{"id":38014,"date":"2018-08-16T17:37:17","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T22:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=38014"},"modified":"2018-08-16T17:37:17","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T22:37:17","slug":"1278-attended-the-be-courageous-convention-of-jw-presented-in-asl-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2018\/08\/16\/1278-attended-the-be-courageous-convention-of-jw-presented-in-asl-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"1,278 Attended the \u201cBe Courageous\u201d! Convention of JW Presented in ASL 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/11YL8wkNOgOIR5sUxE5p2ozzLJu7jaVBq\/preview\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brian Moore<br \/>\nMedia Services<br \/>\nSign Language Convention \/ Denton, TX<br \/>\nSign Language Congregation, Fort Worth<br \/>\nCell 817.829.3551<br \/>\nbrimoo23@gmail.com<br \/>\naslnewsservice@live.com<\/p>\n<p><strong>1,278 Attended the \u201cBe Courageous\u201d! Convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Presented in ASL from August 10 to 12, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Over the weekend, a crowd of over 1,200 Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf\/Blind together with hearing persons gathered near Denton, Texas, at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. Why? To attend a three-day \u201cBe Courageous\u201d themed Convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses presented in American Sign Language. The gathering included a variety of races and ages from cities in Texas as far away as Brownsville and El Paso as well as seven other states, including Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p>Karina Tapia, a 25-year-old deaf attendee from Austin, Texas, said the convention was \u201c\u2026so enjoyable that it definitely makes it worth the travel!\u201d She related, \u201cI know that young people have struggles and life can be hard, but after going to the convention and seeing the good encouragement that specifically pertains to them, they can be confident about expressing themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For three days, attendees enjoyed presentations and interviews on the theme \u201cBe Courageous\u201d. Throughout each day, various short videos depicting real-life scenarios demonstrated how the Bible helps us face present and future challenges with courage. During the opening presentation on Friday, attendees watched a short video on the true-life story of one of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses from the Netherlands who, during the holocaust, exhibited courage before his untimely death in a concentration camp. Another highlight came on Saturday, when beautiful video clips of animals in nature such as lions, mongooses, hummingbirds and elephants were used as teaching examples about courage. On Sunday afternoon, a feature film with on-screen interpreting expertly portrayed the Bible story of Jonah as a lesson in courage and mercy.<\/p>\n<p>Ron Lowe from Little Rock, Arkansas, helped on the organizing committee supporting departments at the convention. When asked about attending conventions, he reflected on his youth, attending conventions in English with no interpreter and little understanding. Eventually, ASL interpreters were used and this attracted more individuals who are deaf. However, the language barrier still made it difficult to interact with hearing attendees. Now he says, \u201cHow amazing it is that we now have conventions such as this! Everyone here, no matter if they are deaf or hearing, use sign language to greet each other and enjoy chatting.\u201d He went on \u201cI really enjoy the association with people, many of whom aren\u2019t Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. Many first-time attendees are surprised and overjoyed seeing everyone, both hearing and deaf using sign language. Seeing talks and the Bible presented on the large screens in ASL, which is their language, they are definitely glad they came!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since 2015, Librado Vera has been making the annual 8-hour drive from Laredo, TX, with his wife, Maria, and 18-year-old daughter, Vicky, to attend the conventions in Denton. Librado reflected, \u201cWe have gone to Spanish conventions since Vicky was born, but I understood nothing. It all went over my head since I can\u2019t hear. Now coming to conventions in ASL, I can understand the convention so much better!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked about learning sign language Vicky said, \u201cI really like it! At first, I didn\u2019t want to move to a sign language congregation. But when I saw how much my dad understood and how much easier it became to communicate with my dad, I began enjoying sign language more. It helped unite the family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maria added, \u201cWe have been married for 20 years, but I never understood my husband as a deaf person. All those years he came with us, but I never understood what it was like for him. Before, we had so many problems common with families. It would be frustrating and sometimes even funny when we would try to communicate on some serious issues. But now, thanks to Jehovah, we don\u2019t have those communication problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Librado concluded, \u201cI\u2019m happy having the family together at the conventions. I can meet different ones and communicate with them all. I\u2019m definitely happy to have my family together at the convention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>See what a convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in sign language looks like: JW Sign Language Convention<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/11YL8wkNOgOIR5sUxE5p2ozzLJu7jaVBq\/view\">https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/11YL8wkNOgOIR5sUxE5p2ozzLJu7jaVBq\/view<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brian Moore Media Services Sign Language Convention \/ Denton, TX Sign Language Congregation, Fort Worth Cell 817.829.3551 brimoo23@gmail.com aslnewsservice@live.com 1,278 Attended the \u201cBe Courageous\u201d! Convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Presented in ASL from August 10 to 12, 2018 Over the weekend,&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2018\/08\/16\/1278-attended-the-be-courageous-convention-of-jw-presented-in-asl-2018\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[227,10070,5655,17,39],"class_list":["post-38014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-denton","tag-jehovahs-witnesses","tag-sign-language-convention","tag-texas","tag-video"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-9T8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37872,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2018\/07\/20\/over-1300-expected-for-3-day-be-courageous-convention-in-asl-starting-august-10th\/","url_meta":{"origin":38014,"position":0},"title":"Over 1,300 Expected for 3-Day \u201cBe Courageous!\u201d Convention in ASL starting August 10th","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Over 1,300 Expected for 3-Day \u201cBe Courageous!\u201d Convention in American Sign Language starting August 10 DATE: August 10-12, 2018 TIME: 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM ADDRESS: 14542 US Highway 380 W Krum, Texas 76249-7623 (Near Denton, Texas) WEBSITE: http:\/\/www.jw.org\/ase Over 1,300 Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf-Blind and Hearing individuals from 8 states\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35995,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2017\/07\/20\/over-1400-attended-dont-give-up-convention-of-jw-presented-in-asl\/","url_meta":{"origin":38014,"position":1},"title":"Over 1,400 Attended \u201cDon\u2019t Give Up!\u201d Convention of JW presented in ASL","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Over 1,400 Attended \u201cDon\u2019t Give Up!\u201d Convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses presented in American Sign Language On July 14-16, over 1,400 Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf\/Blind and hearing individuals attended the three-day \u201cDon\u2019t Give Up!\u201d Convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses presented in American Sign Language. Individuals from 8 states, as far away as Tennessee,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Audience.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23791,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/07\/10\/3-day-jehovahs-witnesses-convention-in-american-sign-language-denton\/","url_meta":{"origin":38014,"position":2},"title":"3-Day Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Convention in American Sign Language &#8211; Denton","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 3-Day Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses Convention in American Sign Language DATE: July 26-28, 2013 TIME: 9:20 am - 4:55 pm 14542 Highway 380 West Denton, Texas An estimated 1800 Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf\/Blind and Hearing individuals from 11 states will attend a special three-day convention beginning on Friday, July 26 at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DN_logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27734,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/06\/12\/1800-expected-for-3-day-convention-in-asl\/","url_meta":{"origin":38014,"position":3},"title":"1800 Expected for 3-Day Convention in ASL","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"1800 Expected for the 3-Day Convention in American Sign Language starting June 27 DATE: June 27-29, 2014 TIME: 9:20 am - 4:55 pm ADDRESS: 14542 Highway 380 West Denton, Texas 76249 An estimated 1800 Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf\/Blind and Hearing individuals from 11 states will attend a special three-day convention beginning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15145,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/07\/25\/1500-expected-for-3-day-convention-in-asl\/","url_meta":{"origin":38014,"position":4},"title":"1,500 Expected for 3-Day Convention in ASL","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"1,500 Expected for 3-Day Convention in ASL Hello, An estimated 1500 Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf\/Blind and Hearing individuals from 13 states will attend a special three-day convention beginning on Friday, August 5 in Denton, Texas. This convention is one of seven conventions hosted this summer by Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses presented entirely in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7156,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/07\/16\/jehovahs-witnesses-annual-sign-language-convention-dfw\/","url_meta":{"origin":38014,"position":5},"title":"Jehovah&#8217;s Witnesses Annual Sign Language Convention &#8211; DFW","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Jehovah's Witnesses are launching a vigorous campaign to invite all Deaf and others who communicate using American Sign Language to view interesting presentations about the Bible description of what many people refer to as the end of the world. 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