More on Marshall and Terry
We’re proud to tell you a bit more about our founders, Marshall and Terry Lawrence.
Ninety-six percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents. Marshall and Terry Lawrence, the founders of Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries, are among them. After discovering their daughter, Rachel, was deaf, they learned to navigate a culture they knew nothing about to empower a child with whom they couldn’t initially communicate.
Because of their journey, they can tell other parents who find themselves in this circumstance they don’t need to be afraid. They have seen that all things are possible.
Marshall and Terry were just as frightened, just as clueless, just as confused as anyone else when they first learned Rachel was deaf. Like most hearing parents, they went to the doctors and hearing professionals to find some answers. But even after working with audiologists and speech therapists for two years, Rachel still wasn’t making the kind of progress they felt she could make. It wasn’t that her words were slurred – it was that she knew so few of them. Her brain was ready for language – a language she could think in, a language she could use to move ideas around and explore abstract concepts. And the sooner she acquired a language like that, the better. That’s when they enrolled Rachel in a school where she could learn American Sign Language (ASL) and be with people who can process the world like her.
“We each need a language to communicate and to think conceptually,” Marshall said. “It’s time we began thinking of American Sign Language the same way we think of English, Spanish and other spoken languages. ASL gives Deaf children opportunities for self-expression, relationship building and a sense of belonging.”
When Rachel arrived at Indiana School for the Deaf, she was excited. Pointing at other children with hearing aids and back to her own ears, she said, “Like me! Like me!” This reassured them that their painful decision to send Rachel to a boarding school three hours from home was the right one.
Marshall and Terry also learned ASL; more than 88% of hearing parents do not. This allowed them to have a close relationship with Rachel and teach her values and skills, just like they did their other daughter, who is not deaf.
A priority for Marshall and Terry was for Rachel to learn about Jesus, but they were frustrated by the scarcity of resources. There were no Deaf churches within a hundred miles of their home and no Christian videos in ASL. Undaunted, Marshall dropped in unexpectedly on a friend at Anderson University–video producer and director Don Boggs. He thought Don could help him create videos for children.
“I am still in awe of what transpired,” Marshall said.
Don was in an all-day editing session and couldn’t be interrupted, but Marshall accepted an invitation to tour the facilities. As he passed the studio window where Don was working, he heard Christian music and saw people signing with ASL on the editing screen. Barging into the studio, Marshall met Don’s clients–representatives of Deaf Opportunity Out Reach and Deaf Missions. When Marshall asked if they had similar videos for children, they told him they had always wanted to produce them, but didn’t have a songwriter to create the music.
“I’m a songwriter,” Marshall said excitedly.
“The way God worked in our lives that day is not a surprise to me. He has guided us all along,” Marshall said.
Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries was born from that meeting. As an advocate for the Deaf community, Silent Blessings educates hearing individuals about the Deaf world, and creates video and print materials to spread God’s Word to Deaf children. Nearly every staff member can communicate in ASL and spoken English. All resources are translated in ASL, English and Spanish.
God has a plan, and He has clearly shown his intervention in making that plan possible through Rachel’s life and the founding of Silent Blessings. We are thankful for Marshall and Terry and their faithful attention to God’s leading.
For even more, see the new documentary, In a Silent World.