Humble Beginnings

       You know how they say

                              "A Journey of a Thousand Miles..  

                                                                  ..begins with a single step."

Hi, I'm a blog-reader.. 
notice I didn't say blogger.. but blog-reader.. There is a distinct difference.  

Bloggers post daily. 

They host giveaways. 

They seem to be able to write for whomever might stumble across their blog. 

They are able to maintain a broad audience regardless of their topic of choice.

I however, am a Poster. I just post random things from time to time as the Lord leads.

I am also a blog-reader, and I've come to realize that most all blogs have an introduction that is longer than the side "About Me" section. They provide a place for people who are "new" to the page to get catch up on the Who, What, Where, and Why of the blog.

While writing my blog about "year end giving" I realized that I don't have that section. Nor do I have that post.. the one that explains what this blog space is all about. And while have been hesitant to put this information out there for anyone to stumble upon, I realize - as often as I troll blogs - that it's a great way for people interested to find out more about opportunities to partner with me in this endeavor. So, without further ado - here's the shortest version of the story I can put together :) 
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"Just Bring Deaf People"..
Winter of 2006
It was my Senior year at William Wood University. I was in the process of lining up my internships that I needed in order to graduate. As a Sign Language Interpreting major, I was required to have two internships under my belt before walking across the stage. 

I was also heavily involved with Campus Crusade for Christ ("Cru" as we called it then, and what the organization name subsequently has become). I was a member of the student lead movement and part of the leadership team. Cru offers an event every quarter; local campus Fall Get-A-Ways, regional Winter Conferences, Spring break trips to Panama City Beach and Summer Projects at any of the 170 locations worldwide. 

I had gone to San Diego the summer after my sophomore year as a student on a 12 week Summer Project and returned the following summer for 6 weeks as an intern. My mentor from that recent summer had contacted me, asking me to come back as an intern for the upcoming summer. I remember telling her, "I can't come, I have to [use] sign [language]." She nonchalantly replied, "Just bring Deaf people." {at that time, as far as I know, only 2 Deaf students (not using interpreters) had participated in a summer project.}
   riiight.. just bring Deaf people.. 

Summer 2007
Astoundingly, a Deaf female college student did come on Summer Project. I was able to "walk" in May with my class and extend my last required internship to the summer so that I could provide the interpreting services for this Deaf student. However, the best laid plans of mice and men don't always go as we anticipate. The interpreting mentor I lined up prior to graduation fell through a week before I arrived in San Diego. To complicate the situation, the Deaf student ended up being a very difficult and angry person. To make matters worse, I was EXTREMELY green.. and naive.. and unprepared. There is nothing like the school of hard knocks to learn the 'do's and don'ts' of interpreting. While I was able to complete my internship hours long-distance with my interpreting professor from WWU, the Deaf student left the project 2 weeks early, and I returned home vowing never to interpret again. Especially with Cru.

Winter 2008
After a year on the side lines, however, I gingerly stepped back into the interpreting world. I got certified where I lived and started working as a contract interpreter. While I had never intended on being an interpreter, God has gifted me with an ability that exceeds the years I have put into it. I was able to hone my skills rather quickly.

Fall 2009
While praying for friends and people I support on staff with Cru, I found myself having a tangent conversation with God about my Deaf college friends. I deeply wanted them to have the same opportunity I had experienced on Summer Project. I was more than willing to financially support someone who would be able to allow the Deaf students access through interpreting services. But no-way, no-how was I going to volunteer myself for the task. 
(Remember what had happened just two short years ago? I was not willing to do that again.. No thanks!) Through the course of the next few months though, God made it clear that 1) YES, a Deaf student was interested in going on Summer Project, and 2) YES, I was to be the main interpreter for those 10 weeks.


"Restoring the Years the Locust have eaten.."
Summer 2010
As I mentioned, to my knowledge, prior to this time only two other Deaf students had attended a Summer Project. The intentions of Summer Projects are two-fold: 1) to learn to walk with Jesus for a lifetime, and 2) to know and be known by the other students on the Project in a Christian Life-giving community. This proved difficult as, without the accessibility of an American Sign Language(ASL) Interpreter, the Deaf students often found themselves isolated amongst the large group of hearing students who did not know ASL. Neither felt like they had been able to integrate into the project life. 

Azael was the first Deaf student to attend a fully accessible Summer Project through the use of an ASL Interpreters in 2010. That summer, to allow the other hearing students to get to know this singular Deaf student, I interpreted most social situations as well as the daily large group meetings and weekly one-on-one meet ups with his mentor. The project was in WildWood, New Jersey, and lasted 11 weeks. I was in a unique job situation, being able to take a leave of absence for the summer and come back to my same position in August. So I spent 2 and a half months in the southern tip of New Jersey as a personal interpreter for this lone Deaf student. I had a handful of interpreters come for a day here and there, but because they were not able to be as flexible with their work and family schedules, for the majority of the 77 days, it was me-myself-and-I. There was also no budget for the interpreter role. So I got in contact with those who had supported me back in college, and was able to raise the funds to cover the costs of my trip and of the cost of the interpreters that did come out to help. It was an incredibly humbling and redemptive summer (after the disaster of 2007) for me personally as an interpreter. I was grateful that the Lord allowed me the opportunity to "right the wrong" of 2007. I figured I had done what was needed and the case was closed.

Summer 2011
However, another Deaf student from Gallaudet, Kinna, heard about Summer Project and wanted to attend. Azael decided to come back as an intern (the same thing I'd been a part of in 2006). That meant Azael would only be there for the first 6 weeks, and Kinna would be there for all 11 weeks. I continued to network with interpreters and supporters, and God provided the funding for 5 interpreters to come out (for different lengths of time) for a total of 6 weeks to help me with the interpreting needs. I still had to interpret 7 weeks by myself, but from the 68 days I had solo interpreted the summer before, I was grateful to cut that number down to 40 ish! :)

Summer 2012
God graciously had been at work, and 3 new Deaf students were interested in Summer Project. Stephen would come as an intern, and Destiny and Dakota as students. So that meant 3 Deaf individuals for the first 5 weeks, and 2 Deaf students for the last 5 weeks. The Lord blessed me with the awesome opportunity to have 1 other interpreter AND 2 interpreting interns for the middle 3 weeks of project = that meant 4 interpreters at one time to cover all the interpreting needs! It was a wonderful 3 weeks! However, there was a point during the first 2 weeks that there were only 2 of us (myself and an intern) and 3 of them (with vastly different schedules).. man to man defense really falls apart in that kind of setting! :) This is when I injured myself (repetitive strain injury) :( .. but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? Thankfully all but those first 2 weeks we were able to routinely have 3 interpreters present. However, the budget for the 3 interpreters stipend, housing and living expenses and the 4 interpreters that we brought in for occasionally interpreting needs added up quickly. While I come from a large support base, I am only one person, and this task was getting bigger than I was able to maintain on my own. By generous givers and the grace of God, we were able to come up with the necessary support needed to cover all the expenses incured the week after project was over.

Present
But that's the thing, this was never intended to be the "one man show of Jenna".. It HAS been something on my heart (to allow Deaf students the same experience that the hearing students have on summer project) for some time now, going all the way back to 2005 when I was a student on my first Summer Project. As I look back, I see the ways that God was preparing me for this role, first (in 2007) showing me where I was lacking, and in then (in 2008) leading me back to the field of interpreting to learn how to operate in the context of the unique demands that the interpreting role requires. I started out in a volunteer capacity solely offering my skills as an interpreter for Cru. I am currently looking at what it would mean for me to be with them in an official capacity as an Interpreter Coordinator/ASL resource/Deaf community liaison. God seems to be starting up a movement for the Deaf community out of all of this, and it's been a blessing of a ride to be along for the process.

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Granted, this is the cliff notes version (ikr.. I try to be succinct but I just can't), if you have any further inquiries about this process, I'd love to share the story of God's faithfulness in my adventure thus far. I am continuously looking to partner with financial donors. I am always in need of prayer warriors to be on the front lines of this ministry with me. I am also looking for like minded Christian interpreters to join the network I'm trying to construct for a variety of Cru interpreting needs. If you are interested in what any of these opportunities would look like, please go to the "CURRENT NEEDS" tab and contact me so we can talk further.

Soli Deo Gloria
:D