Jeff Leroux
I was born in Chicago, IL on October 21, 1961. When I was 18 months old I became sick with spinal meningitis, this caused my deafness. Being the only deaf child with three brothers and six sisters, life was frustrating but fun.
A few years later my family moved to Sheldon, WI. There we attended Catholic Church regularly but there was no interpreter for me. Then when my dad passed away on August 11, 1974, I became confused about God and death. Where was my dad? Was there life after death? Where would I go when I died?
After I graduaed from the 6th grade I decided to attend the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delavan, Wisconsin where I met new friends and got involved in sports. Football was my favorite. In my senior year, at the end of football season during a game I broke my right leg. Laying in the hospital after developing a blood clot, I began thinking about death again.
After graduating from WSD I attended a secular college and ended up living here in Milwaukee, WI. One Sunday, my roommates and I were discussing which Deaf Church we should go to. My friend told me he had noticed a poster on the bulletin board at MATC inviting DEAF to visit Falls Baptist Church. We went to the Bible study and worship service.
Later that week on Thursday night three men from Falls Baptist Church came to our apartment. Frank Rasmussen explained how I could accept Christ as my personal Saviour. I prayed to ask Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my heart. On February 24, 1983, I accepted Christ as my Saviour. Now I know for sure that when I die I will go to Heaven.
Antonio Fidalgo
I was born in Cuba in 1945 and moved to the United States in 1965. I lived in New York where someone witnessed to me about Jesus and explained the Gospel. I prayed and said yes to believe Jesus. I received Jesus as my Savior and asked Jesus into my heart in 1977. I started coming to Northport Baptist Church. They had a strong Deaf ministry and I started to learn about God’s Word and really began to give my life to fully commit to live for the Lord. I was baptized and joined the church and became a member. The Lord did change my life. I have been serving him and am a missionary to the deaf in my community because the Lord want me serve and tell to people deaf about Jesus.
Jesse Coleman, Sr.
I came to know Christ as my personal Savior at 12 years old. It took me few months before I accept Christ, because I wasn’t ready to do this. You know this it isn’t good idea to wait, because anything can happen between now and then. The reason I wasn’t ready to accept Him as my Savior is because I was hold on my old way of life and it is the bond of sin this I have hard time to let it go.
During those few months, I have hear the messages the deaf pastor preached and it is about Heaven and Hell. I don’t enjoy the messages, because I don’t like the pain and misery of hell. I do like to hear the good news of heaven, but I wasn’t ready to let go of my old way. So after hear few more messages about hell from few different preachers, I finally decided to come forward to the front of the audience.
When I am at the front, the Deaf Pastor came to me and asked me why am I coming forward? I said I want to accept Christ and he said good, let’s go to the room where we can talk in private. So we went in the small room and sit down to talk about accept Salvation. You know what the first question he asked me this I will never forget and I still remember it even now. The question he asked is, do you know what the meaning of the word “sin”. This simple word with just 3 letters in my English language but my mind is gone blank, because I didn’t know the meaning of that word.
The pastor of the Deaf took time to explain the meaning of the word “sin”. He asked me if I knew this steal, lie, and disobedience are wrong and I said yes, they are wrong. But this isn’t it and there is more; he said something to me this made me think hard, because I thought this it was nothing, but it count as sin. You know what he told me? He said bad words or dirty language and talk back to parents and teachers is sin in God’s eyes! I said how did he know this I am doing them plus lie and disobedience. The Pastor said lot of us are doing this. This is why God can’t allow sinners go in heaven, because of sin. He made me realize this I am sinner and can’t go to heaven, but he also told me the good news.
The good news is this God provided the way for the sinners to go to heaven and this is through Jesus Christ our Lord. I was told this God loves sinners, but hate sin itself, not the person. Now, this got my attention that I can go to heaven after all, too. The pastor made sure this I understood this I am sinner and need Christ’s forgiveness through His blood on the Cross. Not only this, he also told me this I must ask Jesus to come into my heart, because no one will ask Him for me, not even my parents, friends, or pastor can do this for me. Pastor showed me the Romans Road to salvation and I accepted Christ as my personal Savior.
I thank God for more than 25 years and I have no regrets this I am Christian! I want to tell you to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, because I want you to have the blessings of God in your life as He has done mine in my life. It is wonderful to serve the Mighty God! Thank you for allow me to give my testimony.
Rev. David Hanson -Deaf Liberty Baptist Church
When I was ten years old, I studied the Ten Commandments and thought if I followed the Ten Commandments, I would go to heaven. When I was 13 years old, I realized I had broken the Ten Commandments and then prayed to ask God to forgive my sins every night hoping to go to heaven.
When I was 14 years old, I took the confirmation class at a Lutheran church and thought that I would become a child of God when I took the Lord’s Supper for the first time. When I took it, I realized I still had my sins so I continued to ask God to forgive my sins every night. When school was closed for the summer, I went to my parents’ church on the first Sunday of June 1967. I sat and thought but God and my sins while I looked at a cross standing near the lake outside. Unexpectedly God spoke to me in my heart and asked me if I was perfect or not. I said no. Then He asked me about Jesus Christ. I replied that He was perfect while on the earth. He asked me, "Why did He die on the cross?" I admitted that I didn’t know why. He said that He took my place and died on the cross for me. I said that I refused that because I deserved to be punished because I chose to sin against God. God said that Jesus’ blood washes sins away, not wine. Then I understood it spiritually and was touched by God’s love, I decided to tell God that I believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. That night, I tried to do as I did in the past, but my heart told me that my sins were washed away and I did not need to ask God to forgive my sins again and again. I know I am ready to go to heaven someday.
During Easter evening service in April 1974 at First Baptist Church of Riverdale in Riverdale, Maryland, Rev. Donald Cabbage preached a sermon about serving God. I was called to serve Jesus Christ but refused to accept it. I searched the scripture for three days and found Romans 12:1-2 and I surrendered by life to God for service. I preferred to be a teacher instead of a pastor until I heard a sermon about Jonah and was touched and decided to accept God’s call to become a pastor in the fall of 1975.
I graduated from Gallaudet University in 1975 with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics then graduated from Temple Deaf College in Kansas City, Missouri in 1978 with a postgraduate diploma in pastoral ministry. I was the assistant pastor for the Deaf at Northeast Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri from September 1978 to January 1980. Then some Deaf Christians in Kansas City and I founded Deaf Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City on January 20, 1980. I have been the head pastor of that church for 29 years now.