Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

On the last day of the 2006 outreach in Trujillo, the mother of one of the Peruvian volunteers came to our team for a walker. Elderly and disabled from the affects of diabetes, Irma received the gift of mobility. Then, she prayed with us, asking the Lord Jesus Christ to fill her heart with His Spirit. I will never forget the privilege and joy of sharing that moment!

Even as I have savored the surprise God had for us, I have prayed for Irma throughout the year; I have prayed that she would grow in her love for Jesus Christ and in her love for God’s Word. When the door opened for me to return to Trujillo, I hoped I would see her again.

It was, therefore, with great joy and thanksgiving that I greeted Irma on Thursday- exactly one year from our first meeting. She had come to receive a wheelchair. Although she is on dialysis and losing her sight, her joy shone brightly. I knelt beside her. “I have prayed all year that you would return”, she told me through an interpreter. “I wanted to see you again.”

“And I have prayed for you, Irma”, I replied. “I have prayed that you would grow in your love for Jesus Christ and in your love for God’s Word.” I paused for a moment and smiled. “Well, I have returned”, I said.

Irma’s daughter had joined our reunion and was standing behind me. She replied, “And my mother has opened her home for people to gather for prayer and to study God’s Word.” Tears of joy and thanksgiving welled up in our eyes as we realized that Almighty God had been at work, even as we had prayed.

I do not understand how prayer works; I do not understand how prayers become as a beautiful aroma to our God, nor how the pleadings of our hearts presented before the throne of the King of Kings fit into His sovereign plan. But I do understand that God works though prayer, transforming the hearts and minds of His people.

As Zenie fitted Irma for her wheelchair, the familiar words of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 came to mind:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary afflictions are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, while we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporal, but what is unseen is eternal.”
We encouraged each other with these words. Our conversation turned towards heaven, when one day there will be no need for interpreters or wheelchairs or partings. With this hope before us, we again joined together in prayer.

In faithfulness, may we continue to pray…
- Nancy

Jill's Thanksgiving

As I reflect on all the things that transpired during our short time in Trujillo, my mind swirls with memories. Praise wells up in my heart for how God answered so many prayers and made His presence clear on so many occasions. And to think...for all those moments it was obvious, there were uncountable times that He was at work without our even being aware. We have such a GREAT BIG WONDERFUL LOVING Father God. What a privilege it is to be His ambassador.

Some of the things I am most grateful for is the way God unified us as a team and allowed us to be open and honest with each other. He provided just the right people to accomplish what He had purposed. At the last minute, the Peruvian translator that was to join our team became ill and had to be replaced by Cecilia. She was a God-ordained addition to our team that we almost forfeited because of her additional airfare. Besides helping us to communicate and understand the Peruvian culture, Cecilia was full of energy and her background in business administration was a huge help to Richard and me in many of the finanical and organizational matters we had to address.

God encouraged our team to serve one another and to be prayful throughout the stresses of each day. Thank God for the health, stamina and safety He provided. We experienced favor in the airports without any lost luggage, in averting the midnight mob, as well as not incurring any penalties for our heavy baggage full of supplies.

One of my biggest reliefs as a first-time leader was getting through the church services and Opening Ceremonies where we were obligated to speak on behalf of Joni and Friends, mingle with dignitaries, provide a slide presentation and give television interviews. Thank God for Earle's willingness to share at both church services about his son, Nick. And what a blessing to participate in the church where the founder, Burt Elliott (Jim Elliott's brother), was celebrating his 80th birthday.
I've never sensed God's annointing quite like when the Holy Spirit prompted me to do a spontaneous narration of last year's picture show during that service. I'm so grateful for His empowering as well as His covering when we blunder. I did that quite frequently among the dignitaries that Corazones Unidos was so pleased to have in attendance at the Opening Ceremonies. The local, regional and state governors were present as well as media coverage by 3 national TV stations. Even though I had to ask them who they were (just one of my blunders!), God greatly impacted these dignitaries' hearts with the work of Wheels for the World. The Governor of Huanchaco even returned for our Closing Despadito bearing gifts for each of us.


The actual distribution itself was full of hard work and long hours of adapting chairs to meet individual needs. One late night our energy was revived by the "cockroach dance" that was needed to clear our work area of the infestation from an old chair we were attempting to refurbish. Gabi, a 13 year young lady with cerebral palsy, received one of those lengthy wheelchair modifications.
She was so pleased to have the stability in her new chair to show us how she could write with her mouth like Joni. Her special request was for Joni's book as Gabi loves to read. It was our joy to give her one of Joni's books about dealing with the challenges of life through the power of Jesus Christ.


As you can tell, there are many stories I could relate, but my high point occured on the last day of distribution. One of our primary objetives in addition to sharing Jesus Christ with those affected by disability was to provide training to the volunteers of Corazones Unidos so they can carry on the ministry themselves. It was disappointing to only have one seating specialist among the 81 volunteers...and then to learn that she had only just completed her training as a physical therapy assistant and did not even know Jesus Christ as her Savior. Since she missed the first day devoted to training, I kept Milagros at my side most of the distribution. Cecelia had a big job of translating my problem solving approach for each seating evaluation. Cecilia found time, however, to share with Milagros throughout the week about her relationship with Jesus. We included Milagros in our times of prayer at the beginning of each day as well as before and after fitting each wheelchair recipient. On the last day of distribution I asked my station which included a Peruvian mechanic, Peruvian support person, Cecelia and Milagros to pray instead of only me. To my amazement, Milagros also prayed. The other Peruvians seemed to rouse in agreement with her prayer, although I could not understand their Spanish. Aterward I asked Cecilia what was going on. Praise God...Milagros had never witnessed anyone giving without expecting in return. She was so grateful to learn more about God and wanted to accept Him into her heart.
Of course, we quickly rejoiced and shared more fully with Milagros. It was a joy to have a new sister in Christ! We were able to connect her with the volunteers in Counselling, provide her with a Spanish Bible and encourage her to grow in her new found faith in Christ. We trust this will be the beginning of providing more seating specialists to assit Corazones Unidos in their ongoing ministry.

In addition to Milagros having her name written in the Lamb's Book of Life, 652 became new believers throughout Peru from the WFTW outreaches in Lima, Arequipa and Trujillo. Our records show that we served the families of 134 adults and 15 children in Trujillo by providing a wheelchair, walker, crutches or cane. Of those, 347 went through evangelistic counseling. 130 received God's gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, 16 recommitted their lives to Jesus and 73 were already born-again Christians. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!! May God establish each one in His Truth and use the wonderful volunteers of Corazones Unidos to disciple these believers.

----from Jill, with thanksgiving

TEARS

Yesterday, Sunday, November 18, I spoke about JAF, WFTW and the Trujillo, Peru,
outreach at a very small Christian Church in Lakin, the small town in Kansas where I
grew up. It's a little more than 20 miles from Garden City where we live. I speak at this church fairly often and had agreed to speak on this date back in late September or early October, planning to talk about the Peru trip.
I felt my usual resistance to preparing to speak before people and did most of it at the last minute. When I got up to speak I first read the scripture passage that Melinda used in devotions on Saturday morning from Luke 5: 17-26. I began to tell about Joni, JAF, WFTW, etc and then told our family history of experience with them. I got to the part where I was saying that my first knowledge of WFTW came from a newsletter that described a boy or young man with cerebral palsy in some country who had no way to get around. He had to get somewhere for some reason and had to crawl through the dust and was made fun of by some children. I said I didn't want my son Nick to experience that!
When I said that, I burst into tears, which was very unexpected by me and the people hearing me. It is very unusual for me to cry, and I have never cried about anything when I have spoken in front of people. It took me awhile to get under control so I could finish what I had to say. I do know that there were some people in that group who were affected by what I said in a way they have never before been affected by anything from me before. Earle

Mob Mentality

Coming through the airport in Lima, I became swept up in the closest thing to a mob I have ever been in.

Late night, long lines, inches away from the final security check point, and then everyone was redirected past the long line they just stood in, to a desk about 15 feet long. When approximately 200 people swarm around a fifteen foot long desk, yelling, shoving passports in faces, and pushing through the crowd, you begin to look around for any potential trigger that could turn the sparks into an explosion.

Airports are already a place of tension: signs that say "Jokes aren't funny", delays, lines, prices of food, miles of corridors to walk between ticketing and departure gate, carry-on-bags that will leave your shoulders mismatched for years to come. Oh, and yes, how could I forget the now standard Plexiglas crates of all forbidden items: combustibles, fire arms, knives, and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of nail files.

And so there I stood in the middle of a newly remodeled airport, surrounded by people waving every color of passport, wondering if mobs are legitimate reasons to miss a connecting flight.

And so I did what seemed most natural: I began to sing.

Amazing Grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost
But now am found
Twas blind but now I see

In the middle of a crowd of angry people, one lone, soft voice does not carry far. But the words went far enough, for I heard them.

And then I could talk calmly to the man pushing his way in front of me and I could look in the eyes of the woman panicking before me and I could tell the man at the desk that the passport he now held belonged to the person standing on the other side.

Perhaps it made no difference. After all, no one pulled back to help the woman who tumbled to the floor. And the words which should have been kind were more often shouted than soothed.

But I guess mobs are like that. And then that sudden quiet and wary confusion after the crowd is no longer a hair's breadth away from being a mob but a business man on his way home or a grandmother traveling to pinch cheeks.

Amazing grace, how sweet, sweet, sweet the sound.

~Rebecca

A Royal Gift

As we unpacked the wheelchairs, my eyes caught the sight of a purple pediatric chair. Complete with brightly colored dinosaur upholstery and awning, and a stroller-like base, I wondered who God had planned this gift for. I did not have to wait long…

On the first day of distribution, a weary grandmother carried a small three year-old girl towards us. They were dressed in their finest, and I sensed the guarded hope in the eyes of both.
The little girl’s name was Milagros, which means “miracle”. As I gathered her into my arms, I prayed that God would provide miraculous gifts for her, physically and spiritually.

Richard and I scanned the available chairs, and my eyes were again drawn to the purple one. We checked it over, amazed at the adaptability that would allow for growth and functional assistance, and prepared ourselves for the modification process.
But when I placed Milagros in this chair, the only components needing adjustment were the headrest and straps! Hope turned to joy as we explained all the adaptable features, including the awning that Milagros' grandmother said would allow her to take her granddaughter for a walk in the park.
If one photo is worth a thousand words, these should speak volumes. How can it be that the King of the universe also cares for the least among us? The provision of this wheelchair was a tangible reminder of the specific care He provides and the love He lavishes on each of us.
Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles, you display your power among the peoples. Psalm 77:13-14

A Tale of Two Travelers- Part 3

The WFTW Trujillo team and boxes containing the three-wheeler (Sanctus 358i) traveled to Trujillo on Saturday, 11/3, without complications or additional fees. I so appreciated the support given by our team members as we made our way to our final destination. In Trujillo, we received warm greetings by our friends from Corazones Unidos. Sanctus 358i was hoisted atop the van as the welcoming praise band played the music of the Andes I had come to love last year.

One of the wonderful surprises God had for us on this trip was Malu, the Peruvian physical therapist from Lima. With her professional skill and big smile, she quickly became an integral team member. She assisted me in assembling the three-wheeler and was among the first to ride it in Peru.

Sanctus 358i was presented to Corazones Unidos/ Trujillo at the opening ceremony on Tuesday. As time permitted throughout the rest of the week, various team members (both Peruvian and American) had fun trying the three-wheeler. I especially enjoyed watching Ricardo, a Peruvian mechanic who is disabled, transfer with ease and pedal around exclaiming “Esta bien!”









We pray that God will use this three-wheeler for His glory in Trujillo.
-Nancy/ Isaiah 35:8

Revelation 21:4

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."


Many people who came to receive a wheelchair recognized God's provision and caring. This prompted a response from them. It was not uncommon to see Peruvians, N.Americans, workers, and receivers, shedding tears as they recognized that the chairs were only symbolic of God's love.

As I watched some of the fearful, hurting, stoic people with disabilities enter the work area, I was able to see a transformation take place. With the various kindness of Peruvian workers, combined with the help from us, the fear dissolved; the hurt lessened as a burden was shared; the stoicism turned to tender hearts.

In my heart, a change was occurring as well. I realized more fully that God was in the business of changing lives. Tears, those of joy, welled up and spilled over. Our God is an awesome God.
Melinda
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A Tale of Two Travelers- part 2

Last week’s schedule was such that our WFTW team often returned at night too tired to think straight enough to blog. Many have decided to debrief this week by making up for what we did not accomplish last week. So, faithful friends, keep checking this site for our entries…

Affectionately nicknamed “Sanctus 358i”, the three-wheeler that was my traveling companion to Peru was packed and ready on Friday morning, 11/2, in two boxes- one oversized and both overweight. The boxes were my checked baggage, and also contained any personal items not allowed in carry-on baggage (tools, toiletries, and the 288 trial-sized tubes of toothpaste being donated). My goal was to keep the boxes under 70 lbs, and have my one carry-on contain all other personal items needed for 10 days. Only God could accomplish that…and He did. At check-in, the boxes weighed in at 69 lbs. each and my one carry-on suitcase was reminiscent of Mary Poppins’ bag.

Chicago to Miami and Miami to Lima. After retrieving and loading the boxes onto a cart, Melinda, Zenie and I headed towards the baggage claim exit. That’s when I was intercepted by an official, who questioned and escorted me to the customs office. I took a deep breath and prayed. In answer to the many questions asked of me (thankfully, in understandable English), I produced photos of the contents and letters from both Corazones Unidos and His Wheels International stating the purpose of the three-wheeler. Still, the customs officials insisted on opening the large box. More questions arose before finally receiving clearance from customs- and without additional cost! I re-wrapped the large box with tape and headed towards the exit with determination in my steps and prayer on my lips. What a joyful relief I felt to push those boxes through the exit and be greeted by the smiling faces of the many WFTW/Peru team members who had been praying. -Nancy

Can you answer this question?

Take a good look at the picture.
Answer this question:
Why would Nancy or Melinda post a picture like this?
A. Because they didn't get to say good-bye to Donna so decided to try to intercept her at the D.C. airport
B. Because they liked the picture and wanted to share it with you
C. Because they missed their flight in Miami and had to re-route through D.C.

While A & B hold some merit, the real answer is C. (Bye, Donna!)
Yes, we were unable to make our connection in Miami although we ran to pick up luggage (Nancy), waited impatiently for my luggage which was the last on the turn around (Melinda), trudged through through agricultural customs (Melinda), revisited security (Melinda), and ended up in a line at the ticket counter trying to get on a new flight (Nancy & Melinda).

My anxious heart, so rejoicing a few hours before, was upset that my return was not going as expected. Where was the flexibility and dependence on the Lord that had characterized the trip this past week? How quickly I forgot.

God, in His infinite, loving, teaching style, allowed us to have an upgrade to First Class on the revised flight home (via D.C.) Nancy and I agreed that the decompression time was exactly what we needed. We had our own little debrief time. It was during this time that I realized that His plan is perfect and meets our needs all the time! (Not just in Peru)

I thought of the people I had just left. The ones who couldn't walk, yet rejoiced. The ones who couldn't speak, but praised Him. The ones who traveled hours, then, once again, waited hours to receive a wheelchair and meet Jesus. And, I had waited impatiently in line for five minutes so that I wouldn't be inconvenienced.

God worked in many ways and in many lives on this distribution! And, He continues to work in me.

Blessings,
Melinda
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In the beginning...

This week was filled with new beginnings.....I will add a short anecdote and picture regularly.

Jill and Richard were excellent team leaders! It was hard to imagine that this was their first time. Everything they did was to edify Jesus, whether by making a chair "just right" or holding a quick meeting to inform us of the new, up-dated schedule. The schedule changed several times a day so flexibility was a must!

This is a picture of Jill practicing the meeting so that she could explain the changes in the schedule to us once again.

We had fun, too!
Melinda
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What an incredible, wonderful, exciting, tiring day! Our last day of distribution, today, was to have been finished at 11:30am...then 12:30pm...then.....well, while some of us got back to the guesthouse around 2:30, some of us are still at the distribution site!

Today's miracles were evident to all. We had a limited supply of wheelchairs (to those of you who know about chairs....mostly standard, no footrests) and, of course, no limit in the size or severity of the person receiving the chairs. This situation put my faith to the test. How were we going to adapt the chairs in so little time, to the person's needs.

Not to worry! God showed up in His might! We didn't have to do major overhauls on the chairs, footrests showed up where we counted none last night, and all people were serviced well. That is just the physical side of things.

Spiritually??? Well....you need to return in order to read the "rest of the story".

Now we are on our way to a team fiesta with our Peruvian hosts!

CU soon,
Melinda

Translational Swiss Cheese

Normal communication at its best is like swiss cheese: It has holes. The holes are what is not understood or what is lost even before leaving the mouth of the speaker.

And, as we all know, translating adds more holes.

And if you happen to like cheese and all you get are holes, it can be quite disappointing.

So with my translating abilities ("leather" instead of "neck" and "brakes" instead of "braids") I've been giving out a lot of holey cheese.

But occasionally I can cover up one of the holes spoken, I can put a little more cheese back into the conversation. Of course, no one realizes the shifting holes but me, but that is probably a good thing: no one wants to eat cheese that moves.

~Rebecca

Weak, but He is Strong!

My every intention was to add pictures and entries on a daily basis during this WFTW Outreach. Time and energy have not permitted that, but our team is comforted in knowing we have supporters back home who are lifting us in prayer. Please continue. Many of us feel exhausted and emotionally drained. Although we believed that we were building plenty of spare time into the schedule, the pace has been intense. Despite our human weakness and inadequacy for this huge undertaking, God is proving His strength and bringing souls into His kingdom. For this we praise Him and are energized to continue.

---Jill

Parts of the Journey

More than one hundred wheelchairs in shrink wrap. A small purple one catches my attention and I wonder who the little girl was who sat in that chair, about her family.. whether she liked icecream. I finish tagging the chair and move on, only to be struck minutes later by the name on the side of another wheelchair "Restored by:" and the name of the inmate who spent hours on the chair. And why is it that several chairs later it is not the past I think of, but the future? Who is it that will go home in the crimson colored chair?

If I weren't needed to staple the tags on each arm rest, I think I might be paralyzed with the number of stories passing at my finger tips. In my little corner cubicle I have communicated with people at every step of the way, and now I realize anew that bringing mobility to a person with a disability is only a part of Wheels for the World. The chair may be a physical representation of what is passed hand to hand from city streets to prison halls to dusty roads, but the gift is far more. I try tracing that "something more" backwards, from the dusty roads to the prison halls to the city streets, hoping that in following its tracks I will better understand what it is.

And working backwards in time, I find myself once again on dusty roads.

On dusty roads, and the foot of the cross.

~Rebecca

Rays of Sunshine

At four minutes after nine I dragged myself into the conference room, trying to convince myself that I was ready for breakfast after only five and a half hours of fitfull sleep. With my eyes half open I tried to locate the end of the buffet line, and when I finally found it, my eyes widened more than they had in the last 12 hours.

At a time like this, food seems to be low on the priority list and standing in line for food is just about enough to send you back to bed.

But then our hosts began our formal welcome, desiring to share a bit of their Peruvian heritage with us. And as the music began to play, I was swept up to soar the Andean passes with the classic strains of "El Condor Pasa". Who knows how the crisp mountain air can be brought to the closed space of a crowded conference room? And why is it that the sound of the breeze whistling through the green freshness of a sun splashed mountain side is so perfectly brought to earth with Andean pan pipes?

And before we know it, the song has transitioned and a dance has begun, and we find ourselves celebrating new life in Christ with the instruments of ancient Peru.

Later I corner Elizabeth, the director of our partner organization Corazones Unidos, to introduce myself and build further on the relationship begun through a poor telephone connection and a host of emails.

In between her enthusiastic appreciation for all we've done and are about to do, I manage to squeeze in a poorly executed thank you, remarking that we only come to Peru for a short time, and the work her ministry does makes what we do possibe.

She tumbles on in the gracious flow of the Latin American speaker, admitting that yes, our time in Peru is short, but that time is like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, bringing hope and life.

And five minutes after ten I step out of the conference room, humming the tune of the wind in the Andes and thinking about rays of sunshine.

~Rebecca