She began to share the gospel with me, and I tried to send her away with my foul language and hateful attitude. But, I will never forget her. She never gave up on me. For miles she walked behind me trying to get me to listen to the Scriptures. At last I had to admit it. I was the lost person she was talking about. That was me ... filthy and in desperate need of a Saviour. I knelt on the curb of some street in Wichita and received the Lord that Saturday afternoon, April 17, 1971. I never saw that young lady again.
Three years later I began attending Colonial Heights Baptist Church and was baptized. My senior year I surrendered my life to serve the Lord, and entered Baptist Bible College, Springfield, Missouri, in 1975.
My life changed completely during those wonderful years in Bible College. During the memorial service for Missonary Bob Hughes, I surrendered my life to be a missionary. I knew from that day forward that one day I would serve the Lord on a foreign field.
At BBC I studied missions and sign language. By the time I graduated in 1978, I had a real burden to reach the deal with the gospel. I was accepted at Temple Deaf College in the fall and began my new life, living with a wonderful group of deaf people studying for the Lord's work. During that year I learned what it was like to live in the deaf world. I was the only hearing person in the dorm!
When I graduated in 1979, I was ready to go to the misison field. My family had moved to Dallas, Texas, so I moved there to make my final preparations. God had other plans.
When I joined Pleasant Grove Baptist Temple, my pastor, Dr. R. D. Wade, asked me to come on staff and teach in the Christian School. I made a 6-month commitment to him, but stayed 9 years instead!
During those years another lady and I started a deaf ministry, and we saw many deaf saved. Our deaf ministry grew, and through Bro. Wade, my burden for missions grew, too.
We made many missions trips to Mexico and each time we headed back to the US, I would imagine that one day I would be the missionary waving goodbye as the groups returned home! Now that is exactly what I do!
In the fall of 1988 God opened doors and showed me exactly what He wanted me to do as a missionary. In January, 1989, I began raising my support. Seven months later I arrived in Monterrey, Mexico!
Immediately I started a school for missionary kids called "Monterrey Baptist Academy". The school grew from 6 to 19 M.K.'s in the five years I taught and directed. Now the school is directed by another missionary and has 22 students!
I also began working with the deaf in Monterrey. In October 1989, I found a little independent Baptist church for the deaf, and began working with the national pastor, Horacio Gonzalez.
He and his wife are deaf. God led us together, and we've been serving together in our all deaf church for ten years! We have seen our church grow from 13 deaf when I came in 1989 to the 80's now! Our high days are over 100.
We now have a deaf choir with 40 deaf people, divided classes on Sunday, soulwinning classes, and 10 new deaf missions we've started in other parts of Mexico!
Our people are getting the same burden that I have to reach the deaf of Mexico! I teach deaf people to win souls using flannel graph material that I have developed especially for the deaf. It makes the plan of salvation very clear to the deaf person. Through this method we are reaching more deaf people than ever before. Our deaf are able to go with me on mission trips and win souls while we're there!
We are excited to see our Deaf people becoming pastors, Sunday School teachers, soul-winners and leaders in their churches. Our goal is to have each mission become a Deaf church, led by a Deaf pastor.
Each year we have a Deaf camp and invite Deaf from all over Mexico. This year our camp was from Aug. 3-7, and we were excited to have 159 attend camp. Our theme this year was "Let's Win Souls". All week we taught the Deaf how to win souls. It was exciting to have 18 people receive Christ during the week! Our goal next summer is to have 200 at camp!
Debi Duryee, Missionary to the Deaf of Mexico
