There were no Deaf people or hearing people … we were just
people, brothers and sisters in Christ.
No one was allowed to use their voice or any audio alerts or input for a whole week. For our Deaf CITs, that was easy, but for our hearing CITs, it was a new experience. They’ve been in the Deaf community for years, but living one week using only sign language and visual communication 24/7 reaped many benefits for all.
DOOR’s Deaf and hearing CITs communicate with each other in sign languages all the time, but it’s usually in a work environment, with the added stress of multiple goals and deadlines. Communicating with each other in the beauty of God’s creation, when work responsibilities were replaced with creative and fun team activities, provided opportunities for new linguistic, cultural, and relational learning and growth.
Our hearing CITs are always looking to advance their linguistic prowess in sign languages, and this was a rich opportunity. One game using blocks challenged their ability to use classifiers, a complex part of sign languages that represents shape, size, and relative location of items in three-dimensional space. This was an intensive week with strategically planned activities, but to the participants, it looked a lot like play.
No matter how long a person has been interacting in another culture, there’s always more to learn. When one team member was asked to balance an increasing number of dice on a popsicle stick held in his mouth, team members discovered how to communicate encouragement, support, and direction when a Deaf person’s eyes are busy elsewhere.
While our hearing CITs are highly educated and trained, they gained an added appreciation of what their Deaf colleagues bring to the table–native linguistic fluency and expertise, and understanding of Deaf cultural nuances and values gained from a lifetime in the Deaf community.
Carrie Steggerda graduated from
Chris and his wife Cathy have been married for 25 years and are members of The Summit Church in North Carolina. They have two children attending college in NC. He has explored the relationship between work and faith for much of his career, and is the author of the book Fruit at Work, which explains how we can be effective Christians in the workplace by practicing the Fruit of the Spirit. Chris has been an entrepreneur most of his life, starting with co-founding DaVinci Systems (the first developer of an email application for Windows) in college. He later started Accipiter, which pioneered the management of web-advertising. Chris currently serves as the executive chair of Tethis, which is making an alternative super-absorbent from renewable materials, which will allow companies to make much greener diapers and other products. Chris also worked with many ministries and non-profits to help them get started or grow, including The Trinity Forum, Communities in Schools, Trinity Academy of Raleigh, Emanuel University in Romania, and the Blackstone Entrepreneur’s Network. Chris says that one of his favorite ministries to serve is DOOR, where he’s seeing a book-of-Acts-like expansion of the Gospel through communities that have been waiting 2000 years to have Scripture in their heart language!
Brad joined DOOR International in August 2016 and serves as Development Officer.
Bill’s quest to help grow the impact of nonprofits began in 1994 when he brought years of big agency and big brand experience to the table in co-founding Hanon McKendry – an advertising and branding firm that has dedicated over 50% of its work to helping causes and issues that advance humanity and human kindness. Since then, he and his team have created and implemented marketing campaigns and branding efforts for a diverse mix of regional, national and international resulting in over 900 award-winning programs. Bill’s desire to help DOOR springs from personal experience. One of his sisters and both parents were born deaf. Another sister (hearing) teaches the deaf, and his oldest son was born deaf but hears with the help of a cochlear implant. Bill is also deaf in one ear, and sign language was his first language.
Chip Sanders has served as Global Director of Language Program Services for SIL. SIL serves language communities worldwide, building their capacity for sustainable language development, by means of research, translation, training and materials development.
For the first nine years of his career, Dr. David Pope worked as an accountant and administrator in the public utility industry. For the past 28 years, David has used these skills in ministry as a pastor, missionary, and non-profit executive in five states and three foreign countries. In addition to his vocational ministry service, Dr. Pope has also chaired four non-profit boards including service as the Vice-Chairman of the board for LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville. David passed the CPA Exam in 1984 and he brings to every consulting enterprise a love for the local church and a passion for the unreached combined with a conviction for responsible, biblical accountability. Currently, Dr. Pope serves as the Executive Director of the Issachar Initiative and Chief Operating Officer of Finishing the Task.
Bob joined DOOR international in June 2017. As a believer raised in a Christian home, Bob continues to use his gifts of administration, teaching and advancement to serve God and his people worldwide. Having served 26 years in Christian education as teacher/administrator and 13 years in Advancement, Bob desires to keep his heart aligned with God’s heart, growing in discipleship and stewardship. Bob finds great joy in experiencing God’s grace through relationships worldwide.
Sharon, his wife of 52 years, and Denny live in Mesa, Arizona where they attend the Phoenix United Reformed Church. They have three sons all born on a different continent.
Doug’s current role is that of a ‘missional catalyst’ to make Great Commission living a normal and ‘doable’ experience for anyone at Crossroads Fellowship. He has been married to Kathy Sue, “the love of his life”, since 1980.
Margie’s love and interest for the Deaf began in elementary school where she had deaf kids mainstreamed into her classes. That led her to a degree in deaf education at Michigan State and on to teaching the deaf at both the elementary and high school levels.
Sid is President and CEO of Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Wolverine is an independent oil and gas exploration company with production in the continental United States. Sid began working in the oil fields of Michigan at the age of 16. Over the years, he has worked in almost every aspect of the business – from pumping wells to managing field operations for Wolverine Gas and Oil. While working at Wolverine he has started, sold and invested in a number of other companies related to the oil and gas business. Sid is involved with his local church and has also served on the board of several non-profits. He and his wife Sharin have been married for 27 years and have 6 children.
Katey joined DOOR International in April 2016 and serves as Communications Coordinator. Her desire is to be a voice for the voiceless, and to see the God of justice right all wrongs.
Jojo hails from southern India and has been with DOOR International since January 2000. He began serving as DOOR’s Vice President of Ministry in 2010, and has been a Translation Consultant with a specialty in sign language since 2008.