Hello, call me...

Today I had the opportunity to visit a group of people working on making stories from the Bible accessible in Filipino Sign Language.

The three Filipino men working on the project suggested this sign for my name. Making an "A" with your right hand place it to the one corner of your mouth then move it the other corner of your mouth. They said it was because of my smiling face and dimples. I gladly accepted my new signing name.

Even though I was still getting over jet lag and was terribly sleepy, I was so glad for today's visit.

Today, the group was reviewing the work that had been done on a story based on Isaiah 53. It was fascinating watching them evaluate the passage and share their ideas on the best way to communicate it in their language. Every time a see a group of people working on translating God's Word into their own language -- I'm just amazed.

So you may wonder as I had, what does a Bible for Deaf language communities look like?

This group is working on preparing videos of signers signing the stories in Filipino Sign Language (FSL). They have a small video studio set up in the office where they sign the stories in FSL. They then review what's been recorded and determine if it's a good translation or if there are any revisions that need to be done.

There are over 100 sign languages around the world.
Each of those language communities determine what method communicates best to their group.
I've heard of other Sign Language communities that use "live" animations. Others have used illustrations of people signing. There was also one that I saw that used a writing system of symbols that represented signing motions.

I'm thankful for the chance I've had over the last several years to learn more about the Deaf community and about the need around the world for Bible translation in each of the different sign languages. I've been blessed meeting people who have a heart for seeing this work done and seeing Deaf communities included in having God's Word in the languages that speak to their heart.