How a Deaf Latter-day Saint in Hong Kong Is Leading Others Who Are Deaf to Christ

This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Sydney Walker, Church News

Chan Yiu Wu, who also goes by Yvonne Chan, sits in front of her computer in her home in Hong Kong and holds up a picture of her the day she was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 11 years ago.

She then shows pictures of several friends when they were baptized — friends who, like her, are deaf.

In sign language, she tells the Church News why these pictures of her friends are meaningful to her.

“They felt inspired about the gospel of Jesus Christ as they started to learn, and they got baptized as well,” she said during a Zoom interview in February. “The missionaries couldn’t interpret, so I went ahead and helped them. I feel it is my responsibility to help them learn the gospel.”

Because American Sign Language is the only sign language currently facilitated by the Church, Chan has learned ASL in addition to her native Chinese Sign Language to better understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. She has also created resources to enable others who are Chinese and deaf to learn the gospel in their own language.

“I love to serve the deaf,” said Chan, a single mother of two teenage sons and a member of the Aberdeen Ward, Hong Kong China Victoria Harbour Stake. “I feel it in my heart, and I want to be able to take that feeling in my heart and share it with others. I love serving.”

Finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Chan said she first started meeting with missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after they talked on the street with her oldest son, who was then 4 years old. The missionaries gave her son a card with their phone number.

The missionaries didn’t know sign language, so Chan mostly learned about the gospel by written notes back and forth with them in Chinese. One member at church knew a little sign language and could interpret for her.

She said reading the Book of Mormon in Chinese inspired her, and she decided to join the Church in 2014. Her sons were baptized when they each turned 8 years old.

“The more I learned, the more inspired I became,” Chan said. “Every single day I would read the Book of Mormon, and I would feel more inspired every single day. I would ask questions of the missionaries, and I would feel those answers were right.”

In 2015 Chan received her endowment in the Hong Kong Temple. “I was grateful for the gifts the Lord gave me through that,” Chan said of receiving her endowment. Though she didn’t understand much, “I knew it was His house, the Lord’s house.”

Chan said attending the temple sparked her desire to learn American Sign Language because temple ordinances are available in ASL and not her native sign language.

She prayed to find someone who knew ASL and could teach her.

Diving Deeper into the Gospel Through ASL

About two years ago, Chan stumbled upon information about an adult religion class offered by the Church in ASL. She eagerly registered for the online class.

“Studying the scriptures was really hard for me, and I needed someone to explain things,” Chan said of her motivation to register for the class. “I was so delighted when I found it because it helped me to learn so much. I was searching for a long time. It’s been extremely beneficial for me.”

Shortly after Chan joined the class, she was introduced to Kayleen Pugh, an ASL seminary teaching supervisor and institute teacher who was willing to teach her ASL.

Despite living 8,500 miles apart, Chan and Pugh quickly became friends. They have met one-on-one nearly every week since then via videoconferencing apps.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with her,” said Pugh, who is deaf and lives in Marietta, Georgia. “She’s a fast learner, and she’s so motivated and passionate and really wants to share the gospel with others.”

Chan had already learned the ASL alphabet and could write in English, but she knew very few ASL signs. She wrote down unfamiliar words from the class, and Pugh used gestures to explain the words and show her how to sign them in ASL. Chan continues to learn 10 new signs every week.

Pugh recalled: “I remember when we first met, there were a lot of gestures and acting we would use, until she started to learn more ASL. She has improved so much. And now she can communicate quite well.”

Chan said learning ASL has helped her better understand the gospel and the scriptures and have more meaningful experiences in the house of the Lord.

“Now that I know ASL, I can understand the temple ordinances better,” she said.

Leading Others to the Gospel

Learning ASL also inspired Chan to create resources to help others who are Chinese and deaf learn about the gospel. Chan explained that some religious words have been lost in Chinese Sign Language because they aren’t practiced often, so some religious concepts can be difficult to understand, such as church and baptism.

One resource she made is a booklet of gospel-related signs in Chinese Sign Language and how they relate to ASL signs. Chan has also made videos of herself demonstrating ASL signs for gospel vocabulary with English and Chinese captions.

Chan’s efforts have led several of her friends who are deaf to the gospel of Jesus Christ. She has also shared these resources with missionaries and members to help them learn ASL.

Pugh added: “She also has deaf friends in other places such as the Philippines, Taiwan and Korea and has shared the gospel with them as well as in her hometown.”

Chan said she desires to help people who are deaf because “that’s something the Savior would do.”

“I really have a vision of Jesus Christ,” she said. “He tells me one of my responsibilities is to help other people learn the gospel. He gives me the information, and I’m able to share it with others by teaching and helping them. …

“God loves His children and He wants me to be active in His work, sharing the gospel and sharing that it’s a happy message,” she continued. “God loves all of us. The gospel of Jesus Christ can make us happy.”

‘The Power of One’

Where Chan used to be the only Latter-day Saint who is deaf in her area of Hong Kong, now there are several members who are deaf and meet together often.

Rick E. Jensen, the Church’s North America ASL coordinator and adviser, said Chan is “a modern-day pioneer.” He first met Chan when she registered for the ASL adult religion class, and he introduced her to Pugh.

Jensen said like his pioneer ancestors, Chan recognized truth and followed it. “She felt inspired, she knew it was true, and she had the faith to move forward. It took a lot of faith and action on her part, but because of her willingness to be involved and follow that faith, she is blessing the lives of many other people.

“And you see the same with our Church history stories. She is a modern-day Church history story,” he said.

Elder Peter M. Johnson, a General Authority Seventy who serves as chairperson of the Church’s ASL Board of Accessibility, described Chan’s story as “the power of one sharing the gospel in her own language and culture.”

He added: “Each one of us can be that one who can make an eternal difference in the lives of others. Please be that one using your language, culture and gifts that the Lord has given you.”

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