[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.24.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a spitfire,\u201d Michelle said. \u201cShe just had this personality \u2014 nine times out of ten she was smiling. She was just always happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe lit up a room,\u201d Jonathan added. \u201cBut she was so, so ready to go to Heaven. The week that she died, she told us\u2026 \u2018I\u2019m going to go to sleep, and I\u2019m going to wake up in Heaven.\u2019 And the next morning I went into her room\u2026 I could tell she was still breathing\u2026 she kinda squinted and looked at me, and she slapped the bed, and she\u2019s like, \u2018You\u2019re not Jesus!\u2019 And I was like, \u2018No, I\u2019m not Jesus.\u2019 And three or four days later, she died and she woke up and she did see Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
It’s been three years since Edyn Grace Claudia Walterhouse, daughter of Jonathan and Michelle Walterhouse, went to be with her Lord.<\/p>\n
Edyn was born February 28, 2008 in Peru. In 2010, Jonathan and Michelle \u2014 who at that point had two biological sons, JP and Levi \u2014 were looking to adopt. Jonathan, an elder at Fellowship, was a missionary kid in Mexico during his formative teen years, so they knew they wanted to adopt from a Spanish-speaking country. They\u2019d talked with a couple at Jonathan\u2019s brother\u2019s wedding who \u201chappened\u201d to be adopting from an orphanage in Peru, and so the decision was made. The Walterhouses began the process late that year. \u201cPeru is a really difficult country to adopt from. They make changes all the time, and it just prolongs the process,\u201d Michelle explained. Edyn officially became a Walterhouse three years later, on December 5, 2013.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.fellowshipar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Family-Pic-2020-2.jpg” title_text=”Family Pic 2020-2″ _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
She was born premature and had congenital deafness as well as Cerebral Ataxia. \u201cThere were several stages, and into, I think especially like late 2014, 2015, that we really began to realize: \u2018ok wait a minute, her muscle disease is going to be something that is going to ultimately\u2026take her life,\u2019\u201d Jonathan said. \u201cIt was progressively degenerative,\u201d Michelle added. They are no strangers to a child with a severe illness, though. Both of their sons had GI complications when they were infants, with their youngest son Levi having a near-death experience due to those complications before his first birthday.<\/p>\n
Since Edyn was born very sick, her biological parents took her to the hospital, but in Peru, if the family is unable to pay the entire bill, the patient has to remain there. \u201cSo many children are left in the hospital, because their parents know that\u2019s the best place for them, because they can\u2019t pay the bill,\u201d Michelle explained. \u201cSo she just automatically went to an orphanage, because her parents left her there.”<\/p>\n
In addition to knowing where they wanted to adopt from, the Walterhouses also knew they wanted to adopt a child who was Deaf; in fact, the orphanage the couple had told them about was an orphanage for Deaf children. Jonathan and Michelle have both worked in Deaf ministry and evangelism for decades, so the Deaf community has always been a priority for them. Though their stories on how<\/em> they got involved differ, their passion<\/em> doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Both of Jonathan\u2019s parents are Deaf, and he and his younger brother are hearing. \u201cSo sign language is my first language.\u201d His parents launched a Deaf ministry while the family was in Florida. Then, when Jonathan was a teenager, they moved to Mexico as missionaries to the Deaf community there. \u201cBy the time Mom and Dad sensed God calling, and we started the whole process, I was ecstatic\u2026 I think ultimately it was God calling me as well, as the oldest son in the family, to be along for the adventure, and so I got to help my parents in ministry. I led the children\u2019s Sunday School class, and taught the kids; I preached for my dad a couple times, when he was sick or out of town.\u201d<\/p>\n His time in Mexico also graduated him from being bilingual to being quad<\/em>rilingual! \u201cI got to learn Spanish and Mexican Sign Language at the same time, because sign language is different. You know, a lot of people think sign language is the same around the world, and it\u2019s not. So, that was exciting.\u201d Too, he enjoyed learning how to navigate and immerse himself in his new home. \u201cI got to learn how to jump on the bus and ride the different bus systems in two different cities that we lived in in Mexico, riding the taxi and all of that. And so it was a really, really fun experience for me to learn a different culture. And I mean, not to mention, the food is incredible in Mexico. So, yeah, it was a lot of fun. But then most importantly, obviously, seeing Deaf people\u2019s lives changed forever by the Gospel was really, really, a very special thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Michelle\u2019s family are all hearing, so her introduction to the Deaf community didn\u2019t happen until high school. In ninth grade, she met a woman at her church who was Deaf, named Janet. Michelle didn\u2019t realize that a few of her friends were actually Janet\u2019s children, so they introduced her. She told Michelle \u2014\u00a0through the kids interpreting \u2014\u00a0that she brought her kids to church because she has a relationship with Jesus and wants her kids to as well. \u201cAnd so I just fell in love with the language and just watching, and she said, \u2018do you want me to teach you some sign?\u2019 And so she started teaching me.\u201d<\/p>\n From there, Michelle kept eagerly learning, and eventually she worked at a camp for Deaf children the summer before her senior year. It was a full language-immersion experience. It was also the first time that she, as a hearing person, was in the minority. \u201cI knew enough that I could have basic conversations, but I mean, everyone\u2019s Deaf, except for the few of us that were there all summer, that were there to learn.\u201d Michelle already knew her calling after meeting Janet and watching her sign, but that summer further confirmed her vocation. \u201cIt is an experience I will never forget, to leave all the comforts of home and travel many states away. The ability to connect with God and those in the Deaf community have just been a vital part of God\u2019s plan in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n She attended Tennessee Temple University, which has since come under and merged with Carolina University, to get a degree in sign language interpreting. There, she met Jonathan, who was in the same program. With an aligned purpose of evangelizing to the Deaf, and after two years of dating, Jonathan and Michelle got married. This year, they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary!<\/p>\n Since 2020, they\u2019ve worked together on the Deaf Catalyst Team for Converge International Ministries<\/a>. \u201cConverge is focused on the least reached of the least reached around the world. And we know that Deaf people are the least reached of the least reached everywhere,\u201d Jonathan explains. For example, he says that \u201cthere\u2019s two million Deaf people in the U.S., and less than two percent of the Deaf people in the U.S. profess to be followers of Christ. And so, they\u2019re a community that needs the Gospel everywhere. And the fact that there\u2019s only one Bible in all of the world\u2019s approximately 350 sign languages is also telling. And that wasn\u2019t complete until 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan serves as one of the Deaf Catalyst Team Leaders, providing oversight and direction. Michelle works alongside him administratively and provides logistical support. Together with their team, they\u2019re working to help Deaf believers around the world be equipped with the tools necessary to develop transformational leaders. \u201cSo Converge is obviously not the only organization pursuing the Deaf, but it\u2019s one of a few organizations that are pursuing the Deaf with the Gospel,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Jonathan offers further insight into the dire global need for this mission work. \u201c[There\u2019s] 70 million Deaf people around the world, and 98% have little to no access to the Gospel. The International Mission Board Deaf Team estimates that 1,500 deaf people die every day around the world without access to the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan explains that intentional outreach to the Deaf in this way \u2014 through sign in the person\u2019s native sign language \u2014 is critically important. A prime reason is because even though the Gospel may be available in the written language, that might not always be beneficial. \u201cMany Deaf people don\u2019t read on the same level that you and I do. Even a Deaf person that\u2019s graduated from high school. I think the Arkansas statistic is third or fourth grade reading level on average, even a high school graduate. And so if you think about that, they don\u2019t process print text the way that you and I do. And also, how we learn to read is by the things we\u2019ve heard, and we\u2019ve already said dozens, hundreds of words before we pick up a book and start reading, you know. \u2026So that\u2019s part of the reason that Deaf people have not traditionally had access to the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n Too, Jonathan says, it\u2019s far more effective to meet the Deaf community where they\u2019re at, rather than forcing them to \u201csimply\u201d adapt. \u201c\u2026Audiologists and doctors meaning well will often tell parents, \u2018your child just needs to learn how to deal in the hearing world. So, let\u2019s fix their hearing by putting a hearing aid on them, or by doing the cochlear implant or something like that, and we\u2019ll fix their hearing.\u2019 But the reality is they\u2019ll never hear like you or I do. And therefore psychologically, physiologically, there\u2019s things that they don\u2019t get. And they just don\u2019t fit in most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan also explains that friends\u2019 and family\u2019s refusal to learn sign can lead to a breakdown in trust. In fact, Jonathan says trust is the<\/em> greatest barrier between the hearing and the Deaf. They\u2019re often the last one to know what the joke is or what the plan is or what\u2019s going on \u2014 because it\u2019s not a priority for the hearing person to learn sign to tell them. Jonathan says that buildup of mistrust can then influence their mentality regarding church. He explains that their thought process can start to become, \u201c\u2018Why would I just trust the person standing on the stage telling me that I\u2019m a sinner and I\u2019m going to Hell?\u2019 \u2014 through maybe an interpreter that\u2019s halfway decent.\u201d<\/p>\n All this leads Jonathan to expressing the importance of the mindset shift to doing Deaf ministry with<\/em> Deaf people instead of for<\/em> them. One such effort is the Jesus Deaf Film<\/a>, in theaters June 20. \u201cIt\u2019s a historic event,\u201d Michelle says. \u201c[The actors] are all Deaf. It\u2019s for Deaf, by Deaf.\u201d Jonathan adds, \u201cWe\u2019re just ecstatic about that.\u201d<\/p>\n While 2020 was an exciting time of ministry for the Walterhouses when they joined Converge, it was also the year that Edyn\u2019s health took a steep decline due to the ataxia. She wasn\u2019t fearful, though, but rather joyful as she looked forward to seeing her Savior. \u201cShe was so ready to meet Jesus. I mean, I have a video of her telling me everything she\u2019s going to do when she gets to Heaven, like, \u2018I\u2019m going to eat guacamole. I\u2019m going to have a remote control, I\u2019m going to have an iPad, and I\u2019m going to fold my laundry.\u2019 Okay great, if we have to fold laundry in Heaven, then we\u2019re going to have to have a conversation with the Lord,\u201d Michelle joked. \u201cI wish that I could face life the way she faced life. Like there was absolutely no fear.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n