by Dr. James Ray – Eecutive Editor

Forty years ago a missionary was approved by BIMI to work with the vast number of deaf people in the country of Peru. His name was Vernon Miller. Vernon surrendered to be a missionary when his pastor told about the thousands of deaf people in Peru.

Vernon went home that night but could not sleep. All he could see were those poor people in Peru who had never heard the name of Jesus. The next morning the pastor found Vernon Miller in his office, suitcase in hand. He was ready to go – and asked the pastor what he should do next.

Every mission-minded pastor dreams of people responding to a missionary challenge like this – “Ok, I’ve heard the message… what do I do next?”

Of course, Vernon was instructed to get training before applying to a mission board. He met Velma when he was visiting Hyles-Anderson College. They fell in love and were married. Together they set their hearts toward Peru. During those months of preparation, the passion of Vernon Miller’s heart was the poor deaf people in Peru.

They were people who lived in a world of silence, people who had never heard…
the sweet tones of love expressed in audible words,
the soothing melody of beautiful music,
the sounds of a babbling brook,
the cooing or crying of a baby,
or the song of a bird.

Perhaps the most profound absence of all was the word of a witness telling them of God’s redeeming love and God’s Son.

The deaf in Peru languished in their QUIET world. Their whole existence was spent in a vacuum of silence. Days and hours passed quietly as they, like INVISIBLE people, made their journey through the world of the hearing who looked upon them as if they did not exist. They would go home at night to abodes of lonely isolation – and most of them would die without ever hearing a single word of redemption or a syllable of hope.

Vernon Miller and his young wife were determined to change their world and their eternity. They would bridge the darkness of silent desolation with the glorious light of the Gospel of Jesus.

They began their work in the town of Chosica and offered lessons in sign language. The Latin American Catholics believed that it was shameful to be deaf because they thought that it was a punishment from God. Miller found that because of this unjust disgrace, many of the children had never been out of their homes.

During the years in Peru, Vernon and Velma organized a School for the Deaf. Buildings were built that accommodated the needs of the more than 100 students who attended the school.

There was also a Bible school started for the deaf, and graduates of the school pastored churches for the deaf throughout Peru. In 1994, there were numbers of churches that had been established.

Like a shining light in the darkness, Vernon Miller had penetrated the silence – and had changed their world FOREVER. Multitudes would never be the same again.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…to comfort all that mourn…to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

WHAT A LESSON FOR EACH OF US!

40 years ago he heard a message on missions… NEXT MORNING – suitcase in hand –

“WHAT DO I DO NEXT?”

A few days ago, Vernon Miller closed his eyes in a nursing home in Florida and opened them in Heaven. He heard our Lord say, “Well Done Thou Good and Faithful Servant,” – words we all hope to hear…but when we do – those words will not mean to us what they meant to Vernon Miller…because they were the first words he ever heard…for Vernon Miller, himself, was deaf.