall. During my training, I met so many missionaries and was exposed to missions. I joined BIMI (Baptist International Missions, Inc.) in December 1997 as a missionary to Russia. I served the Lord in St. Petersburg, Russia for four years from 2001 to 2005. I helped the deaf ministry and started a Bible Study at a technicum (training college) for deaf students. God moved me to Simferopol, Ukraine to work with Simferopol Baptist Deaf Church in 2006. I help teach the Men's Sunday School class, take turns preaching in the deaf church and help in the church planting ministry in Crimea. Since March of 2009 I have been involved, with Pastor Slava Kratko, in church planting in Yevpatoria, Crimea, Ukraine. Every week the average attenedance in that new ministry is between 13 and 16 deaf. |
