Her name is Ibu Asih. Her full name is Sri Sumarsih. On a daily basis, Mrs Asih works as a teacher at the Special School for the Deaf (SLB) in Gilingan, Solo. Mrs Asih is the leader and carer of the Deaf Community at the Church of God’s Hope (GPA) in Solo. The church has long provided specialised services for the deaf and holds a special service for the deaf every Sunday afternoon.
Becoming a special needs teacher was a solitary path she chose from her teenage years. “When I was at secondary school, the results of a psychological test guided me towards further study in the field of education. Well, I chose the Special Education (PLB) programme because I realised it wasn’t a very popular choice. From the very beginning, I knew that Special Education would involve working with children with special needs. So, after finishing secondary school, I was determined to pursue a degree in Special Needs Education.
Mrs Asih’s husband is a pastor who cares deeply for children with special needs, particularly the deaf. His name is Rev. Yoesoef. One day, Rev. Yoesoef asked his wife, ”Why don’t you ask your students who are Christian and deaf? Can they understand the content of the sermon or the teaching when they go to church with their parents?”
It turns out that his deaf pupils, who are Christians, do not understand the content of the service at their church. They only attended services simply because they were following their parents. But they did not understand the lyrics of the hymns, the prayers or the sermons at church. From that moment on, a longing grew in Rev. Yoesoef’s heart to minister to these deaf children. Mrs Asih gathered the deaf pupils from the special needs school and organised a fellowship meeting.
“We started holding fellowship meetings for deaf children at my home. Then some of their parents became interested and began to support our ministry. They asked us to hold the meetings in turn at the homes of the deaf pupils’ parents,” she said.
Since 2017, Rev. Yoesoef has been actively organising services for deaf children at the Church of God’s Hope (GPA). Rev. Yoesoef was entrusted with the full-time responsibility of serving children with special needs, particularly deaf children. Naturally, Mrs Asih, as a teacher and someone with experience in supporting the deaf community, actively supports her husband’s ministry.
When GPA began organising special worship services for the deaf community, the congregation generally found it strange and unfamiliar. Many of them asked: how is that possible? It turned out that although our deaf friends cannot hear, they are still able to worship. However, slowly but surely, the congregation began to give their full support to the services for the deaf community. “In particular, our Senior Pastor, Rev. Liem Pik Jiang, she is very supportive and supports services for the deaf community at GPA,” said Mrs Asih enthusiastically.
Carrying out ministry for the Deaf community is, of course, not always easy. “In the early days when we were ministering to them, they often found it difficult to understand the spiritual material we presented,”” he said. “This actually spurred us on to try and create materials that would make it easier for them to understand Christian teachings.” “
“Faith, after all, concerns abstract matters. The first challenge is how to ensure they can understand what we’re conveying. The second challenge is maintaining their commitment. Our deaf friends are very close-knit; if one of them becomes a bit slack, lazy or falls behind, it can affect the rest of the group,” he continued.
“The third challenge arises when these children enter a Deaf community that does not share the same beliefs—that is, one that is not Christian. Our challenge is how to keep them strong in their faith in the Lord Jesus.”
For Mrs Asih, the translation of the Bible into sign language is of the utmost importance. “Deaf children rely heavily on visual cues—what they see. So they respond better to communication that relies on sight, rather than just hearing or reading,” Ms Asih reiterated.
Having spent decades servingdeaf pupils and the deaf community at the church, Mrs Asih feels most grateful to see the children in her care growing spiritually. “I am truly grateful to see them growing into mature adults, rather than remaining spiritual infants. I can see all this in the changes in their attitudes, their words and their personal worship. At the very least, these are the aspects I can observe,” she said.
To monitor the spiritual growth of deaf children, Mrs Asih also coordinates with the parents of children with special needs. She realises it is impossible to keep an eye on the children in her care 24 hours a day. ”I hope the parents can keep an eye on their children’s personal worship—how they pray, how they interact with others, and how they read and study the Scriptures,” she said. ”I also monitor the children’s activities through a WhatsApp group. Through the WhatsApp group, I give the children the opportunity to send me the verses they have found that day. If anything needs explaining, I explain it to them via that WhatsApp group.”
Communicating via WhatsApp with deaf friends requires a certain amount of creativity. Ms Asih has to be skilful at finding synonyms that closely match the terms being explained. “Simple synonyms are easier for the children to understand. As I have been teaching deaf children for a long time, I can gauge which words are easy for them to understand and which they cannot yet grasp.” In addition to using alternative words, Mrs Asih often provides visual examples of what she is explaining so that the children in her care can understand more easily.
Upon learning that the Indonesian Bible Society (LAI) was working on a translation of the New Testament (NT) into sign language, Mrs Asih was delighted and fully supported this initiative. ”I am very pleased and hope that the translation of the Bible into Sign Language will make it easier for our deaf friends to study and understand the Word of God,” she said. ”My suggestion is that the translation of the Bible into Sign Language should not be a word-for-word translation, but should convey the essence and meaning of the sentences or themes of the biblical passages.”
Ms Asih mentioned that there are many terms and words in the Bible that are difficult for deaf friends to understand. This is particularly the case when explaining parables. Sometimes they get confused about the meaning.”The translation team needs to be skilful and precise in translating accurately without deviating from the essence or true meaning of God’s word,” she continued.
After decades of serving her deaf friends, Mrs Asih regards everything she does as an expression of her gratitude to God. “God has bestowed many blessings upon me, especially salvation. I also long to share that salvation with many people, particularly the deaf. Not everyone is given the opportunity or is willing to serve them,” she said.&“When the Lord Jesus grants me the grace to serve my deaf friends, I will carry out this calling and make the most of it until my last breath, until I am truly no longer able to serve them, until the Lord calls me home.”
He hopes that more and more members of the congregation will support and get involved in ministry to children with special needs. In his view, the main priority that needs to be addressed immediately is the renewal of ministry staff. Many people consider ministry to the deaf to be very important and something that needs to continue. However, in reality, it is extremely difficult to find new ministers.
”The volunteers we are looking for are those who are willing to serve wholeheartedly. Deaf people are very sensitive to those around them. If people do not serve them wholeheartedly, they, too, keep their distance. Therefore, what we are looking for is not merely competence, but a wholehearted willingness and faithfulness to carry out this ministry,” he continued.”Just as Christ has served us with all His heart, even sacrificing His entire life for us.”(keb)
