Meet Hannah Maddox: her life was forever changed when her passion for serving the Deaf collided with her passion for international missions. She's spending eight weeks this summer in Jamaica, spreading the love of Jesus and sharing the Gospel with the Deaf community there.
How did the Lord call you to serve the Deaf community?
Growing up all I ever wanted to be was a teacher. I strove to learn what it would take to accomplish this, and as I got closer to college I started to look into what majors were offered. I then realized that my university does not offer a major in elementary education. So I had to decide what I was going to do from there. I knew that I would definitely be going into elementary education, I just was not sure how I was going to get there. So I researched my options and while at orientation heard them mention that in the special education concentration in Deaf and hard of hearing. The idea stuck with me. I have always loved other languages and cultures, and who doesn't love sign language, right? So I took my first sign language class as a senior in high school. From there I just fell in love with the Deaf community and Deaf culture. I just wanted to continue to learn more, so I made the decision to major in Deaf Education. Through this I definitely learned more about what it looked like to trust God's plan for my life, because whether it is a small change in major or deciding what job to take, He always knows best.
As for how I got connected with missions for me it's a whole different story. I went on my first mission trip as I was coming out of my sophomore year of high school to Tijuana, Mexico. When I first arrived at the orphanage that we are working at I knew that I would want to stay there longer. I continued going, and two years later I went for a month through our church's internship program. That experience has changed the course of my life. Over the next two years I went on two month-long trips to Malawi, Africa, along with two trips back to Mexico, all the while growing my heart for Deaf people groups back home. Until one day last summer my two passions collided when I was out with our team doing village to village evangelism in Malawi, and I get back to where we are meeting. My mom is sitting there telling a children's Bible story and looks up at me with excitement. She comes over and informs me that there are two Deaf children in this village. I overflowed with emotions. Then the hard reality hit: they have no language. This means that every person in that village heard the gospel presented that day except for them. I left with my heart in pieces. I was shattered with the question of why? Why are they not allowed to receive the good news? This is when God set my heart on fire for this group of people. So over the past year I have been looking for opportunities to combine my heart for missions and Deaf people groups and that's when I found CCCD (Carribean Christian Centre for the Deaf).
This summer you are serving for eight weeks in Jamaica. What are you hoping to accomplish during your time there?
This summer I am working in a school for the Deaf, grades k through 12, for the first half and then a Deaf village the second. My jobs consist of everything from playing with the kids to organizing things for the teams to spending a day watering the coffee farm. My hope for my time here is to grow in my knowledge of the Deaf community and my connections with the people in it. I then hope to use these connections to grow the kingdom of God, especially with the older girls at the school. Since I am so close to their age, I feel as though I can relate more to what they have gone through. Hopefully they will also feel more free to open up to me. Over the past few years God has been molding me to be more open about my life and experiences. We all have a past, and it was given to us to share. So now I am being blessed with more opportunities to uplift these girls around me. My prayer is that this allows them to realize that I am here to be a listening ear and to speak truth into their lives. Also when I move to the Jamaican Deaf Village my hope there is to build strong relationships with the families. I have already gotten to know several of them and workers from there. They are awesome people with their hearts on fire for God. It is cool to see that He is already working through that.
What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about the Deaf community?
This is a very loaded question, but first and foremost I would want people to know that they are able. Deafness is not a disability. Deaf people can drive and learn and play. They have language and a deep rich culture. There are Deaf doctors, mechanics, motivational speakers, and chefs. They are also very accepting and inclusive. There is an unspoken bond between any two people who are Deaf that goes beyond all other differences whether it's cutural, personal ,or something else. They have spent most of their life being the minority, and they want to be noticed and interact with others. Therefore they have established this instant connections with anyone Deaf they meet. They thrive on the basis of open communication and the sharing of information. The majority of the world is hearing, meaning that they have learned to live in a society that is not like them and for the most part looks down on them. So they miss out on even the simplest things sometimes. However through this they still are appreciative of any extra steps you take to communicate with them or get to know them. So even if you are just a server at a restaurant and learn to sign your ABC's they will be especially grateful for the extra effort. So don't be afraid to try, because the more you interact, the more your eyes will be opened, and the more sign you will learn.
What have you learned about the Lord and yourself while serving in this way?
I have learned that I can't plan for God. All my life I thought I knew exactly how everything would turn out, but God had a plan of His all along. Yes He gave me the desires and the passion to follow, but He never reveals everything until the exact right moment. If you had told me eight years ago that I would one day be planning to live in a foreign country and work in a Deaf school or village, I would have thought you were crazy. I didn't know sign language. I had never even been out of the country, and quite honestly I never thought I would leave Knoxville for more that a week or two. So looking to the future, I am given a constant reminder that sometimes I just have to sit back and let Him show me what is next. I have also learned the hard lesson that following Him in this way is not easy. He doesn't call us to our comfort zones or to the predictable. I have met so many people on this short missions journey of mine that have told me just that. It's often the thing that you feel least comfortable doing that you are then called to jump into. Whether that means walking up to people on the side of a street and share the name of Jesus or travel to the other side of the world just to love on the orphan who is lost because they have yet to find out they are chosen to be loved by Christ. He calls us each to something different, but it's amazing what can happen when we follow that call.
What advice do you have for someone who feels called to serve and make a difference but isn’t sure where to start?
Don't be afraid. Don't let the unknowns scare you out of jumping in faith. If you feel called God has already started to prepare your heart. Start with prayer and ask God to lead you. Search for things that you already have a passion and heart for. If you love kids, maybe you look for a orphanage or school to work in, or if you have a drive for construction find a group that does disaster relief. Don't shy away from it because of a simple barrier like language. I spent a month in Mexico knowing hardly any Spanish, and He still found ways to use me. Missions is all about experiencing new things and places, especially foreign missions, but it is also about learning how to use the gifts God has already given you to glorify Him. So just let Him guide you. You can never be too young, too old, or too inexperienced to go, especially if you feel that's where God is leading you. Often times these are the lies that the devil tries to tell us through those around us. So do trust in Him and do lean on Him, and He will show you His plan.
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