The words spoken at this 59^th General Conference (GC) Session are breaking through the barriers of the silent world of visitors who are hearing-impaired. Marvin Budd oversees a team of four sign language interpreters who are available for each meeting that is held in the Dome. The interpreters include Rosalinda Davis, North Pacific Union; Lynn Davis and Patrick Bryant, Columbia Union, and Marvin Budd, Lake Union.

The team uses American Sign Language (ASL) to convey the words that are spoken, both from the platform and also by delegates during business sessions. "The general meetings are easier to interpret," says Budd. "Sometimes the business meetings are a bit more of a challenge when technical and procedural words are used."

This isn't Budd's first time working as a sign language interpreter at a General Conference Session. He also provided interpreter services at the GC sessions in Toronto and St. Louis.

Interpreters for the GC session had to pre-qualify for the positions. "Everyone signing at the Session was recommended by deaf groups for their accuracy in interpretation," said Budd. "Also, three of our interpreters hold national professional certification through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf."

The ASL interpreters working during this GC session rotate with each other every 15-20 minutes. "Research shows that interpretation accuracy declines after about 15 minutes," says Budd. "We want to provide the best quality interpretation for our members."

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), about 28 million people in the U.S. have some degree of reduced hearing. Within the North American Division there are three Adventist deaf pastors who have ministered to deaf congregations. These statistics indicate that this is an unreached people group within local communities throughout the division.

For more information about ministry to the deaf, more information is available at www.deafadventist.org.

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