This summer I am taking a trip to Las Vegas to attend Deaf Nation. Please check out the post about the trip at my ministry website.

The purpose of this article is to share with you about why I am raising money through friends and individuals as opposed to going to our normal supporters.

By informing you about this trip through Facebook, Twitter (both accounts) and other outlets (blogs and email), I will have more individuals praying for this trip than I normally would by sending a prayer letter once every 2 months. There are thousands of people who could potentially read my prayer letter and pray for the event; however, I believe you, my on-line friends, can stay better informed by my regular updates. While I don’t want to make everything I write over the next 2 months be about the event, I do want to keep it before you.

There are two ways I can help connect you to this event. One is through information. The more of it you have, the more you will know how to pray for me and the team leading up to Deaf Nation World Expo and the events of July 18-23.

The second way to help you pray for the event is to give you an opportunity to financially support our evangelistic efforts. A (tax-deductible) donation of $20 can help focus your intensity in prayer.

Maybe you would like to participate in an evangelistic outreach such as being able to pass out tracts and witness to 50,000 Deaf. You may not have the skills or the time away from work to reach out to the Deaf community from around the world in this way, but you have $50 you could give towards the trip. God has given me both the skill and time for this ministry, I simply need the financial backing for this to be possible.

Please check out my post at dpeach.com to see how you can donate, or click the ChipIn widget above to donate on-line with a debit or credit card.

I will post here and in other venues about the trip as the weeks progress. Please join me in prayer and finances to make this trip an eternal reward for both of us. Together we can see Deaf come to Christ.

Categories: Bible, Deaf
No Comments »

Last Wednesday I was in a church service where a visiting pastor was speaking. His sermon was a comparison of Mary and Judas in Mark 14 verses 3-11.

Mary:

• Focused on the most important–worshiping God (Christ). Luke 10:38-42
• Faithful in trials. John 11:21-40
• Forsook her greatest possession. Mark 14:3

Judas:

• Criticized intimate worship. Mark 14:4
• Complained about God’s work. Mark 14:4. 5
• Confided with wicked people. Mark 14:10, 11

What struck me is that while many look at missionaries and think that we are willing to give up many things to go live on a foreign field, most of us don’t see that as a hardship. However, we struggle with giving up some things. Maybe your struggle is the thought of giving up regular electricity, or moving away from family. We do give up those things, but personally my struggles are in giving up things of even lesser value.

I don’t think I fall into the category of a Judas, but I am not sure I am a Mary either. Sure, I am willing to give up some comforts to be a missionary, but am I willing to forsake what I see as materialistically important? I am not sure I am there yet.

Categories: Argentina, Bible, Deaf, Mexico
1 Comment »

I am considering adding some new content to my main website. Many of my readers would know that we are missionaries working with the Deaf. In an effort to connect with our supporters in a greater way, I am considering adding a video and/or an audio podcast**. These will be short updates that will help engage with our supporters and friends. I have no planned regularity in putting out content, but it will be at least one update a month.

The reason for doing a video version is that many of our friends are Deaf. This would allow them to get content in their language while still making it accessible for the hearing. Meaning that I would both sign and speak each one of the updates.

I don’t plan on this being a traditional podcast in that I will provide content that the general public might want to consume. Rather it will be simple, short updates about what is going on with us.

What do you think? I know that those who pray for us would like more regular content so that they know how better to pray. Is this the best way to deliver that content? I have intentionally avoided using my prayer letter mailing list as an “update” medium. I would rather those who are more connected with us go to the website and get that additional information. Do you agree?

**What is meant by “podcast”? This is a format for providing content that the “subscriber” can receive automatically via software that grabs the new information when it is available. All the content will be available at the website to view on-line, but by making it a podcast that simply means that the user could go to one piece of software to consume all the content, i.e., iTunes.

Categories: Argentina, Deaf, Podcasting, Traveling
1 Comment »

Here are the cookies from yesterday. These came from the same place that we got the “Oops… Wrong cookie” from last month. We don’t put much faith in the writers of such clever sayings, but these recent ones have been interesting food for thought.

My fortune: What are you waiting for? Start moving now.

I have been somewhat discouraged by my laziness in exercising and staying in shape. While I am doing much better than most, I definitely know I am not where I should be, nor where I want to be. My fortune yesterday was appropriate in that it gave me a little kick in the pants to get motivated and moving. The last 5 years I have harped on the fact that if you will simply get up and move a little bit more today than you did yesterday, you are taking a step in the right direction to get in shape and be healthier. While I still believe that, I have had trouble motivating myself to stay aggressive in my movement. Maybe this is just what I needed.

My wife’s fortune: Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.

As an interpreter (of many things), I am constantly involved in the struggle of making sure something in one language (concept, culture, story) is completely understood in the other language with the same intent and feeling as it had originally. While I don’t know that it takes a genius to transmit information from one medium to another, it certainly is taxing on the mental capacities. When you can take something that is not understood by one person or group and interpret it in such a way that they “get it” then you are displaying an ability that many others do not have.

Categories: Deaf, Traveling, Unrelated News
No Comments »

The second of our two camps for the Deaf in Mexico starts today. We are expecting 31 (or so) in attendance. This is our third year to do this camp. The first year was a day camp in which we picked up the kids and took them to a location each day. Last year we used the same camp facility that we are using this year. We had 22 campers last year, so to have 30 or more would be a big jump percentage wise.

We will be there for 3 nights. I am the guest speaker this year. Since I have been gone a year (we left a week after camp last year) then I get to be the special guest. I am still doing basically the same things I did last year except I didn’t have to do as much of the planning. Can’t get much better than that. Well, it could. I could be given special napping privileges while everyone else is outside playing in the sun. But, alas, I get to help run the games too.

So, while I have now committed to being a better blogger, I step away from the Internet for a few days. Look forward to some pictures this weekend.

Categories: Bible, Deaf, Mexico
No Comments »