INDIA PROJECT
Dear Special Friends,
Did you know that there are an estimated 10.8 million Deaf people in India? Within that population, only about 6% identify as Christians. A primarily Hindu country, India has millions of Deaf people yet to experience the love of Jesus.
Deaf Missions is working to change that. Join us as we break down spiritual and communication barriers among the Deaf community in India with JESUS: a Deaf Missions Film!
Deaf Missions is partnering with India Signing Hands (ISH) to remove these barriers. ISH is a Deaf-owned, influential media production team in India that reports the news and provides translation services for many films. They have a large social media platform with over 503,000 Youtube followers receiving news and updates in Indian Sign Language (ISL). They are currently translating JESUS from American Sign Language to ISL. A signer using ISL is inserted at the bottom corner of the screen to provide the Deaf community full access to the film. We are calling this method Signer-In-Picture (SIP).
We are also partnering with the star of JESUS, Gideon Firl, to take the film on tour in India this summer. In 2022, he and his wife, Colleen, lived there for nine months on a Fulbright scholarship. During that time, he was able to develop relationships within the Deaf community. Gideon said “During my stay in India, I saw the hunger for spiritual sustenance in the Deaf community. Their hunger was real and they are ready to be fed.” Once filming of JESUS was completed, Gideon and Colleen felt led to go back for a month, touring with the film and sharing the love of Jesus. Gideon hopes that by leveraging his network and his role as Jesus in film, they will be able to impact Deaf communities for the Gospel.
Joining them on tour will be the actor who played Matthew in the film, Sumit Malik. Sumit, born and raised in India, was baptized while filming JESUS. He said, “I knew about Jesus before filming started, but through conversations with the cast, I felt God telling me the time was right to be baptized.” He was baptized – during winter in Iowa - in the same outdoor pool that Peter uses to baptize new believers at the end of the film!
As you may know, it was the dream of Deaf Missions founder, Duane King, to produce a feature-film on the life and Gospel of Jesus. Even though Duane has been in heaven for three years now, this dream has become a reality with JESUS. And we think he would be THRILLED that this film is now reaching Deaf people all around the world!
In addition to loving Jesus and Deaf people, Duane also loved to play golf. Every year, Deaf Missions hosts an annual golf event in his honor to raise dollars so that Deaf people can know Jesus. Our goal this year is to raise $85,000! These funds will go towards reaching Deaf people in India.
The golf event will continue this year, although it will look different than in years past. This year, can you commit to playing golf one time during the month of June in honor of Duane? It can be any type of golf – traditional, mini golf, frisbee golf or an outing at Top Golf! A team of Deaf Missions staff members will enjoy playing in honor of Duane. While you are golfing, will you please commit to praying for Deaf people in India - that this summer, they will experience the love of Jesus through the film?
As Duane would say “Will you give generously so that Deaf people may see and know Jesus?” You may make a donation online at www.deafmissions.com and choose the project “Jesus Movie Engagement - India.”
Thank you for what you will give. Thank you for making an eternal impact on the lives of Deaf people in India.
