Deaf ministry delegates from 19 countries around the world gathered together for the four day World Deaf Assembly of God (WDAG) 2009 conference. It's difficult to explain the impact of this conference as a whole simply because there are so many facets that impact the lives of those in attendance. Of course there are the messages from the Word of God by international Deaf pastors and Hearing pastors who are working in Deaf ministries around the world. Lives are touched and encouraged. The heat of ministry is quenched by the water of the Spirit in these tremendous congregational meetings.
This is only a part of how one is likely to be impacted at these meetings. There are also the missions reports which are presented by representatives from every country present. One would think that the smaller countries would be mostly impacted by what God is doing in the vast ministries like America and other countries represented. However, this writer believes just the opposite is true. It is humbling to see what God is doing in and through the lives of Deaf men and women who have yielded themselves, spirit and body, for the master's use. These brothers and sisters have mostly started with nothing and have seen the hand of God move mightily in their circumstances. It is awe-inspiring, as you sit over a meal, or in the conference lobby at 11:00 at night with one light burning near the elevators to talk about their families and their ministries in Japan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and other far away places where most of us will never walk.
One thing that becomes clear again and again in a conference like the World Deaf AG Conference, is that the God which we serve is also active in the lives of those around the globe, in many of the same way in which we experience Him in our cities and churches and ministries. He is no respecter of persons and the one who appears to be the lowest in every measurable area of life, often times, turns out to be the one being used by God the most.