Hi! I'm Denisse.

For the past couple of years, I've had missions on my heart and in prayer. My prayers sounded a little like this: "God, is this what you want me to do? How can I be sure? What does being a missionary even look like? Do I have to move to another country or can I do short term missions? How do I know if this is from you or from myself?" He didn't give me a direct answer but through spiritual guidance and lots of prayer, I thought I could go on a short-term trip to gain clarity and see what God revealed to me through that.

As many of you know, I got the opportunity to go to Uganda this past October (thanks again to all of you who supported me in that!). It was such an amazing experience and definitely something I'll never forget. I got to visit 3 schools for Deaf children in poverty and it was incredible to see God moving in their lives in a completely different way that we typically see in America. These are children who are neglected and abandoned because of their Deafness and most of them cannot communicate because they don't have the opportunity to learn language.

One question that was posed was, "If a child doesn't have access to language, how are they to learn about the love of Jesus or read the Bible?"

The company that I went with, Deaf Child Hope, partners with these schools to provide funds for tuition, food, and teacher salaries. In these schools, the kids are able to learn sign language for the very first time and through that, learn about Jesus.

The Deaf community is the most unreached, unengaged people group in terms of knowing the gospel. Only 2% of Deaf people are followers of Jesus. Which means that 98% of them are missing out on a relationship with Jesus, largely due to communication barriers, lack of access, and lack of missionaries that can share with them.

When I came back from the trip, I knew that that's what God wanted me to focus on. Since then, He's opened many opportunities for me regarding missions and He already has my yes.

I will be going to Honduras in February, and hopefully back to Uganda in October. I would also love to go to Jamaica and Kenya, provided that I can raise enough funds for all of that.

I ask that you partner with me in this mission and in sending me out to the nations to raise that percentage of Deaf people that know Jesus. I am raising $2,000 now for the Honduras trip, but will continue to raise money throughout the year for the other trips and whatever other opportunity God allows. This money will cover flights, hotels, food, visas, and other expenses needed.

Any amount that you can give is greatly appreciated, as well as your prayers in this journey. I pray that God would bless you and I can't wait to see the fruit of this, whether here or in heaven!

Thank you for partnering with me in fulfilling our shared mission of Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”