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.
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