2004 - Summer (Vol. 8, No. 1)

International Occupational Therapists For Christ

Newsletter: Volume 8, Number 1, Summer, 2004
 A publication of International Occupational Therapists for Christ, PO Box 3291, Greenville, NC 27836
www.otforChrist.org, E-mail: otfc@otforChrist.org

IOTFC Update

The IOTFC Board met on July 10, 2004 to review progress and chart future efforts.  Among decisions were included:

1. Initiate contacts with students &/or faculty of occupational therapy programs to encourage believing students to approach the profession from a Christian perspective & provide mutual support and information about IOTFC.
2. Strengthen our e-mail contacts with OTs who affiliate with IOTFC.
3. Continue efforts to increase knowledge & participation in IOTFC & update our web site.

Our Stewardship Report

IOTFC is successful at being a nonprofit organization, possibly too successful. Contributions have not met our expenses for two years despite our efforts at frugal Godly Stewardship. We continue to thank the Lord for all of your prayers & assistance with our mission.

2003 Financial Report - Summary

Help IOTFC serve you better

1. Unblock the IOTFC web site & e-mail if you use filtering systems. IOTFC data on sexual abstinence & sex education may cause it to be blocked.
2. Complete & mail the enclosed data form including your e-mail address & comments. This will keep you on our mailing list and permit us to serve you more effectively.
3. Pray for IOTFC & seriously consider your financial contribution to IOTFC to help defray our costs & include it with your information form.
4. Let others know of your passion. E-mail us a brief description of your experience meeting patients’ spiritual needs, mission experience or review of a topic, article or book. Others would like to know.

How’s The Harvest?
Letters from the Field

From Central Asia

Dear Carol,

I got your letter just two days before we were scheduled to fly out to England on our return to central Asia for our second trip. The day I got your email I was busy finishing up packing and finishing up the last minute details for picking up and learning how to adjust the straps on a pair of prostheses for a 6 year old girl featured in a Guide post article in Spring of 03. Also, the local paper in Asheville gave us a full article on the story, even front-page picture of my wife and I. So I was busy.

Now we are in Bournemouth in the South Center coast of England for my wife to take an intense course in teaching TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language), 11 to 12 hours a day including homework. But an excellent course from a believer’s perspective. Then on the 27th we fly back to teach English there. This will be our second term there. We absolutely loved the first 6 months last year and look forward to the next 7 months.

Opportunities to do O. T. are unlimited. One foreign prosthesis maker (Christian) has an OT and PT room to do therapy but there are only two of us in the whole country and we can only give four afternoons a week to it. There is supposed to be 40,000 CP children and no therapy for them. no positioning devices, etc. What to do???

Anyway, I am CCing this letter to the President of IOTFC and the Treasurer as well. Their current emails are correct as of my last contact. If you know of some pediatric OTs who want to see part of the world and get a glimpse of what can be done in a foreign culture and have opportunities to share their faith after relationships have been built, this part of the world is needy and never had the opportunity to hear. We can arrange a place for therapists to stay and provide most of food costs once they are in country. It does require a visa of $75 and in country documentation will be taken care of once people are there. Orientation will be provided for all who come.

Forgive me for rambling but I am so excited about doing God’s work at 64 years of age and to know He has some things out there in His world where I can use my OT skills. Even an Assistant at that, no medical orders, no mandatory evals. I am it. So I do what I can with the skills I have.

Sincerely Ernie

(Additional note received 3/7/04) Today I meet with a professor of one of our students, he is s/p hip fracture, and a PT sent me some treatment ideas for him to strengthen his hip muscles to allow him to climb stairs without a cane. Friday I meet with a 11 year old girl who has one leg shorter than the other to see what I might recommend for her. I am being stretched beyond my Assistants status but I know my limits and know when to ask for help. If any OTs out there could come over and help us for 2 to 3 weeks at a time, It would be great. We have an extra bed room, can make all the visa arrangements, provide translation help etc. We will be here until mid June, and back again in November for another year of teaching English to University students. We love it here, nothing more fulfilling than being in the center of God's will.

From Peru

December 2003
Greetings!!

I have been meaning for quite some time to sit down to write about the many, many blessings I experienced while in Peru this past August. I am finally getting to share about how the Lord showed Himself in such a wonderful way during our Wheels for the World trip. I guess it is fitting to share this at Christmas time, when we also set aside time to remember how the Lord chose to reveal Himself to the world through the birth of His son.

While I was in Peru I did keep a Journal to help me remember the details of all that happened. As we get older it can become harder to remember things, so writing things down can be a useful compensatory technique. Unfortunately, as I am now sitting down to write to you, I cannot find my Journal!! So much for the compensatory technique! I will have to rely on my memory after all. Thankfully there were many moments that the Lord has impressed in my memory.

There were 19 people from the US on our Team. As some of you may recall, one of my prayer requests before we left was our concern that there were only 4 therapists on the Team. We knew we had about 360 wheelchairs to do the seating for and the last time I was in Peru we had that same number of wheelchairs but 7 therapists to do the fitting. Before the trip, our Team Leader was praying for the Lord to send additional therapists for the Team, but no more volunteered. He could not understand why. But this was one way that the Lord used to move the Wheels for the World Outreach in Peru to a new phase. The Lord knew we needed a push to do more training of Peruvian therapists and to incorporate them more in the wheelchair distribution and this is how He chose to do it. And as can be expected when it’s God’s plan, it worked, and God was glorified! What was impossible for our US Team to do alone, God provided His own answer to the prayer. Wheelchair seating and positioning is something Peruvian therapists study in school, but ordinarily they have little opportunity to actually practice due to the shortage of wheelchairs in Peru. As a result of this Outreach, many therapists had an opportunity to get “hands on” training which they will also be able to use in the future. One of the Peruvian therapists even prayed to receive the Lord during our time there. Praise the Lord!

Due to our shortage of therapists, and the need to be training Peruvian therapists while we actually doing the seating with the wheelchair recipients, it was an extremely busy trip. Upon our return from Peru, our Team Leader called this trip the most “grueling” one he has ever had in his 7 trips to Peru. We worked very hard and had very long hours. Wheelchairs are shipped and appointments are scheduled for people to come to the Wheelchair Distribution, long before they know how many therapists are going to actually be on the Team. The wheelchair recipients and their families often have to come long distances to get to the Distribution site. On Friday, the first day of our Distribution in Lima, we were so far behind and had so many people who had appointments still waiting, that our Peruvian leaders were concerned that we would never be able to finish all the people. As a result, they had us all stop at around 3 pm to pray together about what to do. Specific prayers were offered that we would be able to finish doing the wheelchairs for that day by 8 pm. By God’s grace, a miracle occurred and we were able to finish all the people that day by 8 pm. We then got back to our hotel by about 9:15 pm, had dinner about 9:30 pm and then off to bed. The next morning we had our Team devotions at 6:30 am, breakfast at 7 am, and on the bus to the Wheelchair Outreach again by 7:45 am. It made for very short nights!

Saturday was also a very busy day doing the Wheelchair Distribution. Sunday we were blessed with a day of rest to go to a very special worship service in a poor area of Lima and visit with a community of disabled people. On Sunday night, we were informed that even more people had been scheduled for Monday’s Wheelchair Distribution than on Friday or Saturday. We were very concerned about how we could possibly do even more on Monday. Our Team prayed together that night and by God’s grace, what we thought would be just an impossible day, the Lord turned into our easiest day! By Monday, some of the Peruvian therapists that we had been training on Friday and Saturday were able to work a little more independently to do their own fitting of the wheelchairs and that really helped! The Lord is faithful!

On Tuesday, I was scheduled to do some “home visits” to do the wheelchair seating for recipients who were unable to come to the Distribution site. The folks I ended up seeing for these home visits, definitely could not get out to the Distribution site. Our first stop was at a Women’s Minimum Security Prison and our second stop was at the Maximum Security Prison. Both were very interesting. Not exactly your typical tourist destinations in Peru! At the Maximum Security Prison, the woman I gave a wheelchair to was in a cell block where most of the women were incarcerated for terrorism. She had been injured 11 years ago while being tortured after being captured as a terrorist. The dogs they had guarding that cell block were exceptionally ferocious and looked and sounded like they would eat you alive if you went near the fence. They would definitely be a deterrent to me if I were trying to escape!

Our last home visit that day was to see a young mother in her 30’s with severe rheumatoid arthritis who had been unable to get out of her house in over 10 years. When we finally got to her house, I could see why she had not been able to get out and truly did not see any way that she would ever be able to get out of her house again. She lived in a house among many houses perched on the side of the hill. There was no road to the house. We had to climb up a steep and rocky path with many narrow steps which at times went right through other people’s houses to get to the next level of homes on the hillside. It would be very difficult and unsafe to try to carry her down the hillside either in a wheelchair or on a stretcher. We were wondering how we were even going to carry the empty wheelchair up the hillside, but fortunately one of her relatives, just picked up the w/c from our van and carried it up by himself. We were amazed! She was very grateful to get the wheelchair that will at least give her a little mobility and definitely more safety inside her home. This woman was already a Christian and praised the Lord for providing her this wheelchair.

Our second week in Peru, our Team split up into 3 smaller Teams and flew to 3 different cities. I went to Arequipa which is a smaller city which sits in the shadow of a sleeping volcano. Thankfully, the pace was a little slower in Arequipa and we even got to do a little sightseeing one afternoon after we finished doing all the wheelchairs. The Lord did some amazing things in providing just the right wheelchairs for people even though they were very unusual sizes, shapes, or features that were needed. I wish I could tell you of those stories too, but I know you have other things to do besides reading this now very long letter…

I did save the best thing to last, to tell you. The best part of this very busy and often tiring trip was how God used a simple thing such as a wheelchair to draw people to Himself and to soften and change hearts. While we were there, 361 wheelchairs were fitted, and people also received 47 walkers, 25 canes and 35 pairs of crutches. (Don’t worry, I had these statistics written down separately from my journal, so I am not trying to pull them out of my memory!) Each recipient was also given a Bible. While our US Team was busy measuring, fitting, adapting, and modifying the wheelchairs, walkers, etc., the Peruvian volunteers (among other things) had evangelists who spoke individually with each wheelchair recipient and their families to share the Gospel. The response was overwhelming! 390 people prayed to receive the Lord for the first time. 11 people made recommitments to the Lord and 88 of the people were already Christians. To God be the glory, great things He has done!!

My sincere thanks to all of you who prayed for us while we were in Peru. The Lord did keep us safe and relatively healthy while we were there. Only one person had a bout with stomach problems and one with skin problems while we were there. I hope that you will rejoice in hearing how the Lord answered your prayers. Many thanks for your important role in what was done in Peru. Please continue to pray for these new believers as the local Peruvian churches follow up in discipling them.

I pray that you will have a wonderful Christmas as we celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior.  Blessings to you.

In His love, Linda

Scripture Changed Lives
The following letter was received by an O. T. faculty member and was shared with us by a colleague with permission of the author and recipient. Information identifying the individuals was altered as Paul said “so that no man can boast.”

May 2003
Dear Professor Jones,

This is a long over due “thank you” to you for the compassion you showed to me about twelve years ago. In the spring semester of 1991 I was a junior O. T. student. February 13, 1991 my dad suffered from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. The following day he underwent surgery to repair the ruptured vessel and clamp another that was on the verge of rupture. Needless to say I was overwhelmed by shock and uncertainty. My world changed in an instant.

My dad was only 50 years old at the time. My mom began to look to me a 21-year-old college student, for support. My younger sister and I were not very close at the time. My mom and dad live in Centerville and my dad was in the hospital. He was there for three weeks and then discharged home to my mom’s care with no assistance or rehabilitation plans. The initial time at home was very tough for my parents. My dad exhibited minimal physical limitations, but cognitively, oh my!!! Disorientation, poor memory and so on. At the time, I really did not know how to help him. Home or outpatient speech therapy had been recommended by the SLP at the hospital but the physician did not order either. My dad never received an O. T. evaluation. During his recovery I attempted two or three times to obtain a physician’s order for rehabilitation evaluation but never received an order. I was feeling helpless, frustrated, angry and overwhelmed daily.

Well through all of this, I remained in the O. T. program making trips to the hospital and home as often as I could. The O. T. faculty was very sympathetic and frequently expressed concern for me and my family. However, Dr. Jones, I will never forget your specific act of kindness. You see, at the time I was not a Christian. One day during gross anatomy you gave me a list of Scripture references to give me hope and comfort. At the time I was touched but was not even remotely close to God and honestly did not even know how to spell some of the references. Oh, I believed in God and even prayed for my dad but I know now that it was not my prayers that were heard.

Well, He hears me now. On March 30, 1995 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I know that you were one of those sowers who planted a seed in my heart and mind several years ago. I still have that index card that I jotted those Scripture references on more than twelve years ago. I thank you for sharing your faith with me and showing Christian love and compassion to someone you did not know. You are special to me and to the Lord.

Here’s an update on my life since those college days. My husband, David, and I have been married for nine years. He and I were baptized together on Easter Sunday, April 15, 1995. We have two daughters and are expecting our third child in July. We are living near mom and are enjoying serving the Lord in our home raising our children and in our church. I am a stay-at-home mom. My dad is doing relatively well. He never returned to work and was able to retire early. Physically he’s fine but he continues to exhibit cognitive impairments. And his personality is just not the same. Back in ’91 one of my friends said to me that I should be thankful that he is alive. Well at the time, and even now at times I feel as if he died that day in February 1991. He’s just not the same. However, I do thank God for allowing him to live because in 1998 my dad accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. I thank God for his grace and mercy and for giving my dad eternal life.

I know that this has been pretty lengthy and I am sorry if I have rambled on, but I have had intentions of writing to you for some time. The Lord just kept prodding me to write and then I met a colleague of yours at a conference recently and she shared your address with me. I hope you and your family are doing well, and again I thank you so much, Professor Jones!

With appreciation and love in Christ,
Susan Smith O. T. class of 93

”So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding [in the matter] for which I sent it.”
Isaiah, 55: 11, NASB