I recently took a surprise two-week trip to Kenya. I went to a Deaf Bible translation center in Nairobi. There are a few other places like this in the world. But up until a couple months ago I didn't know anything about any of it.
My boss asked me to go be his representative at the dedication of the Kenyan Sign Language Bible. Deaf Bibles aren't verses on paper, they're stories on video. Because (this was the biggest shocker to me) deaf people don't read! But since I work for an organization that believes everyone should have access to a Bible in their own "mother tongue" it makes sense to help deaf translators too. Having just learned a new language myself, I can attest to how meaningful it is to be able to understand something in my own mother tongue.
The dedication itself was really fun and inspiring. There was lots of singing, dancing and excitement. Groups from Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria were there to celebrate along with the Kenyans and a handful of foreigners. Those six groups from all over Africa are currently translating Bible stories into their own sign languages there at the center. It's impressive all the work that goes into understanding each story, putting in into signs, shooting and editing, consulting, verifying and discussing everything until it's perfect. Talk about a labor of love.
In missions we talk about the "unreached people groups" a lot. I never even thought about it, but actually the deaf are the biggest unreached people group in the world. Millions and millions of people, and none of them have a whole Bible in their language. Before I went to Kenya I had never met a deaf person. I'm glad that's changed. They're good people. Noisy, funny, kind, wise people.
For the two weeks I was there, I spent most of my time shooting videos. It was nice to discover that I still like and remember how to do that. Of course it wasn't all work though. I got in some city exploring and savannah gazing. There's a huge nature park on the edge of the city that's barely fenced in, so I was able to get pretty close to some gazelles and a water buffalo. No trip to Kenya is complete without getting licked in the face by a giraffe or trying to hug 30 baby elephants either. I couldn't have asked for more!
Click here for pictures!
p.s. "Karibu" means welcome in Swahili.
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