sharing the gospel,” she says.
She was shocked to discover statistics
showing 93 percent of the deaf
community has no contact with the
church and that 98 percent do not
truly know and accept Jesus — making
them the third largest unreached
people group for the gospel.
“Their parents may drag them to
church,” she says, “but they are not
following what is being said. Camp
changed everything for me — I wanted
that for them.”
Emma Faye stayed involved with
Young Life after her camp experience
and joined staff in 2016. Although her
heart was to found a Deaf Young Life
group, she had yet to locate deaf teens
in the community. Emma Faye
happened to see a couple of teen boys
signing at a packed UTSA football
game. She found they were part of the
deaf magnate program at Churchill
High School.
She began to build a Deaf Young Life
program in central San Antonio beginning
with those boys from Churchill.
Emma Faye worked with Young Life
through Aid the Silent funding to make
everything — skits, programs, music,
camp — accessible to deaf kids through
interpreters, real-time captioning and
leaders who could communicate with
them. It now attracts teens from
throughout the area — even as far away
as Fredericksburg.
“Last year more than half of the
Deaf Young Life group got to meet
Jesus,” she exclaims. “They are so
different from the angry, frustrated
teens we first met — it’s like a light
switch flipped.”
Thank you EAR INSTITUTE OF TEXAS for making this story possible to share.
“ Last year more than half
of the Deaf Young Life group
got to meet Jesus!”
Presently, Emma Fay is collaborating
with several government agencies,
a local district attorney and several
other local nonprofits to produce a
child abuse protection organization to
write protocols to help decrease abuse
among the deaf population. Sadly, deaf
children are often targets, because
predators know these victims have
trouble communicating. Emma Faye is
working to give children communication
tools so they have a context and
words to explain their experience.
She also just returned from
Moldova, where she visited several
deaf schools. Humanitarian groups had
donated hearing aids, but unfortunately
the equipment had not been
programmed or maintained correctly
and was ineffective, she says.
“Their hearts were good, but the
hearing aids were not benefiting the
kids,” she says. “Many just thought
they’d always be stuck in that situation.
Once we tested and made plans to
bring the necessary equipment back to
the program, we could give them so
much hope.” She plans to return to the
country soon to expand efforts there.
Emma Faye’s next big dream for Aid
the Silent is to acquire a physical
building downtown to serve as a
community center hub for training,
audiology, conferences and Deaf Young
Life. She relates a story of Helen Keller,
who was once asked which of her
senses she missed more. Keller was
reported to note that blindness
separated her from things; deafness
separated her from people.
“Deaf teens are waiting for someone
to step into their world and know
them. It changes them to think that
somebody thinks they are worth
knowing,” Emma Faye says.
S TOR Y MADE POS S I B L E B Y:
(830) 446-0421
Emma Faye Rudkin, Founder, Exec. Dir.
emmafaye@aidthesilent.org
Kathy Rudkin, Co-founder, CFO
kathy@aidthesilent.org
www.aidthesilent.com
To book Emma Faye call (830) 249-1744
or email speaking@emmafayerudkin.com
www.EmmaFayeRudkin.com
Email: info@aidthesilent.com
34910 IH 10 West, #701, Boerne, TX 78006
(830) 249-1744
To learn more about Aid the Silent, visit:
www.AidTheSilent.com
Be A Light.
Visit. Go to the ministry website and learn
more about Aid the Silent. Run or dance.
Register for the 5K or attend next year’s
music festival. Learn. Train to be a Young
Life leader or open your home to youth.
Pray. Ask God to give more deaf people
new spiritual ears. Give. Set someone free
with your gift today by calling or visiting
the website.
www.eioftx.com
18518 Hardy Oak Blvd., Suite 300
San Antonio, TX 78258
(210) 696-4327
The Ear Institute of Texas is a communityminded
practice serving the deaf
community and their families. We support
Aid the Silent in a variety of ways, including
participating in their annual 5K run. Some of
us run, others cheer. But we are all there for
the same reason: love.
The Ear Institute of Texas is committed
to utilizing our many years of experience
in providing the latest advancements in
medical technology to evaluate and treat
all dimensions of the human ear. Our goal
is to treat every patient as we would treat a
family member — with experience and with
understanding and compassion. Please call
us today to set your appointment. We would
love to learn that you heard about our
practice through The Beacon!
“ The Ear Institute of Texas is dedicated to giving
back to our community. We strive to unite and
educate those with and without hearing loss.
That is exactly what we get to do as we partner
with Aid the Silent. Being a part of that is
gratifying and reminds us that it is in
giving that we receive.”
Dr. Lance E. Jackson CEO, Ear Institute of Texas
with Emma Faye Rudkin, Executive Director, Aid the Silent.
August / September 2019 www.saBeacon.com 6
/www.aidthesilent.com
/www.EmmaFayeRudkin.com
/www.AidTheSilent.com
/www.eioftx.com
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