Get the Bunting Up!

Could you hold a 20th birthday celebration in your home or church? It could be on your birthday, an anniversary, or just a regular Saturday! You might want to share afternoon tea and cakes, or host a pudding and games evening. Whatever you choose it’s the ideal opportunity to tell your friends about the work, share your experiences of TTR, and invite them to give a birthday gift to Through the Roof and change more people’s lives. Our celebration pack contains everything you need to host ten guests (except food and drink!) We can supply you with:

Invitations and instructions
Bunting and balloons
Rice paper logos to decorate your cakes
Inspiring DVD to show your friends
Souvenir brochure for the party host
Pens and keepsake postcards to give away as gifts
Souvenir leaflet for friends to take-away

We provide everything to you free of charge, and all we’re asking is for you to aim to raise at least £80 and have fun celebrating. We’ve tested the pack at the last TTR Board meeting, and everyone had a great time! Contact us to order at info@throughtheroof.org, or 01372 749955.

Wheelsblog, Eldoret: Final Thoughts

The Wheels team have been in Eldoret and Kimilili, Kenya for ten days, working with hundreds of people and fitting dozens of recipients with wheelchairs. Lives have been changed as a result of their work and your prayers and support. Team leader, Rob, sent through this message...

'A massive thank you to all of you for traveling with us digitally on this kenya trip. Your prayers have worked real results for us as you have well seen!

They have been precious.

We worked out he most repeated phrase on the trip has been "in God's grace". We have said it over and over again because so much has worked for good in big an small details over and over again.

Over 130 wheelchairs were fitted safely and professionally, with each client valued and prayed for personally.
So thank you for prayers and support.

Landed back in UK now - Leading next trip to Uganda in June this year - pray for God's people on the team again.
Until then, thank you and see you soon.'

Thank you Rob, and all the team!

Wheelsblog - Kenya, Eldoret 4

Here's the fourth report from the Wheels team in Eldoret, Kenya, written by team leader, Rob Dalton. The team will be on their way back on the 17th Feburary.

We are here working for God, but in truth God is working in us.

Coming away on a mission trip can be a time where God teaches you things to challenge and grow.
Every evening we have had 'Team Time' a time to study Gods word, sing and pray. For tonight's team time we split into groups and prayed deeply for each other as we prepare to re-enter western life. So many stories and joys as well as heartaches and sadness of situations we have seen.

The distribution itself today went well! Children with complex seating needs went away with a safe and practical wheelchair thanks to many joint-efforts between the team.

We had to say goodbye to Lauren this evening as she heads back a day early - her first wheels trip (but you wouldn't have noticed). What a legend. Pray for her as she travels back alone tonight and tomorrow!

Tomorrow he rest of us depart back. Full of thankfulness for God's mercy and grace to all.

Plus we (I) made a Fort with the leftover foam... why not...

Wheelsblog: Kenya, Eldoret 3

Here's the third report from the Wheels for the World team, covering Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The team are hard at work until the 17th February, and have just moved from Kimilili to Eldoret for the second leg of the trip.

After journeying to Eldoret the team gladly met old friends and set up for an afternoon distribution.

We saw 9 people, mainly children. In this second part the people who come are mainly complex children. We are grateful to Sally and Paul and Mike who have joined for this part to give extra help and support for harder cases.

This little one in the white top is moving herself in her chair for the first time! A precious moment for a precious little person!

We also had local TV come again, and were able to speak about the work - nerve racking, but found the right words flowing naturally in God's grace.

The Day Salvation Lay in the Hands of Disabled People (Ros' Blog)

There’s a story in the Old Testament that I’ve grown to love. In fact, if you’ve been to any of my training workshops you may well have heard me speak of it – I often try to shoe-horn it in somewhere during a workshop! The story is found in 2 Kings 6 and 7.

The city of Samaria had been under siege by the Aramean army for so long that the food had run out and people had even resorted to eating the corpses of the dead. A donkey’s head changed hands for the equivalent of about £400 in today’s money and 100g of seed pods for about £25.

In the midst of this disaster, God had a plan, and He revealed it to His prophet, Elisha: “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel (roughly £1 per kilo) and two seahs of barley for a shekel (about 50p per kilo) at the gate of Samaria.” Some of his hearers scoffed; it seemed Elisha was living in cloud cuckoo land.

Just outside the city gate were four men with an infectious skin condition. They were trapped within the area besieged by the Aramean army, but they were excluded from the walls of the city itself, banned from mingling with the other citizens. These four men got talking, and they decided there were two options open to them: stay where they were and suffer an almost certain slow death from starvation; or go and surrender to the Aramean army, with the risk of a summary execution, but also the possibility of being taken prisoner and given food.

They waited for dusk to fall and cautiously made their way to the edge of the enemy camp. Unknown to the four men, God had supernaturally scared the enemy away. They had abandoned their camp with all their food, belongings and livestock, and had fled. The four men couldn’t believe their eyes. The fell on the food and drink and began to fill their empty stomachs, as well as filling their arms and their pockets with silver, gold and clothes.
After this frenzy of satisfying their hunger, their consciences began to niggle at them.

“What we’re doing is not right,” they said to each other, “This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”

So they hurried back to Samaria and, ignoring the ban that excluded them from its walls, they went straight to the gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there — not a sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.”

The good news was shouted from one gatekeeper to the next, until eventually it reached the king’s palace. At first the king was suspicious, believing that he smelled a rat: he got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’”

One of his officers suggested a plan – take five of their remaining horses, and two chariots, and send some men to investigate and bring back some spoils if it turned out not to be a trick. And if it was just a snare set to catch them – well, the men were doomed to die of starvation anyway, so there was really nothing to lose.

The charioteers grew more incredulous, and then incredulity gave way to excitement, as they made their way down the road to the army camp and found it strewn with the clothes and belongings the army had discarded as they fled.

They returned and confirmed the news the four men had brought; and by the end of the day flour was selling for £1 a kilo and barley for 50p a kilo, just as Elisha had prophesied, and the city was saved from what had seemed certain doom.

Why do I love this story so much? Right from the outset of the siege, God had a plan for the people of Samaria, and it was not a plan to let the city perish. It was a plan for salvation and deliverance. But God’s plan, devised in heaven, required agents on earth to bring it about. And whom did He choose? Four disabled people, marginalised and excluded, feared as carriers of disease, forced to live outside of community.

To me, this is a marvellous metaphor for God’s purposes for His Church, with disabled people contributing to the life and health of God’s people. Perhaps you feel marginalised and excluded from church life, whether by physical barriers that keep you out of church buildings, the attitudes of fellow-Christians who fail to see your God-given potential, or simply by some condition or impairment that prevents you leaving the house.

I have good news for you! You are essential to God’s plans for His church! He needs you to bring about the salvation and deliverance He has planned for His world. Begin asking Him today what gift you have to bring to the Body of Christ, and whom you should speak to in order to allow your gift to bless the community of God’s people in your area. And then expect God to open doors of opportunity to you, and prepare to be amazed at how He will.

Wheelsblog: Kimilili 2

Here's the second report from the Wheels for the World Kimilili team, covering Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The team are hard at work until the 17th February - please do support them in your prayers over this time. If you head on over to our Facebook page, you can see a couple of short videos from the trip.

Sunday (Day 3)

Church yesterday as a team. Bonus points if you recognize the preacher - such a clear message! We had a chance to talk about disability also - one member of the choir was an amputee, great to see inclusion of disabled people in church.

Spent a nice afternoon as a team walking to see the mission hospital. In the evening as a team we have had times of worship and teaching on the theme of "The God who is Love". Looking at how God's love works out for Hagar, Rich young ruler, Lazarus and more. Every year I think we have the best Wheels team ever, and this year is no exception- being in a kind and patient team who love and care for each other is a joy.

Monday (Day 4)

We travelled to Natiri, a town east of here to do a community distribution. This is a great way of getting out and openly valuing disabled people- but has challenges for us, so we valued prayer for all the little details working out, and that people would get quality chair fitting. What a day! Finished at 8pm! We saw over 50 people. Team happy but exhausted. So so many stories.

Got a chance to talk on local TV today. And visited by an MP's rep who promised he would champion tax free wheelchair parts for import. Amazing.

Tuesday (Day 5)

Had this flatbed pickup turn up this morning crammed with disabled people just sat in the back. They were unloaded by their helpers like sacks of potatos. Really really sad and moving. But praise God they are all going home with a wheelchair!

Last day in Kimilili today. Smaller number, 8 came from just one school, but amazing to see their teachers keen for them to have chairs and placing great value on educating disabled people.

Tomorrow we go early to Eldoret for an afternoon distribution. Then 2 days there. We are looking forward to Paul, Michael and Sally joining the team for this second stage. It's exciting, but there are lots of prayers needed for the team with change of scenery and team dynamics. Thank you!

Wheelsblog (Kimilili 2017)

There's a great Wheels for the World team hard at work in Kimilili from the 8th to the 17th February - we'll be putting up stories and blogs from the distribution as often as they get the chance to send them through.

Travel:

Hurray! After over 16 hours of travel overnight with almost no sleep the team arrive in Kimilili safely.

While stopping at the equator some team members had a chance meeting with Hugh Dennis and other comic celebs out here for Red Nose day 2017. The team had a chance to share with them about the work of WFTW and chat.
Now for much needed sleep! First day of distribution tomorrow.

Day 1:

So! What an great start to the distribution. We saw just under 30 people for the first day. The team were brilliant. Everyone hit the ground running and we're helped greatly by your prayers.

One of the pastors here told us most of the people we met today never go outside- because they physically have to be carried by several people. Now they can be moved easily and some can self-propel and move with independence.

We are looking forward to tomorrow. God is at work here and it is our privilege for him to work through us weak people to accomplish eternal things.

Day 2:

Today with another amazing day with a great team. One gentleman crawled in...not to crawl out. He was very happy.

We had a young man, 'George' who had previously raced wheelchairs in Europe. However he had been promised a day chair when he returned to Kenya, which never materalised. One of our team Andrew, who's son in the UK is an active wheelchair user, was able to work with this man to find the chair that would best suit his active lifestyle. As soon as he got in each chair to try it out he was off!! The front two wheels barely touched the ground as he did spins and bounced over sets and tough terrain. After many tries the right chair was found.

Charities keeping promises is a big deal out here. Am thankful that we work in one that promises, then in God's grace delivers.

Dan, our pastoral support on the team had opportunities to talk to recipients. One man called 'Gregory', a church youth leader was not going to let his disability stop him! Receiving a chair, he asked for prayer to inspire young people and make Jesus known to them. Amazing.

Tomorrow is Sunday. The team will split up and visit different churches then visit the local mission hospital in the afternoon.

Follow this link to read the previous post

Follow this link to find all of the blog posts from this (and other) Wheels trips

Supreme Court ruling enables “level playing field” for wheelchair travellers

Christian disability charity Through the Roof is pleased that the additional difficulties experienced by wheelchair users has been recognised today by the Supreme Court in London. The ruling means that it is discriminatory for a bus driver to “request but not require” a non-disabled person to vacate the allocated space if a wheelchair user wishes to board the bus. Instead, some further steps should be considered to pressurise the non-wheelchair user to vacate the space. This does not give wheelchair users some special privilege over other travellers; it simply acknowledges that they are entitled to a level playing field, the same right to make a journey as everybody else.

Through the Roof wants to see society treating disabled people as equals, but it wants Christians to go beyond that and reflect God’s heart, not merely comply with the law. The charity can support Christians to do this by becoming a Roofbreaker in their own church, someone whose role is to ensure that disabled people can participate fully in church life. You can find out more by following this link and learning about Roofbreakers.

Through the Roof’s Training Resources Developer, Ros Dakin, explains her own experience: “I have three children, all now adults, of whom one is a wheelchair user. So I have travelled by bus as a mum with small children in tow, including one in a buggy, and I have travelled by bus accompanying my adult daughter in her wheelchair. I’ve found it’s far harder for the wheelchair user than for the mum with children. She can fold the buggy, pick up the children, stand somewhere else. The wheelchair user doesn’t have those choices. If I’d had to move for someone else it would have been annoying, a nuisance, inconvenient, difficult. But for the wheelchair user it rules out making the journey.”

In 2012 Doug Palley was refused permission to board a bus, when a mother with a buggy refused to move to accommodate his wheelchair. The bus operator, FirstGroup, had a policy of “requesting but not requiring” non-disabled people to vacate the space for a wheelchair user. Doug Palley argued that this policy is unlawful because it discriminates against disabled people. Today’s ruling means that requesting the non-disabled person to move is not enough, but it stops short of requiring bus drivers to compel people to move. The bus driver could tell the non-disabled person to vacate the space, and then refuse to move the bus until they comply.

It is sad if basic kindness and understanding requires legislation, and Through the Roof would hope everyone can see that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our communities deserve equal respect. People are not disabled by their impairments but by attitudes in society and barriers in the environment, and the Church has an opportunity to take a lead in modelling excellent practice.

Let Go, and Let Him (Ros' Blog)

This week’s guest blog from Gwen Davies is timely, as the Prime Minister is acknowledging the need for improvements in mental health services. It’s an area where the Church can make a difference.

LET GO AND LET HIM

by Gwen Davies

As a ‘ex-depressive’ in my early adult hood I got to see first hand how some Christians deal with those suffering from mental illness. In my church some offered to pray for me but I felt too low to appreciate the significance. Others gave me cards with Bible quotes added but they too left me cold. The people who made the difference were those who rolled up their sleeves and helped me out practically. A ‘Show and Tell’ approach with a heavy emphasis on the show (much like the disciples responses in the Acts of the Apostles!)

I’ve always thought in pictures (a gift from my dyslexia) and as I write this imagine a male driver looking to buy in a top of the range car. The car salesmen wants to sell this car and get his commission (in my vision the commission is another soul saved for Christ). So His best option would be to take the customer out for a test drive, let him see what the car can do and how it would transform his life. Only then would the salesmen discuss terms and offer him the manual! If the salesmen tried to convince him first using just the manual and his assurances then the customer would probably lose interest and move on. I believe the ‘test drive approach’ is by far the best way, as Christians that we can help those in need.

In my early adult life I’d fallen into the usual trap of relying on myself rather than submitting everything to God so He could do the necessary restoration! Some Christians have broken through impossible barriers to lead incredible lives .The answer seems to be to embrace His promises and move over so that the Holy Spirit can do its work.

Joni Eareckson Tada was 17 when a diving accident left her quadriplegic, paralysed from the shoulders downwards, and completely dependent on others for the most basic of needs. During a gruelling two year stay in hospital she learnt how to paint with her teeth and become a highly sought after artist. She has since written over 50 inspirational Christian books, visited 47 countries as an evangelist and disability advocate, set up the International Disability Centre, donated hundreds of thousands of wheelchairs around the world and received numerous awards and honours. She later overcame breast cancer and now lives with chronic unremitting bone pain. So what was her secret? She says the same prayer every morning, from the day she came out of hospital to over forty- five years later. It has been a hard journey for Joni; one that she will say is far from over,

Lord, I don’t have the strength to go on. I have no resources. I can’t do another day of quadriplegia but I can do all things through you who strengthen me. So please give me your smile today. I need you urgently.

She relies totally on His strength each and every day just to get up and get through the pain and struggle of quadriplegia. That is why Jesus told us that the poor in spirit are blessed and the Kingdom belongs to them (Matthew 5:3). Joni believes that our souls are a much more important to God than our bodies. She calls suffering the “sandblaster” that strips us of our sinful ways, the “sandblaster” that offers ‘deep soul healing’ so we can become who we were always meant to be in Him. Certainly Joni’s suffering not only enabled her to overcome impossible odds but has also changed the lives of millions through her charity.

I always thought that I needed to do grand things for God to succeed in His eyes but I now know that He already saw me as successful. Each of us makes up the Body of the Church and Christ needs each and every one of us to do His work. Some of us will be in front of house but most of us will do equally valuable work behind the scenes. Not all of us can be like Joni Eareckson Tada but our contributions, however tiny they may seem to us, will be equally valuable to Him. After all it only takes a tiny drop of perfume to leave a lasting lingering scent in a room. Most of us will be never be “famous” but what we can do is do our best to represent Him at all times. Each of us can send out our own scent for Christ. We may never see the results of our efforts. But rest assured, He will!

Gwen's book 'By My Fathers Hand' comes out later this year through Onward and Upward publishers

A Welcoming Place – autistic young people in church

Through the Roof’s latest publication is designed to help you create an environment in your youth and children’s work which effectively includes everyone, including those with autistic spectrum conditions. The publication endeavours to give a snapshot of the world through the eyes of the autistic child, and thus helps to understand their behaviours and what we can do to minimise their distress and capitalise on their gifts and strengths. It includes practical strategies and proven approaches, as well as a section on a Biblical theology of disability to help your young people appreciate God’s heart for people with additional needs, and their place within the Body of Christ. Finally, there is a comprehensive index, enabling the resource to be used as a handy reference book as and when situations arise. Follow this link to buy your copy for £5 from our website shop

Extract from A Welcoming Place – autistic young people in church

Life seen through the autistic spectrum
For many autistic people, life is like a game in which you don’t know the rules.
Other people know the rules, but every time you think you have them worked out, they change.
These changes seem random and patternless, so they can never be predicted.

For example:
Hitting a drum makes an interesting booming noise.
Hitting a tambourine makes an interesting tinkling noise.
If you hit someone hard enough they usually make an interesting crying noise.
The first two of these are allowed.
Someone usually stops you if you try to do the third one!
Why should this be?
All three involve hitting something.
All three make a nice noise.
So why should the “rules of the game” change in the third instance?
You and I know the answer to that
We put ourselves in other people’s shoes.
We know that it hurts when someone thumps us, and so we don’t do it to other people.
Not all autistic children can think like this
Some lack the ability to do this, not because they don’t care but because they don’t yet understand.
So to them, this change to the “rule” about hitting things is completely arbitrary.

This gives rise to anxiety – if I can bang a drum or a tambourine but not a person, how am I to know what other things I’m allowed or not allowed to bang?

How about…

A teapot?
A cat?
A banana?

They may have no way of working out the answers to these questions – all they can hope to do is learn and memorise which ones are allowed and which are not.

Sometimes the rules change
2 children are messing about in Sunday School, play-fighting.
One gives the other a playful slap. They fall about laughing, and, crucially, THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER DOESN’T STOP THEM!
So now the rules have changed.
Sometimes it is ok to hit someone else.
How am I to know when it’s ok and when it’s not ok?
It would be completely beyond the ability of many autistic children to work out the answer to this question, even though it seems obvious to us.