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 there are three women who are not only close friends of ours, but whose devotion to YHWH (Yahweh) and His Son Yeshua is phenomenal. These three women are all profoundly 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; she has even produced a number of YouTubes for the hearing impaired.


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!"