Day 5 Finishing Strong!

In our devotions this morning, Bob Rhine reminded all of us that it is important that we finish strong.  You can decide if we did.

Today was our last day to distribute wheelchairs.  We saw about 12 patients in the morning.  I cannot put pictures on today.  Perhaps when I get home, I can add some.

Several of the patients today were children.  They and their families usually bring much joy to our site.  Today was no exception.  Elaine had a little girl with a cerebral palsy and her family had a special request.  They wanted a wheelchair with a bar across the front of the chair for her to hold on to and to keep her in the chair.  Jill said in all of her 20-some WFTW trips, she has NEVER seen a wheelchair with a bar across the front.  She knew that in the USA, therapists occasionally have such a bar put on a chair, but those chairs just don't seem to ever get on a "Wheels" trip.  Elaine and her group visited with the family a bit, then they prayed that the Lord would provide a wheelchair with a bar and a wheelchair that would fit this child.
Now remember, this is the very last day -- all the "good" chairs are gone.  Very few chairs are even left in the pediatric chair tent.  Doug and Elaine walked in to that tent.  There in front of them was a pediatric wheelchair with a bar across the front!!  The other measurements were a good fit for this child!!  There were some adjustments that the mechanics had to make to get the bar in the right place, but with God's help, our mechanics are constantly working wonders!!  When the adjustments were done, the chair fit perfectly.  The father said, "It is truly a miracle."  At the Evangelism Station, both parents prayed to repent and receive Christ.  What could be a better ending to our 5 days of wheelchair distribution.

This miracle of the perfect chair is something we marvel at every day of this distribution.  Being a Wheels Chair Corps person who now collects chairs, I am aware how long they sit in my garage before going to a central site.  At the central site, once 200 chairs are collected, WalMart or FedEx sends a tractor trailer to pick them up.  Volunteers load the chairs into the truck which then takes them free of charge to a prison.  There the prisoners take several months to rehab the chairs. They replace damaged upholstery, fix brakes and tilt-in-space mechanisms, etc.   Some of the chairs are in very bad shape and are sacrificed for parts.  When the prison finally has enough rehabbed chairs (200 or more), they contact Joni And Friends (JAF).  A container is then sent to the prison and the prisoners load it for shipment overseas.  JAF organizes a team of therapists, mechanics, and support people to go to the country where the shipment is sent.  That team, like our team in the Ukraine, then fits the people with wheelchairs and shares the Gospel with them thru our actions and love as well as at the Evangelism Station.  From the time a chair is donated until it reaches the distribution site, more than 100 hands have touched it.  The whole process usually takes 3 years!  So three years ago, God knew that we would be in Khmelnitsky this week.  He knew that little girl would be coming to us and have need of a wheelchair with a seat bar.  And HE and HE ALONE orchestrated the whole event!!  I can only encourage you to come with us so you, too, can see God at work and be part of this.

After the patients had all been fitted with chairs, we had a wonderful "good-bye" luncheon with our interpreters right there at the Light of the World Church!  The ladies of that church have spoiled us all week long with an amazing feast at lunch time and today they outdid themselves.  It is going to be very hard to say good by to the precious brothers and sisters we have been working with all week.  I hope we can return here soon.  This church is a superb base from which to work.  They have a camp in the summer for disabled children and outreach to the disabled around them.  This week showed them even more things that they can do and they are eager to expand their disabilities ministry.

The luncheon closed with thanks from Dr. Igor who scheduled the patients we saw and a prayer for us by the senior pastor at the church.  Then we did an inventory of the remaining chairs and supplies.  Dave reported that during the week, we saw 144 patients and families.  400 people heard the gospel during the week.  157 prayed to repent and receive Christ as their Savior!  Hallelujah!

Now we are on our way home.  Some are flying straight to the States.  Some are staying in Warsaw, Poland for 1-3 days.  Please pray for safe journeys and good health, even after we get home.  There has been much illness this trip, although most of it was only for 12 hours.  But most team members need to jump back into their work routines when they return.  Ask the Lord to give them strength to do that.  And pray for the 157 new believers!  They need to find a good church and/or Christian friends ith whom they can fellowship and grow.  Many live in very small rural villages and will be the only Believer there.  God knows where they are.  Just as He sent the perfect wheelchair for each recipient, so He will send someone to help them grow.  It may only be the Holy Spirit, and that will be enough, but we also hope they can have some human fellowship.

So our trip has ended, but for those 157, it is just beginning...  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Day Four

It's Thursday and tomorrow is our last day of distribution. The tents and garage are thinning out as most of the wheelchairs have been matched with recipients! We are still going strong and expect great things tomorrow. We still need your prayers as we finish our time. Here are some more stories of what's been happening around here....

The P.E.T. cart is a hit!

This is a Taras (and his mom) who attend the church where we are working. He is 14 and full of personality. He needed a wheelchair, but can only propel himself with his right hand. Praise God for providing us with a right one-arm-drive wheelchair!! It only took him a minute to figure out how to drive it and then he took off around the parking lot with Mama trying to keep up. He also received a P. E. T. cart that he could actually drive with both hands. He told us he really liked his chair and was glad to be more independent.

Yulia, showing off her new chair and accessories

Yulia is 12 years old and is unable to walk on her own. She didn't have a wheelchair when she came to us, but we found a small chair that fit her and a butterfly cushion to go with it. The moment she sat it in she was trying to push herself around, but the appointment wasn't finished. When we finally let her go, she took off and said, "Look at me with all my stuff! I'm like a princess. I'm such a beauty!"

Talking to Cindy, the therapist

Artiom, 10 yrs, was brought in by his mother Natasha and needed a wheelchair that fit him. She described to us the difficulties of being a single mother raising 3 children, one with disabilities. The chair we found for him will allow him to sit up and feel secure.  Both he and his mother loved the chair and were surprised by the quality of it and by the kindness of the group. She wants to stay in touch and was interested in visiting the church in the future. Pray for the Lord's continued work in Natasha and Artiom's life.  

Preparing the chair

Please pray for perseverance and strength in these last days of our trip. We appreciate it!

More of Day 3

Mike and Norma King leaving to visit an orphanage and a home for children with cerebral palsy.  They delivered care packages and lots of love.

Irena, age 14, who received a P.E.T. cart to travel around the neighborhood and a wheelchair for everywhere else.  She loved her new freedom.












Sophia, age 4, with cerebral palsy walking with a walker that was cut down from an adult-sized walker by our amazing mechanics.

Distribution Day 3

The experiences we had today are beyond description. God is at work and He is allowing us to participate in what He is doing! The young lady in the pink jacket (Anastasia) has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or effectively use her right arm. She has a beautiful smile and was eager to operate the wheelchair that was fitted for her. She said: "Now I can move on my own; now I can get away from my mother!"  The gentleman in the wheelchair (Vasyl) with his granddaughter, said that he had never experienced such kindness from others before. Terri, Bobby and Toby.

PRAYER ALERT

7 people on the team are dealing with sickness.  We urgently need your fervent prayers for healing, wisdom and strength so that we can continue the work ahead.  There are many more people scheduled to come to the distribution site over the next three days.  We also need to make two visits to elderly homes, a visit to two different hospitals and delivery of care packages to a school and a home for disabled children.

Sincere thanks! 

Wheelchair Distribution Day 1 & 2

Wheelchair distribution has begun.  The wonderful ladies at Light of the World Pentecostal Church fortified us with borscht to give us energy for the busy day ahead.

We set up our base of operations in the church parking lot.  We have six stations where our teams of therapist, mechanic, support person and interpreter individually fit each person who comes for a wheelchair. 

This is Olga with therapist Jill and Dr. Igor. Olga has had muscular dystrophy since she was 12.  She is 36 and has never had a wheelchair before.

 Our interpreters are always in great demand-that is Marina running in the background.



























This is Jill holding Bogdan, a 16 year old boy with spina bifida and hydocephalus.  His name means "given by God" and he is a sweet miracle boy.   He has never had a wheelchair and his father has always carried him everywhere.  We were able to fit him with a perfect chair and now Papa can push him and Bogdan can be more independent.

This is Maria, a 70 year old babushka (grandmother).  Pat is showering her with love and gifts.  Maria is very happy to be able to return to her church now that she has a wheelchair.




 
Stepan is an 86 year old man who lives in a home for the elderly.  He had a clunker of a chair and he tipped it backwards and fell on his head 3 times (ouch!) because of the imbalance caused by having only one leg. We were able to give him a chair that would not tip backwards and he could safely propel it by himself.

When Stepan was 16 he was kidnapped by the Nazis and forced to shovel coal for trains during WWII.  70 years later he still weeps when he tells of the trauma and fear he experienced.









 41 year old Pavlo has never had a chair and either crawled on the floor or was carried by his elderly mother.  As you can see his was very happy with his new chair.











 This is 6 year old Dasha, who has a genetic disorder and is unable to walk.  She was given a wheelchair and a PET cart, which is a sort of arm bike.










The end of day 2.  Carolyn gets the coveted Gumby award for flexibility and Sergey gets the self explanatory Pokey award.
 




 

God has been good and has been working through us during these first 2 days.  57 people received mobility equipment.  175 people heard the gospel and 80 people prayed to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior!  PRAISE GOD.

Thank you all for your prayers.  Don't stop!  We need more for the days to come.

By Carolyn Costello on Tuesday 9-11-12

A Wonderful Sabbath

We are experiencing some difficulty getting connected to the Internet.  Those of us who have had success, either find the characters on the screen have all turned to Ukrainian which we can't decipher or the blog says we don't have permission to make our entries.  So please bear with us while we try to get the quirks worked out so that you can be abreast of our prayer concerns and join us in giving thanks to God for His answers.

We had the wonderful blessing of worshiping today at the host church for the wheelchair distribution.  Three men preached from the Word, including our own team member, Bob Trierweiler.  In between sermons we shared about our upcoming week of ministry.  Then we had the congregation join us in singing Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art in Ukrainian while we sang in English.  They had several instruments to enhance our efforts which made for a glorious sound of praise.  It was a unique experience that left each of us more prepared for the work ahead.

Following the service the team divided into groups and were served lunch in the homes of 7 different families. Everyone was over-fed with delicious home-cooked food and thoroughly enjoyed getting better acquainted with our new friends in Christ.  Many of us were able to share about our relationships with Christ and hear their accounts of faith proven by imprisonment and persecution during the years of Communist control.  We left with renewed assurance that God can be trusted with our lives even if it means we may endure hardship.  

The rest of the afternoon was spent repairing the wheelchairs that were damaged during shipment, organizing all of our supplies and gaining instruction in the roles we are to begin tomorrow. 

We appreciate your prayers.  As Donna Outt wrote, "now please pray continually for our team, for unity, for safety, for good health.  The wheelchair is just a tool used to bring the disabled to us with their family so we can share the good news that Jesus loves them and paid the ultimate price for THEM!  Ask the Lord to open their eyes and hearts and to let us be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we get to custom-fit their wheelchair and share the Greatest Story Ever Told!"

Safe Arrival

The team for the September Ukraine wheelchair distribution has safely arrived and the setup has begun! We have 180 chairs unwrapped, cleaned and organized ready for distribution starting Monday! We want to thank the families who donated them, the inmates who refurbished them, and all those who prayed over them before they arrived. God has connected us to a wonderful host church who is providing the space for this distribution and we're grateful for their hospitality. 

This morning we discussed how people with disabilities play an important role in the body of Christ. Our co-leader Jill emphasized how God's glory is displayed through their lives and their suffering and we feel privileged to take part in their stories this week.

Tomorrow we will be worshiping with the host church and finishing our preparations for the week. Please pray for unity and strength for our group and for a great start.

Toby Hopper on Saturday evening 9-8-12

PRAYER REQUESTS

As the Ukraine wheelchair team prepares to serve in Khmelnitskiy September 6-16, 2012, we would ask for your faithful prayer support in regards to the following:

• For the distribution church as they schedule wheelchair recipients and recruit National volunteers to prepare our meals, register clients and serve as evangelists.
• For our team leaders to have the heart and mind of Christ.
• For protection, physical stamina, safety and health as we work and travel 
• For unity among our team and the Ukrainian volunteers
• For wisdom, discernment and sensitivity to be led by the Holy Spirit.
• For our interpreters and evangelists to effectively communicate the Gospel.
• For ample supplies, Ukrainian Bibles and Joni DVDs for each recipient.
• For the provision and protection of our family members remaining at home.
• That God will be glorified in everything we do.
• That our hearts will be humble and submitted to Him .
• That God will be preparing hearts to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
• That new believers would continue to grow in Christ after the "Wheels" team returns home.