Saturday, January 22, 2011

ASL news

  Dear Readers,
   The Shrader family has the crud. This cold thing attacked Dad, then Cate, now Mom and Benjamin.
 Ugh.
     But I'm not here to blog about the crud. I'm here to blog about an amazing girl who took an inspiration and ran with it. I just saw a news report about Allyson Townsend. She is a young girl who grew up with a friend who was Deaf.  This friend asked her all these questions about what it was like to listen to music, and how do you know how long to hold the words out, etc. So Allyson interpreted a song into American Sign Language (ASL). Her friend loved it. And soon, Allyson had tons of videos out on YouTube. Along with many,many followers. Most of whom are Deaf.
  Now, Allyson is a teacher for Deaf second graders and has a major in Deaf Education. She continues to share the gift of music with others who can't hear it.
  A news story featuring her as ABC's 'Person of the Week', caught my eye in the video bar of Yahoo. I soon found the story on ABC, which you can go to here.  The video they show is filled with so much passion and expression. I felt like I should take notes!
  Really, I'm blogging about this because all year I've struggled with becoming the person God wants me to be, and how to do the things God wants me to do. I know I have a passion for animals, music, and sign language. My question is - how do I use that to further God's Kingdom?
  Although this news report certainly didn't answer my question, it encouraged me. Allyson started out a lot like me and now is helping Deaf people worldwide. What a great ministry!
The amazing Interpreters on the Disney Cruise and I
  I hope it encouraged all of you, too. And I hope you're having a great (crud-free) Saturday!                                                     
 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” - Matthew 7:7-8
 I've asked God to lead me where HE wants me to go and I encourage you to do the same! He won't let you down.              Your Blogger,
                  Claire