Tanzania 2019 - Churches Inc and Wheels for the World
From the 20th to the 29th October, two teams -- one from Churches Inc, and one from Wheels for the World -- will be hard at work in Tanzania. We'll be bringing you all the stories and details of what they're up, the people they're meeting, and the lives they're changing just as often as the internet connection allows. Two members of the Wheels team, Susan and Philip, are already on site, buying materials and meeting up with contacts, including Pastor David and Pastor Gregory in Mwanza. Today, they bought lengths of foam to make cushions. Ali at the factory gave them 5% discount, which he said he would pay himself. It opened up a great opportunity for Philip to chat with him too about the work. They've also picked up 140 Kiswahili Goodnews Bibles to distribute to any wheelchair recipients who want one. On the front they say 'Goodnews for all'. Please continue to pray for Philip and Susan, as they get things ready for the rest of the team, and all those who are preparing to travel on Saturday. Thank you!
A Glimpse Into The Life Of A Roofbreaker (Ros' Blog)
This week we have a guest blog post from Heidi Buckell, whose story shows that churches don’t have to make huge adjustments to make a huge difference to the lives of their disabled members – all it takes is a heart of love and a determination to ensure that everyone is welcomed and enabled to play their part. Find out more about becoming a Roofbreaker by following this link.
My first involvement with Through the Roof (TTR) was back in 2007 when I signed up to become a mentor to other disabled people. Unfortunately this scheme did not really ‘take off’; nevertheless it introduced me to TTR. It was when my friend wanted to go to America for her main holiday that I really became involved with TTR. I always like a more relaxing holiday so we both knew going to America and doing all of the tourist activities was not for me - she had another friend who loved this sort of holiday so off they went! I remember sitting down and thinking well, what do I do for my holiday this year? I plucked up the courage to email TTR to see what holidays they were running.
I have always tried to ‘run away’ from my disability seeing myself as very much trying to live in an able-bodied world; therefore the thought of going away with a group of disabled people was probably as alien to me as going to the moon! I am so glad that I had plucked up the courage, as going on that holiday was one of the best things I have done. I remember meeting Becky for the first time and one of the first real conversations we had was around making a cup of tea! (We like to get our priorities right!) I explained to her that I could not carry a cup of tea without spilling it so when I wanted a cuppa, whilst sitting on the sofa, I had to bring the kettle to the coffee table and pour the water into the mug there – as opposed to what most people would do - make the cup of tea in the kitchen and carry it through. Becky just looked at me and said ‘Well, that’s exactly what I do.’ The fact that we had so much in common was amazing.
It was after that conversation I realised how the support and camaraderie I found from TTR holidays was invaluable. We always have a time of worship at the end of each day at Treloar’s, which is often led by Jenny!! Last year, Jenny was sharing about prayer partners and Becky and I turned to each other to suggest that we become prayer partners. Now, every week we message each other with an update on how we are and what our prayer requests are for the following week – a brilliant source of support. The Treloars holiday is now very much a highlight of my year and the holidays which I go with my other friend now have to fit around Treloars!
I am very fortunate to belong to a loving church fellowship; this is particularly important to me as none of my ‘earthly’ family go to church. My church is therefore very much a second family to me. I have been going to the same church now for 15 years and they are absolutely brilliant in the way they do not let my disability stop me from becoming an active member of the church. I am able to walk unaided so access is not a problem but here are some little things which they've done in order to help me – I am a firm believer in Mr Tesco’s motto – Every little thing helps!
- I was invited to do the Bible reading during the morning service. We do not normally project the scripture on to the screen but in order to make sure that my speech impediment did not interfere with the message the scripture was projected
- If I have a testimony or a prayer request which I want to share I am always encouraged to do so. If I indicate that I would rather sit down to speak, rather than speaking from the lectern then a separate microphone is set up
- For occasions when I only have something brief to share and I therefore feel I can do it from the lectern then a hand rail has been put up to help me with the three small steps
- I found that it was too difficult for me to have a drink after the service as everyone either stood up or carried their drinks to their seats. I therefore wondered whether a small table could be left at the back of the church for me to sit at. This has made a huge difference as I am no longer ‘hanging’ about waiting for a friend to take me home, while they are enjoying coffee and a chat – I am also now enjoying a coffee and a chat.
- My house group leader is also now aware that I need a table in order to enjoy a coffee.
- In June of this year, my church voted to make me, 'Disability Champion', we used this job title as this is the job title which I have at my place of work (West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust) but it's the same as being a Roofbreaker. My first idea as a Roofbreaker, which has now been adopted, is that we have 'chunky' communion glasses available for people to use. Due to my problems with my manual dexterity I have always taken an egg cup with me, for communion but now we have glasses available which are much easier to hold.
My next job as a Roofbreaker will be to arrange for an access audit to be done of the church building. Due to my disability I do get tired if I am not careful, so we are doing one thing at a time, but Disability Awareness will definitely be a future focus. I am hoping to help pilot a Roofbreaker training workshop for churches with Through the Roof in early 2020.
Tim Wood – Chief Executive Officer
Tim Wood joined Through the Roof in 2006, becoming the charity’s Chief Executive in 2011. He has over 20 years’ experience of leading disability projects locally, nationally and internationally, and is dedicated to working alongside disabled people to enable their full involvement in church and community life. Tim lives in Hertfordshire with his wife, Lynne, and their six children, the youngest of whom they adopted with various additional needs. When Tim has any spare time he enjoys road running, meals with friends and sleeping!
To contact Tim directly, please email tim@throughtheroof.org
Jan Nicholson – Operations and Events Manager
Jan lives in Surrey, and is actively involved in the life of Sutton Christian Centre, an Assemblies of God church, serving in the Worship team, and as Chair of the Deacons. She has lifelong, first-hand experience of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual challenges of everyday living with a disability. As Operations and Events Manager, she's involved with every part of the charity, making sure everything runs smoothly! She also organises our holiday programme, and coordinates events and gatherings through the year. Follow this link to email Jan.
Suzanne Lyse – Team Administrator
Suzanne has three children with her husband, Remy. They live in Epsom, where Suzanne also teaches English as a foreign language, volunteering to help refugees learn our language and settle into their new environment. As team administrator, she deals with enquiries, and keeps the office running efficiently! Follow this link to email Suzanne.
From Wounds to Living Water (Ros' Blog)
One of my particular pleasures in life is my fortnightly visit to my aunt, my mother’s sister. Aged ninety-four, she is the only surviving one of four siblings, and she lives in a residential care home on the south coast. And because her room, to which she is largely confined these days, is rather plain, I love to take her flowers to brighten it up.
I visited her last Thursday and took with me the bunch of beautifully scented stocks which you can see in the photo. As usual, I fetched a vase from the cupboard, filled it with water and cut flower food, and set about arranging the flowers in it. Usually I have to try and make a break in the bottom of the stems with my thumbnail, but for once I happened to have a pair of scissors in my bag, as I had been doing some needlework.
I took each of the thick stems and cut off a slanted section from the bottom. Sap oozed out of the cuts, and I arranged the flowers in the vase and threw away the dry sections which I had cut from the stems.
And as I did so, it struck me that there was something of a parable in what I was doing. In cutting and opening the stems, allowing them to bleed sap, I had enabled them to take up the water and nutrients in the vase much more efficiently than would have been the case through the dried and dying stem ends that they came with.
In the same way, it’s often through the very place of our wounds that we are opened up to take in the water of life that Jesus offers us. I know that it was the experience of parenting a child with complex, multiple disabilities that first made me desperate to know God more, and gave me a hunger for reading the Bible like never before in my search for Him.
So often, when life is going well, our hearts can become a bit dry and calloused, our faith relegated to a set of beliefs bolstered by church attendance, sporadic Bible reading and occasional prayer. But when we find ourselves facing traumatic circumstances, a bleeding wound opens up in our hearts, which can be painful beyond words, and yet can be the place of openness which the Spirit of God can penetrate to bring us the living water which will get us through the circumstances we are facing.
Life for me is no longer the grief-filled trauma that it was when my daughter’s disabilities were first diagnosed and I was coping with the exhausting round of day and night care that was needed to keep her alive. But it was in that time of hardship that I found the living well inside me that Jesus spoke of, the well that comes from living in union with Him as a worshipper. I am fairly certain that I would not have such a depth of relationship with Him today without having gone through that place of woundedness.
Maybe there are wounds in your life; perhaps related to a disability, perhaps from some other painful events in life. Trust in God that these wounds can become the very places through which God is able to renew and replenish you with His living water and draw you into a deeper relationship with Him.
You’re a Good, Good Father, It’s Who You Are (Ros' Blog)
I’ve just come back from a week at CreationFest, where I was manning (or womanning!) the stand for Through the Roof. It was a great week of making connections and getting our message out there. I especially enjoyed joining Count Everyone In for their morning sessions of inclusive and accessible worship and Bible teaching, and came away knowing the Makaton signs to at least one new song. However, the single thing that made the deepest impression on me was nothing to do with any of the organised events that were taking place, but just a little scenario of which I was an unnoticed observer one day.
At one point, two people walked past my stand. One was a little girl of probably two and a half or three years old and the other was an adult, presumably her father. They strolled past among the stands, hand in hand. What struck me was that the little girl was very small, and her father was very tall. In order to hold her hand, he was having to bend sideways in a way that looked quite uncomfortable. His daughter meanwhile strolled happily along among all the legs of strangers and tables of leaflets, her hand secure in her father’s, completely oblivious to any discomfort he might be experiencing.
I thought about all the times when we’re aware of how much we owe to God – times when He has sustained us with His peace through episodes of pain, struggles with disability or physical limitations, or the shock of diagnosis or bereavement. At times like that some people feel that God seems far away, but many others are very conscious of Him holding and carrying them through the difficult times.
But I wondered about how many times God is using His power and goodness on our behalf and we are completely oblivious to what He is doing. All the little girl knew in that moment was a feeling of peace, security and enjoyment of her father’s company. I know this, because it was written all over her expressive little face as she strolled contentedly along with him. Her father, too, was enjoying her company, I could see that, but I could also see the discomfort as he walked along bending sideways to reach down to her hand so that she wouldn’t have to reach up to his.
How often, I wonder, does God reach down to us so we don’t have to stretch up to find Him? How often does He guide us safely through a maelstrom of strange circumstances or opposition that seeks our harm, and we are oblivious to this because all we are experiencing in that moment is the peace and security of walking with Him? As I watched that father with his little daughter, I knew that even such a touching example of deep fatherly love is only a pale reflection of the unimaginable depths of love in God’s Father-heart.
Churches Inc in Ukraine 2019 -- Day 5
The Through the Roof Churches Inc team are hard at work in Ternopil, Ukraine until the 13th August. Please keep praying for the team, as they bring a message of encouragement and inclusion to the area. We'll bring you updates on their work as often as we can. Thank you for all your support!
Day 5 -- Sun 11th
Today, Mike & Edith attended 'Jesus Christ Church' and saw an excellent example of Church inclusion. There were many people there with disabilities fully engaged in church. This is the result of the church actively going out to visit people and collect them on a Sunday. A man with cerebral palsy who lives in the countryside and finds it very difficult to leave his house loves the fellowship and said, 'I look forward from this Sunday to next Sunday'.
Mike shared the story of the man being lowered through the roof and shared the Gospel.
Trevor, Kerry and Phil first attended New Life church and shared testimonies. Then we visited Grace Church where we met Volodymyr and his family including Zechariah who has a lot of care needs but he is loved by his parents and the church and Volodymyr says, 'he is the reason for the season'. So many people with disabilities in Ternopil have been blessed as a result of his life.
We have been blessed this week and thank God for what we have seen and heard.
Churches Inc in Ukraine 2019 -- Day 4
The Through the Roof Churches Inc team are hard at work in Ternopil, Ukraine until the 13th August. Please keep praying for the team, as they bring a message of encouragement and inclusion to the area. We'll bring you updates on their work as often as we can. Thank you for all your support!
Day 4 -- Sat 10th
Today we held the workshop titled 'workshop of ideas'.
First, we demonstrated how we might include everyone in a signed Prayer in BSL where everyone can join in.
We talked about the different stages when finding out you or you child has a disability and how it feels initially like a loss but can also bring much joy. We also demonstrated the story of Jesus calming the storm using a parachute.
People were asking questions about things in the UK, such as supported living and day centres.
The group also shared their experiences with one another and Mike spoke a little about his advocacy work and the impact it can make in communities and in the wider field.
We had a lovely treat as one of Volodymyr's friends came and played the violin beautifully for us. She also shared her story of how she fell out of a tree and injured her back resulting in paralysis. This eventually led her to the living Christ. People often ask her why doesn't God heal her and her reply is 'One day when I meet the living Christ she won't need the chair, but knowing him is the most important thing.'
Churches Inc in Ukraine 2019 -- Day 3
The Through the Roof Churches Inc team are hard at work in Ternopil, Ukraine until the 13th August. Please keep praying for the team, as they bring a message of encouragement and inclusion to the area. We'll bring you updates on their work as often as we can. Thank you for all your support!
Day 3 -- Fri 9th
Today was the second leaders day. We had a range of people attending, many with disabilities. Pastor Volodymyr invited many pastors from the local area to this event. It was disappointing that few pastors came but we trust in the Lord's will in this. Volodymyr felt that the people who were in the room- mainly parents, individuals with disabilities and those already active in disability ministry were really helped and encouraged by what was said. After personal testimonies from the UK and Bible teaching, many questions were asked and personal stories shared.
One lady shared how she fears for her sons future living with a disability. We trust that she may have been encouraged by what she heard today and to seek help from her local church.