• The Greatest Privilege I’ve Had in Giving
    Awake!—1978 | December 22

    • The Greatest Privilege I’ve Had in Giving

      As told by Vicki Johnson to a staff writer

      It is often difficult to get persons with healthy ears and eyes to listen to and see the truths concerning God’s kingdom. Now I was faced with the challenge of teaching them to a young woman deaf and blind from birth!

      MY HUSBAND and I live on the property adjacent to the Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf-Blind, located in Sands Point, Long Island, New York. As we watched the building nearing completion we wondered about people blind and deaf, some even from birth. Never to have seen the beauties of the earth, or to have heard its joyful sounds! The mere thought overwhelmed us; the imagining of life in such total darkness and silence was impossible for us! We know of Jehovah’s promise that the paradise earth under his Kingdom rule would restore sight and hearing to those blind and deaf, but how could we convey this hope to those who would soon be our neighbors? We prayed that a way to do this would open up for us.

      In September 1977, the way was opened. Our congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses received a letter from Georgine Dilts of Seattle, Washington. She had been conducting a Bible study in Braille with 25-year-old Debbie Curry, a young woman blind and deaf from birth. Debbie was first approached by Dallas Talley, a blind Witness. He studied with her and took her to meetings, but eventually referred her to Georgine Dilts, who knew the sign language for the deaf. And now, Georgine informed us that Debbie was being sent to the Helen Keller Center next to our home. Our congregation was asked to assign someone to continue the Bible study with her. I was the one asked to do this! How could I? My world was filled with sights and sounds. I took seeing and hearing for granted. How could I relate to Debbie in her dark and silent world? How could I communicate with her? I didn’t know finger spelling​—and even if I had known it she couldn’t see it!

      When I met Debbie at the institute my fears were lessened, if not totally put to rest. I didn’t need to know finger spelling to speak to her. I talked normally, and she used her hand as her ears. As I spoke she rested her thumb on my lips and her fingers on my jaw and throat. By feeling the movements of my lips and jaw and the vibrations of my throat, she knew what I was saying! This is called the Tadoma method. The word is not yet in the dictionaries. It is formed by combining the first names of the deaf-blind brother and sister first trained in its use​—Tad and Oma. Debbie spoke to me with her voice, though I had some difficulty at first in understanding everything she said. Her ability to speak vocally is amazing inasmuch as she has never heard any words spoken!

      Her first question was, “When can I go to the Kingdom Hall?” That very week she accompanied me to one of the congregation’s book studies, and I arranged to conduct a home Bible study with her. She also started attending certain weekly meetings at the Kingdom Hall. The first is a school that trains us to preach, and the second helps us to organize the preaching work.

      Steps Taken to Help Debbie

      At first I took along publications in Braille for her to read during the meetings, but that was only temporary. I and another woman in the congregation took courses in both finger spelling and signing words, and in a few weeks we took turns interpreting the meetings for Debbie. She would hold our hand lightly in hers as we finger spelled or signed what was being said. She was happy to feel a part of all that was going on. Later on I had a student talk in the training school. Debbie wanted to take part in it. I planned my presentation so that she could say a few words in it, and this thrilled her immensely. She also comments at the congregation book study.

      The Watchtower Society is aware of the needs of the handicapped. It has books about the Bible in Braille, many of which have been loaned to Debbie. In its Braille department, the Society embosses many of its publications for blind readers. In Debbie’s personal Bible study we use the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. She has the book in Braille, reads each paragraph with its question aloud, and then gives the answer. The study articles in every other issue of the Watchtower magazine are published in Braille. This made Debbie eager to attend the Sunday meeting at the Kingdom Hall when this magazine is studied.

      The Helen Keller Center where Debbie lives must give permission to do this. The Center is not opposed to Jehovah’s Witnesses, but it is very protective toward its clients. Jack, one of the volunteer workers, had been taking Debbie to the Catholic church on Sunday mornings. He was very kind to her, took her swimming, to restaurants, and to other places. Those at the Center felt that this was a good arrangement and were reluctant to change it. So the Center favored Debbie’s time being divided between us​—the Kingdom Hall with me during the week, the Catholic church with Jack on Sunday.

      However, Debbie’s continual request was to go to the Kingdom Hall on Sunday. Her social worker finally agreed that she could make this change if she would tell Jack of her wish to do so. This was difficult for her. She was fond of him. He had been very good to her. She also wanted him to learn about life in Jehovah’s earthly paradise.

      She invited Jack to her personal Bible study. He is a staunch Catholic, but he could not say No to Debbie. So he found himself sitting in on what he thought would be something like a Ku Klux Klan meeting. At the Center they had discussed ‘these people who whisk Debbie off to several religious meetings a week,’ saying that ‘one meeting a week was extremely religious,’ so ‘these people must be strange indeed.’ Jack told us this, but added, “You’re very normal, hospitable people and you really care about Debbie.” He returned to the Center with the recommendation that Debbie be allowed to spend time with us whenever we wanted to have her. Her attendance at Sunday Watchtower studies began immediately.