CEE Story From The Mission Field
Who Does God Use?
August 2, 2006
Daniel is 16 years old, Deaf, and has moderate cerebral palsy. His mother died when he was 5 and his father brought him to the Czech Republic from Russia seeking a better life. Daniel met IMB missionaries when he arrived in Prague. He was eight years old.
For the years that followed Daniel was in several different Deaf schools while his father traveled around Central Europe working. The IMB misionaries saw him periodically when they visited Deaf schools in the country. “Every time we’d go a school where Daniel was a student he’d find us or we’d find him. We’d seek out each other, love on him, and do our best to understand his signing,” said one of the IMB missionaries.
If February 2005, Daniel and the missionaries met up again at a school in the city of Valasske Mezirici (Valmez).
“As usual, we ran to him, embraced, and 'caught up' a bit with his life since our last visit, “ said the missionary. “As always we took time to talk with him about Christ, and this time he seemed to be a bit more reluctant to listen to anything about that issue. He seemed angry about having lost his mother as a child, about not having a father most of the year, and about being stuck in schools where he was picked on and ridiculed because he was different (not Deaf, but because he had cerebral palsy). So! God? He wasn’t even sure that such a Person really existed!”
What Daniel did know was that these followers of Christ loved him, gave time and attention to him, and made him a priority over all the other Deaf students in the school whenever they came to visit. There must be something to this belief in God “thing!”
The IMB missionaries didn’t see Daniel again after leaving Valmez that week in February, but God was keeping an eye on him. One of the Deaf believers, Jaroslav (a student who was nearly finished with school), recognized the opportunity to develop a relationship with Daniel. Jaroslav watched how most of the students treated Daniel and saw how differently the followers of Christ treated him. He saw in Daniel the potential of a transformed life! So Jaroslav began to hang out with his younger classmate, do things with him, and share Bible stories that he had learned at the gathering of Deaf believers. Daniel now had a Deaf big brother, if you will, who loved him and also was a follower of Christ. The more time they spent together, the more Daniel learned about the Savior.
A little more than one year later, after many lengthy discussions, (“discussions with Daniel do take a long time,” said the missionary), a lot of time together, and many prayers on his behalf, Daniel prayed and invited Christ to take control of his life. It was May of this year that he made that commitment to be a disciple of Jesus and was subsequently baptized. It was Jaroslav, the real big “brother” that had shared the Bible stories with him, modeled Christ for him, and continues to disciple him, that baptized him just a few short months ago.
Daniel is part of another newly-formed Deaf church in Valmez. He participates fully in all of the functions of the church. He is now sharing Bible stories and his faith in Christ, with many of the fellow students who have made fun of him for years. The Deaf believers in his church family have discovered that Daniel is a very bright young man that often has insights into Bible stories that others may miss all together.
What kind of person does God use? He uses Daniels who are often the subject of ridicule and abuse but find a loving heavenly Father that always has time for them . . . that can be a part of a family that won’t malign them because they sign slow and jerky! He uses Jaroslavs that see the potential that God could have in the life of someone that everyone else writes off as of no value . . . except the Creator. He uses those that will be available to Him!
Discover your options for how God can use you in Central and Eastern Europe through praying, volunteering, giving, and going!