Connections

It seems like life is a series of connections.   As Believers, we truly UNDERSTAND that God makes these connections. It is amazing when you can see how some of these connections go full circle.    It’s almost like it “CLICKS” when it happens!

This is a very abbreviated version of a series of these connections as they relate to Mission: Mobility.

Brad Clark and his wife travelled to Iowa, from Kentucky, in 2006 for their daughter to receive clubfoot treatment with the Ponsetti Method.   Dr Ponsetti developed a non-surgical treatment, treating patients in Iowa City Iowa. While on this visit, the Clarks had the opportunity to meet John and Jean Mitchell.   John is the inventor of the Mitchell Brace, which is the foremost prescribed brace for clubfoot correction in the Ponsetti Method of treatment.

Fast forward a few years, 2009.   Brad was fundraising for a mission trip to Guatemala.  They sent out an email to help raise funds needed to build a home for a widow (Blanca)  and her children.  The Mitchell’s received this email, from someone who they remembered meeting briefly.   After researching the missionaries that Brad was working with, Bethel Ministries International (www.bethelministriesinternational.com), the Mitchell’s donated toward the home.   From that point on, On His Path (www.onhispath.com) became partners in support of Bethel’s efforts.  (On His Path is the Christian Non-Profit Organization that the Mitchells founded to benefit those in need, worldwide!)  The Mitchells were very impressed that Bethel had so many facets to serve the needy and disabled  in Guatemala, and that ALL these facets had ONE common goal….to spread the GOSPEL!                

           (Brad’s 2009 team in front of Blanca’ new home)

July 2011 my family and the Mitchell family travelled to Guatemala to serve with Bethel on a mission trip.    This was truely life changing for my family, opening our eyes to missions.   We were humbled while helping the needy with food distributions, clothing distributions, home building and the wheelchair distribution! While on a visit to one family, Chris was telling us about building this home for Blanca and her kids.  Jean realized at that moment THIS was the home they donated to (that Brads team built) which was the original connection for them with Bethel!  God made the connection.   “CLICK!”

(2011 family mission trip with the Mitchells)

  Time passed….  August 2012, God presented us with the opportunity to collect equipment to help Bethel’s wheelchair ministry.   (This would develop and grow into Mission: Mobility in February 2014). This collection ministry is generously supported by On His Path.

November 2012,  I “met” Brad through many phone conversations to transport equipment he had collected to Iowa for loading on the first Iowa  container.  Resulting from that, Brad invited me along on his January J127  (http://www.j127.org/blog) men’s mission trip to serve with Bethel.  John Mitchell joined me on the trip.  This was a tremendous blessing,  it was especially great to have John, Brad and Bethel connected together!    “CLICK!”  

(Chris [Bethel Ministries] & John)

(The 2013 J127 team)

An especially impactful moment was when Brad shared with us how when his daughter was younger and they realized the complexity of her special needs.  He recalled praying (often) that SOMEHOW God could use her unique gifts to reach people for Christ.   Sitting in the van that day in Tecpan Guatemala,  God truly revealed to Brad how through her special needs and the clubfoot treatment,  Bethel is now receives support by the Mitchell’s and On HIs PATH and many are receiving the Gospel.  PRAYERS ANSWERED!!   “CLICK!”

(The  January 2013   J127 team)

    We return home and continue with life.   We also keep collecting.   God then reveals how the collection ministry is much more far reaching than originally expected!   Thus, Mission: Mobility is born!   Brad and I become great friends and stay in regular communication as we develop this new mission.  I am very thankful for his input and ideas, and for his excellent work in designing our website!  He is a  HUGE blessing to Mission: Mobility!  He is a HUGE Blessing to me!

This weekend more connections were made.   The Mitchell’s son, Matt, got married in Louisville Kentucky.  We were so excited to celebrate the marriage of our good friend Matt.   It was an AWESOME, PowerfuL weekend of events!   All so Christ centered!   It was an amazing weekend.  Matt and Olivia will be a fantastic couple who God will use in amazing ways!  Of this, I am sure!    I was equally excited to finally visit Brad at his home and meet his family, and share my family with him. There are people you meet in life that you rarely see, or meet for the first  time and it is like you have always known them.   You just connect!   That was our experience with the Clarks!   What an awesome family!   What a great connection!  “CLICK!”

  (Brad & Holly Clark,  Taylor, Annette & Rick Fulton)

It was great to visit with Brad about his collection efforts.  We also visited his storage location and saw the trailer he uses when collecting equipment.

The Clark’s joined us at the wedding and reception.  It was a joy to reconnect the Clark’s with the Mitchell’s!   “CLICK!”  (I am sorry I neglected to get a photo of the Mitchells and the Clarks together!)

This summer my family is scheduled to spend a week serving with Bethel again!  We are excited to return to GUATEMALA !!!   Especially, to return as a family.  And, we will be returning with the Mitchell family.  It will be nearly the same group from our first experience.    We are excited to return to serve in the many ways Bethel serves the people of Guatemala.   I am especially excited to distribute wheelchairs collected by the many volunteers of Mission: Mobility!   I am excited to see what connections God will make!  

Thank you for your support!  

Meet Brad Clark……   Brad is a long time Bethel Ministries friend.   His first mission trip was in 2009.    He has served with Bethel  a total of 6 times.     He has lead the January J127 men’s mission team for the past 5 years!  (link) This group continues to return to Tecpan, Guatemala and serve the people of Juan Macario’s church.   I have had the awesome privilege to be a part of two of these trips.      They are very amazing, because of the RECONNECTION with the people who have been helped in previous years!  “CLICK!”

 Brad is a pilot for UPS.    He has an amazing heart for SERVING, especially to support Bethel Ministries and all they do.    He is an integral part of Mission: Mobility, always there to help in any way needed.    Brad also has another connection to Guatemala.   He and his wife Holly have 3 adopted daughters.   2 from China, and one from Guatemala!    Thank you for all you do Brad!

I am thankful for that prayer Brad and Holly said over their daughter many years ago!   As a roundabout result, I am now a part of Mission: Mobility, and helping answer that prayer by providing the equipment that helps Bethel Spread the Gospel!    “CLICK!”

Dios te Bendiga!!!!        

Container Prep

Many thanks to the many volunteers who joined in to to transfer inventory to the loading warehouse.

We will be loading 7 pallets of Kids Against Hunger food Packets, 2 pallets of clothing and the balance of the Container will be wheelchairs.

We will be doing inventory for the manifest Thursday July 3.

The scheduled date to load the next Iowa container is July 8

Thank you again to all who collect and help in any way!

Dios te Bendiga!
Rick

Delivery from Cheeseland

Rick

Jason’s Gift

I recently received a phone call from a man in Indiana named Gary. He had gotten my phone number from Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. Riley has been very generous to us in our collection efforts. Gary and his wife Jacqueline had some chairs and equipment their son used. They wanted to ensure it went to a good cause, and wanted to find out more about our efforts at Mission:Mobility. I would like to spend a moment telling you about their son Jason, and how amazing of a young man he must have been.

Jason had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which is a life threatening disease. His dad Gary told me about how Jason chose not to focus on the negative of his condition, remain positive, and enjoy life to the fullest. He served as the Indiana State Goodwill Ambassador of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, graduated from Greenfield Central High School where he was the manager for the football team for 4 years, basketball team for 3 years, and the baseball team for 2 years. He was also a member of student council his freshman year. Jason obtained an Associate Degree in web design from Penn Foster, and worked for EA Sports as a video game consultant for a while. He loved to travel and never let his condition limit his life. We can all learn so much from someone like Jason.

In memory of Jason, the family began the Casto Muscle Foundation, which is intended to honor Jason’s mission and legacy for helping others. Their services include providing an annual scholarship for students with disabilities, assisting with needed medical equipment and/or the funding of medical payments to defer cost for patients and families. You can read more on their Facebook page.

My daughter and I drove up to Indy to pick up the chairs and supplies. It was a blessing meeting his parents. I truly appreciate them allowing us to be the stewards for ensuring his supplies continue to bless others in this world. The wheelchairs will soon be on their way to Guatemala where Bethel Ministries International will make sure they are connected to a deserving individual.

It is amazing how God connects us all in our efforts. I pray that we have the opportunity to meet other wonderful people like the Casto family. Their son Jason has truly blessed us, and we thank them all for this gift.

Dios te Bendiga,

Brad

In the beginning of our wheelchair collecting efforts, there were only a few of us trying to help Bethel Ministries find some wheelchairs to help fulfill the need. That was August 2012. By God’s Grace, we have seen the effort blossom into a Nationwide Medical Equipment Collection MINISTRY. Many thanks to “On His Path” for their support!

Through all this, we have seen many people across the country serving in different ways. Most recently, our friend Tim in Louisville offered his mechanical abilities to help dismantle old power chairs (as noted in the last post).

 Tim’s offering of his talent reminded me of a blog post from the j127 blog. It was written about an experience from August 2012. The couple mentioned in the article donated the very first equipment that I collected in Iowa in our efforts.

“Serving in different ways”. (January 2013)

God uses us all in different ways to serve. He allows us to use the abilities and talents we have to serve. For the seven of us flying to Guatemala for a mission trip, we are getting on a plane and physically providing our time and muscle and hearts to the Bethel Ministries team to help the people of Guatemala. Others have their own unique ways to serve.

In the process of the wheelchair collection, I connected with a nice couple in my area. Don and Jackie Wells.

They donated some medical equipment that Jackie had needed in the past. A wheelchair, a walker and a few canes. When I picked up the equipment, they asked where the equipment was going. I told them in detail about Bethel Ministries and then gave them the website: http://bethelministriesinternational.com

Once the container was loaded and on its way, I called Jackie to give her an update. I felt they deserved a report, because they were the first ones to donate equipment.

Jackie told me she had looked at the Bethel site and was touched by the compassion and generosity that the Bethel team showed toward the widows, orphans, poor and disabled in Guatemala. She wanted to help, more. She started her project.

Jackie is around 80 years old and has a heart the size of Guatemala. Jackie’s hands remind me of my Grandma Lucy, afflicted with arthritis. It amazes me that her hands could do fine work.

Last week, I picked up her project. Gifts for the people that Bethel Ministries serve.

Jackie has made beautiful, 4 inch crocheted crosses.

Each cross is stapled on a card, tied with a ribbon and has a label “Vaya Con Dios”, meaning “Go with God.”

All are then neatly wrapped in plastic and placed in boxes.

337 crocheted crosses! Each one takes her 45 minutes to make. That is 252.75 hours of crocheting!

She enthusiastically said, “if they like these, I will get to work right away to make more for the next group going down.

Many thanks to Jackie, Don and their family for the many hours of lovingly making these gifts for our friends in Guatemala.

As she crafted each of the crosses, Jackie said she would say prayers for the people that would receive these!

What an AWESOME way to SERVE!

We look forward to taking these on our mission trip to bless the people of Tecpan, Guatemala!

Dios te Bendiga Jackie!

Rick

 Thank you all who have joined us.   We all have different talents.   Whether it is a physical talent in our efforts, or simply praying,  every talent is greatly appreciated.   They all will be a Blessing to someone in need!

“Different Talents”

I have realized many things over the years about myself (some more profound than others).  One that has become very apparent to me is, “I can’t do everything”.  We have all been given different skills and talents.  Some people are very artistic, some are analytical.  I am an organizer and connector.  One thing I cannot do is anything “mechanical”.  I freely admit it.  I’m not ashamed.  I have simply not been gifted with the skill of working on, and repairing complex equipment.

With this truth in mind, I have been at a loss over the past five years of collecting wheelchairs how best to handle chairs that are in very bad condition.  Power chairs are very heavy.  They also take up a lot of space on a shipping container.  In many cases, the best thing we can do is take all of the valuable pieces such as controllers, computers, hardware, etc and send them down to Guatemala so that those pieces can be used on other power chairs.  But, you have to be very careful so you don’t damage the electrical components in the process.  This is where I get really shaky!!!  I just don’t have that talent.  I have been praying for help for a very long time.

A couple of weeks ago, several of us were eating lunch and talking about life.  I mentioned that we had many power chairs that needed to have the controls taken off, but I felt unable to do it properly.  One of my friends sitting there was Tim, from Louisville.  Tim went to Guatemala with our group two years ago.  Tim just retired from working as a machinist.  Where I am weak in skill, Tim has a wealth of talent.  Tim looked at me with a big smile and said, “Brad, I’d love to work on those power chairs.  Bring a couple by my garage, and I’ll dismantle them.”  This is where you would hear the “Halleluiah Chorus” singing in the background!  I was so excited!!!

I immediately took Tim up on his offer.  I just dropped two chairs off at Tim’s house this weekend.  Knowing him, he probably has jumped in and already begun the process.

This reaffirms for me that we all have to work together to make this thing happen.  God has designed us to rely on each other.  We each play a part.  No one is better or more important than the other.  I am so thankful Tim volunteered.

If you know someone like this who has a talent, ask them to help.  Tell everyone you know about our needs.  Over time, our team will grow, and we will be much more effective in our connection and collection effort.

Dios Te Bendiga,

Brad