11th Deaf Trivia

Did anyone answer all of them correctly? Are you ready for the next Trivia today?

The answers for the 8th Trivia questions from 5-28-12 are shown below:

1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. A

1. On the article 6-18-12, Who is the Director of the World Discipleship Summit?
A. Roger Lamb
B. Justin Rendon
C. Mike Taliaferro
D. Steve Johnson

2. Anya Trukhina is a single deaf disciple from Moscow.
A. True
B. False

3.When was the first open-captioned film called ‘America the Beautiful’?
A. 1958
B. 1948
C. 1960
D. 1980

4. What is the name of the US President who signed the charter for the Washington, D.C based college for the deaf?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Theodore Roosevelt
C. John F. Kennedy
D. Abraham Lincoln

5. What type of hearing aids device was approved in 1985?
A. In the Ear Canal Hearing Aids
B. Digital Hearing Aids
C. Cochlear Implants
D. Wireless Hearing Aids

The answers will be shown on the next 12th Trivia on July 30th, 2012. Good luck!

Deaf Conference

The 2012 WDS International Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministry Conference at the World Discipleship Summit (WDS) on July 5-8, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas will be focused on inspiring believers to be the dreamers and heroes who are needed so that the mountain of the Lord, the Kingdom of God, be raised above the hills and that all nations will stream to it.

Click here to read the Program for the 2012 Deaf Conference

At the evening sessions in the AT&T Center, reserved seating for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministry is on the front row with an interpreter standing on a small stage in front of the main stage. There are 48 reserved seats for our ministry during entire conference:  section F4 (seats 7-18 and rows 1-4) at the AT & T Center. Videos on the widescreen at the AT& T Center will be available to be shown on subtitles.

Special Thanks for Mike Taliaferro, Director of the WDS, to support for the Deaf Conference.

In Christ,

Joe/Carole Cepeda

Assistant Deaf Conference Coordinators

 

3rd Anniversary DMICOC

Happy 3rd Anniversary DMICOC! Joe Cepeda would like to say special thanks to the disciples who volunteered to edit articles for posted on the website. He appreciates those who have visited his website for the past 3 years. He believes the Lord will provide for his needs in order to have a successful and inspiring website.

There will be over 32 disciples attending the 1st Deaf Conference at the World Discipleship Summit (WDS) in San Antonio, TX on July 5-8, 2012. Interpreter services will be available during worship services. We are excited to announce that a new Web Technology partner, John Scamardella, will team up with Joe Cepeda to help with new updates for DMICOC website. WDS videos will be available with subtitles to be posted on DMICOC website for our Deaf Ministry family who aren’t able to attend it. Stay tune!

Within the past 3 years, Joe Cepeda contacted the church leaders around the world for long hours and worked hard for the Deaf Ministry ICOC.  I would appreciate it if the ICOC disciples would to contact me when there is an established Deaf Ministry that I can add to the list. Currently, there are 11 churches around the world that have a Deaf Ministry. Here are churches:

Boston, Massachusetts (1 deaf disciple)

Greensboro, North Carolina (1 deaf disciple)

Indianapolis, Indiana (2 deaf disciples & 4 interpreters)

Los Angeles, California (14 deaf disciples & 11 interpreters)

Staten Island, New York (2 deaf disciples)

San Antonio, Texas (3 deaf disciples & 1 interpreter)

Washington DC (1 deaf disciple & 6 interpreters)

Abidjan, Ivory Coast (18 deaf disciples & 2 interpreters)

Almaty, Kazakhstan (3 deaf disciples 2 interpreters)

Moscow, Russia (1 deaf disciple)

Vinnitsya, Ukraine (3 deaf disciples & 2 interpreters)

As our brothers and sisters are spread out throughout the world, let us consider the importance of keeping in communication with each other.  Whether that is through Skype, videophone or emails, we all would benefit from the spiritual support and encouragement.

Joe is very grateful to be connected with the 11 churches of the Deaf Ministry.  He has many goals for 2012: to get a new profile from churches that plan on establishing our ministry, to fulfill the strong need to have a bigger Web Technology team to assist him for the DMICOC website, for there to be a 2nd Deaf Conference to connect with the World Conference in the near future in which we would encourage International Deaf Ministry to attend, & to continue to receive good news articles from around the world so they can be posted on the DMICOC website.

Rochester has the largest deaf population, over 90,000, in the US according to NY Times. Joe has strong faith and passion for Rochester ICOC (www.ricoc.org) to establish a Deaf Ministry in the near future. He is willing to support the Rochester disciples via long distance videophone & Skype, as they have deaf bible studies.

Anya Trukhina

This is Anya Trukhina. Her story is unique and inspiring, one that will touch us all. She was baptized on November 28, 1994 in Moscow. It took two long years before she made this life-changing decision, one that was filled with peril and strife but God always wins! Being deaf, you face many more challenges that are incomprehensible to the average person. Fear is what Anya lived in, day in and day out. Acceptance is what she was ultimately seeking, but Satan was fighting to keep her away from the church, because church is the only place she would find acceptance. After turning down many invites, she ultimately decided to dive in and give the ICOC a try.

Despite visiting the ICOC, she was faced with many hurdles. Growing up in an Orthodox church, she was uninspired, and always wanted something more. Many fears surrounded her as she stepped out into the unfamiliar territory. “Would they accept me even though I am deaf?”, “How am I supposed to leave my family tradition?”, “Is this the right church for me?”. Thankfully Anya turned to God through prayer through these difficult questions, and all her prayers were answered! The Moscow church accepted her and loved her, and there she felt the spirit of God moving. At 19 years old she was baptized, and she found a loving church home.

After 2 years she was to lead the group of deaf women and she was a deaf friend in the Church. Being in the deaf ministry, she had big dreams. Sometimes our dreams do not coincide with God’s plan, and our reaction to this can make all the difference in the world. Anya dreamt of marrying a man she worked with in the deaf ministry, but after he fell away, she struggled deeply in her walk with God. Her hopes had shifted away from God, and were placed upon a man, and her own fantasies of what she wanted to do in the church. Since her focus was away from God, her joy left, and the call to make disciples were hardened.

Through all this difficulty, Anya still wanted to do the right thing and follow God, and found someone to study the Bible with. While this rekindled her excitement for God for a short while, her foundation was not strongly rooted in God. This created a disaster when a struggle arose. She wanted to be baptized, but… something incredible happened… she got cut off from the Church in 2003. Anya didn’t understand the meaning of being “cut off” from the Church. And the girl was in shock that she was cut off and still not baptized. Anya became angry with people at the Church! She tried to go back a year later, in 2004, but she could not let go of her resentment and decided to not go back. She tried to forget about the Church.

Eventually, Anya began to look security in other avenues. She married a musician, who didn’t believe in God, and began to work at a modeling agency. She was looking for inspiration at the agency, but it was not all that. She felt terrible! The employees there laughed at Anya because she was too modest, she always prayed behind the scenes, and told them about God. All the while she felt she was being called Jesus to preserve her ecclesiastical training.  Anya understood that being a model is not for her, departed the agency in 2007, and began to look for a Church.

She found many good churches, but they were not all that she expected. Her husband did not understand why Anya needed a Church. He said that his family and arranged for her to work as a designer to design business cards and booklets for music clubs. She began to settle down in one of the Orthodox Churches and worked as a volunteer to help children without parents. Anya went there, because she had a heart for these children, but she didn’t understand why these healthy children were not being adopted. Anya was looking for answers from God, and she prayed. She also began to doubt her husband, and perhaps God would show her that he is not for her…” I don’t know the will of God” – she thought.

Anya began thinking about the Church of Christ, in which it was before, she missed the church, but still remembered the offenses made at her. Anya realized that they should forgive those who hurt her. She prayed for mercy, it was difficult to forgive, and she struggled with this sin! One day Anya prayed in her room, to forgive all. She sobbed hard and then felt relieved in mind. Sometime later, in a social network she met friends from the Church of Christ by accident. Anya was excited about this; it was as if they were her long lost relatives! They wrote a few words to Anya, and she was happy to see what the Church was like after 9 years. The disciple she was in contact with invited Anya to a meeting in December 2011. Anya’s husband came with her to the Church even though he didn’t understand. He did not understand why Anya was so happy in the Church. They began to go in different directions. They understood that they were not made for each other; they were different in everything and had different interests. They never had children because they practically did not live together. Unbeknownst to them, they gradually went away from each other. Even though she loved him, Anya gradually had disappeared from him, and he let her go. They finally divorced and she began to live from scratch. But the good relations they have stayed. Now she prayed for him, to know God and come to Him. Anya was very glad to be with the disciples of Christ again and she felt happy. Her dream to be baptized came true and the dead Princess was baptized by her friend Veronica. Anya was grateful to God that He brought her to Him and helped her through her trials and mostly her ability to forgive all! And it works! When all forgive, then God forgives you – life changed for the better, from malice to a purified soul! And through forgiveness all will be saved! Amen! This may be a lot of writing, but it’s from the heart! I believe that with God all things are possible. Anya realized her sin, she had no soul and had to be like Christ to forgive her enemies. Anya’s favorite bible verse is 1 John 4:11-12 “Friends of the beloved! If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love in us reach perfection.” But with God and prayer Anya have repented. Forgive me, brothers and sisters! I love you very much! I’m in Church, because I want to serve God!

10th Deaf Trivia

Did anyone answer all of them correctly? Are you ready for the next Trivia today?

The answers for the 8th Trivia questions from 3-26-12 are shown below:

1. B
2. A
3. C
4. D
5. A

1. On the article 5-7-12, what was the name of the Open-Caption Movie event?

A. Men In Black III
B. Dark Shadows
C. Battleships
D. Avengers

2. There are 36 deaf disciples for the Deaf Ministry at the Abidjan Church of Christ.

A. True
B. False

3. When was the closed-captioning invented?

A. 1981
B. 2001
C. 1971
D. 1965

4. Who was the first deaf woman to be named Miss America in the Miss America Pageant?

A. Heather Whitestone
B. Ann Billington
C. Laura Hill
D. Johanna Valenta

5. In 2009 USA Deaf Olympics, what country did USA beat as opponent for the gold medal?

A. Germany
B. Canada
C. Japan
D. Brazil

The answers will be shown on the next 11th Trivia on June 25th, 2012. Good luck!

The Formation of the Ivory Coast Deaf Ministry in Abidjan

Currently, the Abidjan Deaf Ministry has eighteen (18) deaf disciples (14 brothers and 4 sisters). Yanzeu Guy Merlin and his wife, Leonce led this group.  Yanzeu felt that it was an honor in leading the Deaf Ministry in Abidjan.  Tape Zagole & Lionel are interpreters for the Deaf Ministry. They have a Deaf Service on Sunday’s. Yanzeu speaks mostly French.  Yanzeu’s English language speaking abilities are good enough to be understood by everybody.  The average weekly attendance of the deaf is between forty-five to seventy people.

The Deaf Ministry started after a troublesome period theIvory Coastchurch had between 2007 and 2009. The church staff gave Mr. Yanzeu Merlin the opportunity to help the Deaf Ministry in January 2010. When Mr. Merlin started the Deaf Ministry, there were six (6) deaf disciples (4 brothers and 2 sisters). Some of them had left the church before not having any hope for the deaf ministry.  However, later they realized there was some potential in that ministry. Mr. Merlin trained two deaf brothers, Alain and Romain. Alain and Romain became disciples seventeen years ago and they are still faithful in Christ. They lead with Mr. Merlin in the Deaf Ministry because they provide a strong spiritual support to him.  Romain lives and works out of Abidjan and he sacrifices his time to commute a long distance in order to attend Sunday services in Abidjan.  Alain is a teacher in the deaf school. Both him and Romain have made an impact in the Deaf Ministry. After the war, many deaf parents left their towns and villages.  My deaf friends made a decision to not follow their parents.  Now, they live far from Abidjan. Some of them attend Sunday service.  Currently, there are 30 deaf people in bible studies. The Deaf Ministry team is excited to spend time with their deaf friends.

After several months, the Deaf Ministry has established strong communication within the team.  They trust each other tremendously. They have come up with ideas on how to reach out and evangelize the Deaf and hard of hearing community. At first, it was difficult and challenging for this ministry because they are not well educated from the School for the Deaf.  They needed to improve their skills. They learned to be patient and to persevere.  The Deaf ministry has applied this scripture, Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”.  The Deaf Ministry shared this verse because they have realized how important it is to keep their heart pure for God. They continue to trust the Lord daily and they know that God will provide for all their needs.

In June 2011, glory was given to the Lord for the baptism of two, new deaf brothers.  In 2012, it is going to be a wonderful year for the Deaf Ministry. The Lord is going to show Mr. Yanzeu Guy Merlin his splendor and majesty in this ministry. This last April, the deaf ministry baptized ten deaf disciples (8 brothers and 2 sisters). Their dream this year is to build solid relationships with each other and to share the good news to the ICOC Hot News website. They Deaf Ministry in Abidjan needs our prayers.  To God be the Glory for all of the wonderful work being done in Abidjan!

Zagole, interpreter, was preaching at the Deaf Service on Sunday, April 22, 2012.

 

Left, Yanzeu (Deaf Ministry Leader); at center, Romain (deaf disciple), & Alain (deaf disciple)

2012 Deaf Conference

The schedule for the Deaf Conference is now finalized. You can view it at www.icocconference.org/conferences/deaf/schedule.

The Fuddruckers lunch event for our conference that was planned on Saturday, July 7th, 2012 from 12pm-2pm is cancelled due to conflict from class schedule at 11:30am-1pm. Also, there is not enough time to prepare for this event, and the bus is scheduled to pick up disciples at 3pm. We encourage our ministries to do their best to plan times on your own for fellowship during the lunch breaks and the dinner time after worship services on July 5-7, 2012. We did our best to plan lunch event for our conference to have special time together. We apologize for inconvenience. Thanks for your understanding.

In Christ,

Joe/Carole Cepeda
Assistant Deaf Conference Coordinators

1st Ever Open-Caption Movie Event: Avengers

Joe Cepeda has been the host of the Facebook page SADCOCM (San Antonio Deaf Community Open-caption Movie) since July 1st, 2011. Michael Razzen is a co-host of SADCOCM. He is the host of the Deaf Night Out on the 4th Friday of every month. Their goal is to expose the Deaf Community to the open-caption new release movies. They communicate with each other by videophone, texts, and emails, planning in advance for each open-caption movie event.

On March 2012, Joe contacted the movie theater manager, Brandon Wheeler, at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, to request that on May 4, 2012, Avengers be the 1st open-caption movie showed. Brandon is the manager at the both Stone Oak and Park North locations. Brandon’s father is deaf and has a cochlear implant. The process definitely took time for Brandon to get the approval from Avengers production management team to allow open-caption at his theater. God answered Joe’s prayer when Brandon returned his phone call on Monday, April 23, 2012, approving the Avengers open-caption movie event. Joe was concerned with only having one week left to promote this event, seeing as it would take selling 80 tickets for the showing to be sold out. Brandon told Joe to get as many as he can, even if this event would not be sold out.  Joe had been praying daily, and took action to spread the word to the Deaf Community through Facebook, phone calls, and texts.

On Thursday, May 3, 2012, Michael wonderfully assisted Joe by creating flyers last minute.  These fliers were then passed out at a deaf bowling event, encouraging our friends to attend the Avengers open-caption movie event. God moved wonders, and Joe was shocked that the tickets were sold out in the evening!

Ten minutes before the Avengers movie started at 9pm, Joe did a short presentation in ASL to introduce himself with the voice interpreter, explaining his appreciation for the Deaf Community and friends for attending this event. Brandon also shared few words, saying that he appreciated the Deaf Community attending this event. Our friends applauded by ASL clapping. It was a fantastic action movie with the open-caption shown in white text which was clear enough to read on the theater screen. Joe is very excited for planning ongoing open-caption movie events. He is working on building new friendships from the Deaf Community friends to encourage them to attend his church services. Special thanks for Brandon Wheeler and Michael Razzen for making this special event successful.

Loving the Deaf Community as Disciples of Jesus