The sweet faces of some true believers

Hearing impaired? Not when it comes to God!


The Refiner's Fire doesn't normally post testimonies, but the women below are living examples of what a believer should be. Their devotion to YHWH (Yahweh) and His Son Yeshua is phenomenal as they have even given up their own lifestyles and desires in order to please Him. These women are all deaf, but when it comes to hearing the Voice of God, they can hear better than most! Below is a capsulized version of their stories:

Tamra and Eve:


Tamra (right) and Eve have been best friends since 1988 when they met in a church. They have both been deaf since birth; and Tamra, although she has limited vision, is legally blind as well.

Eve comes from a troubled past that includes rejection, mental, physical and sexual abuse that began when she was a baby. Born prematurely, she has fought all kinds of physical problems throughout her life and is also a thyroid cancer survivor.

Tamra almost didn't make it into the world as her biological father attempted to kill her mother by beating her in the stomach during the last few weeks of pregnancy. Both Mom and baby survived, and Tamra's mother ultimately remarried.

Due to much turmoil in their backgrounds, it's no wonder Tamra and Eve sought comfort in each other's arms. But in 2003, when someone pointed out to them that homosexuality was a sin, after much agonizing, crying and repenting, they decided to be "just friends and sisters." Tamra said, "It hurt so bad and felt like a divorce, but after conferring with our pastor, we knew we had to stop. Hebrews 10:26 tells us that if we continue to sin willfully after having received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no sacrifice for sins...."

Today, they are living "happily ever after" as sisters in Messiah in their home near Tamra's Mom and Dad. Through their mutual desire to please God, they ultimately found their way to the Netzarim (Messianic) faith and are now Torah observant believers in Messiah Yeshua. Tamra now spends much of her time sharing her Netzarim faith with other deaf people via her own blogs and a number of videos she has produced for the hearing impaired:

http://www.youtube.com/paradisedove#p/a/u/1/Gf_WuzyvEwA

Shannon:

Deaf since the age of 21 months from spinal meningitis, Shannon came from a background of rejection and molestation at the hands of a family member. During her teenage years she became the quintessential "party girl" doing drugs and alcohol and ultimately being gang raped and ending up in an extremely abusive marriage. Her story is truly the stuff of which movies are made but, unfortunately, it is too long to print here.

Shannon is not only profoundly deaf, but beginning in her teens, she also began to realize she had multiple personalities. One, she said, was her real personality, but "with no real voice." Another was like a Doberman Pinscher, fighting and biting and never letting go. Another was comical "like Bugs Bunny always joking being the cool one"; and one was a dyed-in-the-wool romantic "like Scarlett O' Hara, throwing my hand over my forehead, dying for love and attention."

Shannon relates that her life went from bad to worse during her college years but, despite everything, she passed her nurse's aide exam. Ultimately she was unable to continue work in the medical field due to severe hip problems, but over the years she has managed to make a living for herself and her two children.

Approximately two years ago Shannon stopped fighting the demons of her past when she turned her life over to God. Recently, she became a Torah observant believer in Messiah Yeshua - and she says that she has never felt better.

"It was really hard until I found my way to God and learned the power of forgiveness, which is when I was finally able to let it all go," she said. "Satan kept telling me I was damaged goods, but I learned to bark back: 'NO! YHWH thinks I'm beautiful just as I am! HE HAS ALREADY FORGIVEN ME; IT'S OVER; IT'S GONE, IM NOT DAMAGED ANYMORE!' Refusing to accept anymore nagging, over time I grew stronger and just kept concentrating on God and His love for me. And it worked. I'm healed! Not a hundred percent perfect yet, but with His help I can conquer anything!"


Claire:

Claire's life has been a series unfortunate events that included picking the wrong men, and smoking, drinking and doing drugs. She has always been a believer, but her relationship with God grew exponentially after the tragic loss of her husband in a motor cycle accident.

YHWH has always played a big role in my life," she said, "but it was not until I lost my late husband in that awful motor bike accident and I was left all alone that I started having a deeper and more intense relationship with Him. And, I also believe He started using my hearing loss to reveal more of Himself. I'm supposed to wear two hearing aids but I don't as I found the noise of our world too overpowering. Most of the time I'm really in a very silent world, and I honestly believe it to be to my advantage because, when I'm in this silent word, it's as if I come into a very special place where I constantly talk to YHWH."

Like Tamra, Eve and Shannon, Claire (who today suffers from crippling arthritis) has proven her loyalty by actually living her faith and adhering to YHWH's commands. Case in point, after the death of her husband, she was left pennyless and with no home. "But YHWH made a way for me," she said. "I became a servant to a businessman as his housekeeper; and later, I became caretaker of an elderly woman who was, unfortunately, an atheist."

Toward the end of her life, the elderly woman (who had two middle-aged children who were destined to inherit her house and property) realizing she would leave Claire destitute and without a home, offered to "marry" her under S. Africa's new law that allowed homosexual marriage. Claire stated that, while the thought was enticing because it would ensure her a roof over her head after her friend's passing (even though there was no lesbian relationship between them), she could not bring herself to do it. Not only would it have been dishonest toward the government but most importantly, she was sure YHWH would not approve.

So, placing all her faith and trust in YHWH, she prayed that the woman's grown children would honor her mother's wishes that Claire be allowed to keep the home. Ultimately, YHWH did reward Claire for her faithfulness: The owners of the house ultimately decided to sell, with the stipulation that Claire would be given all the furniture and enough money from the sale to move somewhere else!

  
?