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BY CAROL STEVENS

Young Deaf mothers with big babies on their backs and tiny suitcases in their hands traveled for up to eight hours by train, bus, truck, combi-commuter buses or by foot to come to the first-ever Deaf Ministry Conference of the United Methodist Church of Zimbabwe.

More than 150 Deaf men, women and children attended the three-day conference including five members from the Baltimore-Washington Conference Deaf Ministry. These team members were the Rev. Kirk Van Gilder, a candidate for a doctorate in theology degree from Boston University, and from Christ UMC of the Deaf, Carol Stevens, Zelephiene Meadows, Mary Gladstone and Laurel Dukehart.

Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference was the keynote preacher.

'We are grateful for our partnership with the Baltimore-Washington Conference and we are especially grateful to have the gbwc_superuserance and leadership from Christ UMC of the Deaf for the last 6 years to help us establish Deaf Ministry in Zimbabwe. This is the first Deaf Ministry in Zimbabwe and we are blessed to include Deaf people in the life of the church,' he said.

Members of Christ Church have made nine mission trips to Zimbabwe since 1999 when we found no spiritual care of any denomination for Deaf people.

According to Van Gilder, 'At the time God led us to Amos Muyambo, who has become the conferencewide pastor for Deaf Ministry. Now in the town of Mutare there is Deaf Ministry at Hilltop UMC, a Deaf Club, an income-generating vocational training program, continuing education, sign language classes, and interpreter training classes. There are services for Deaf children and adults at the two United Methodist missions with education classes for Deaf children and new Deaf ministry starts are happening in the capital city of Harare.'

The Spirit of God is performing miracles in the lives of Deaf people through the Methodist church in Zimbabwe.The greatest challenge is in funding.

Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world, over 1,000 percent. Recently religious education for 30 Deaf high school students was suspended until money could be raised for the weekly fare of $10 US for the Deaf church teachers.

The apportionment giving of our sister churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference helps to make it possible for the Deaf people of Christ Church to use their unique gifts to bring spiritual care to Deaf people of Zimbabwe through the United Methodist Church.

We thank God that Christ UMC of the Deaf is in partnership with the Deaf of Zimbabwe. This is truly a discipleship adventure.

Carol Stevens is director of the Deaf Shalom Zone in Baltimore.