God in the Simple Things (Ros' Blog)
This week I have commissioned a guest blog from Mrs Sarah Marshall. Sarah was a student at the school where I was a teacher and I taught her from the age of 14 until she was 18. She became a Christian shortly before she joined my class, and I had the pleasure of watching her blossom in her new-found faith. Sarah writes:
In 2009 my world changed forever. I was diagnosed with Right Sided Complex Partial Temporal Lobe Seizures – or in other words Epilepsy. I had been a Christian 4 years, following God with vibrant passion. Things changed within a matter of months and I was told I was a ‘shadow of my former self’ according to friends and family. Many relationships broke down, even within the Church family, and I was misdiagnosed as having Depression. As the diagnosis was incorrect and the treatment was incorrect, I developed a cognitive impairment and severe memory loss. I found people distanced themselves, and started trying to counsel me about my illness every time they did see me.
At first my relationship with God suffered, and then to my surprise, it began to flourish. After my correct diagnosis and initial treatment I was home for around 8 weeks. Often I didn’t even pray, just short arrow like prayers to God ‘Help me today’ or ‘Show me yourself today’ and I began to experience something I had never seen before – the simplicity of God’s glory. I would start to notice the world differently, I’d see beauty in people as they were walking down the street, I loved to watch trees sway in the wind and watch the sunlight out of the window. This brought to me a new simplicity in my relationship with God; as He began to meet with me where I was, I was then able to feel free with my situation. I knew some things may get better, some may not. I lost my ability to read and write properly, but found 6 Bible passages gave me strength, and I repeated phrases from them over and over again.
- Let all that I am Praise the Lord (Psalm 103:16)
- I am like fragile clay holding treasure (2 Corinthians 7:7)
- He will transform my Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope (Hosea 2:15)
- That is why we never give up, though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed everyday (2 Corinthians 7:16)
- Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long (2 Corinthians 7:17)
- We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, those who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
I started to see the world differently and enjoy different things. One of the challenges in our society is we want a quick fix. Our true character emerges when our internet is slow or we are on hold on the phone for what seems like an eternity! We like things to happen quickly. I started to take things slowly, and enjoy everyday life. All too often with Chronic Illness a quick solution is not the case, it can take months or years to recover fully, if at all.
What if we didn’t always see illness or disabilities as a negative thing? What if we grasped God’s agenda and pointed people towards the bigger picture, to the fact God is the centre of our history and His mission really is to make us more like Him?
In New Testament times when Church was brand new, they met in their homes and the Bible describes their situation that ‘There were no needy persons among them.’ (Acts 4:34) My impression from these passages is that they took care of one another, they took collections for the poor and ate together often. One of the best things I experienced when I was at home struggling to get out, was a member of our church just coming to sit on our sofa, not to talk about the illness, or do anything particular, just to sit, and listen. That in itself is refreshing. Is this simple caring and nurturing something we can do more in our local church?
In these years I have learned things that I would not have known if I was healthy. If I didn’t have epilepsy, I would have definitely excelled in the ways of the world, would have a career and good academic prospects, but I genuinely believe I wouldn’t have flourished spiritually as I have today. I found God in the most mind-blowing way – In the simplicity of Him meeting me ‘as I am’. I now have had my own family and my greatest achievement is the fact I can look after my own children at home without a Carer – something which at one point did not seem possible. Regardless of my health I have a level of contentment now that I didn’t even know was possible. My prayer for you would be that you would enjoy the simple things in life, and that this continues no matter what season comes your way!
Video from Ghana 2013
Phil Green has shot another excellent video of Wheels for the World's work -- this time from the Ghana trip in 2013. Please take a look, and feel free to share it around.
Wheels - Ghana 2013 from Philip Green on Vimeo.
Wheels for the World - Ghana
A busy time... (Philippa's Blog)
I seem to have been kept very busy with speaking engagements recently. March April and May have all been particularly busy, as I had been asked to speak at the anniversary of the New Forest Torch group, a group I have spoken to every year for the past 6 years, even before I started working for Through The Roof. Then up to Dorset the next week to speak at a ladies meeting.
In April I was asked to take a seminar at the Liverpool Toolkit, then the next week I was in Cheam in Epsom, followed by a talk at my own church in Potton the first week in May, and was interviewed at Christian Resources Exhibition by Marylyn Baker the following week.
After that I visited a school where I spoke to 3 classes of children about what it is like growing up blind. I gave them a turn at walking with my white cane, and explained the right way to guide a blind person. They all had lots of questions and were interested in the equipment i had brought to show them (laptop, brailler, colour detector etc), as well as my books and memories of school. I tried to leave them with the impression that having a disability does not mean that someone isn’t 'normal' and they can make friends with them just the same and not to be afraid. It seemed to be a successful afternoon.
I am due to speak at another school on 5th June, so looking forward to that.
As well as giving my own personal experience of growing up a as a blind person, my testimony as a Christian, and any useful tips on interacting with/including a disabled person in church school, or home life, I also speak about what Through The Roof is doing, and if the group hasn’t heard about us before, give them an overview of who we are and what we do. My engagements range from training sessions, to presentations. If you or someone you know would be interested in having me to speak then please feel free to get in contact by email or phone: philippa@throughtheroof.org 07841087806
My aim is to leave people with a better understanding of disabilities, and a glimpse of how faith in God can make such a difference in anyone’s life.
Last Chance for Enabling Church Tickets
The 'Enabling Church: Everybody In!' conference is being held on 3rd June 2014 in West Bromwich. It's going to be an exciting and informative day, inspiring churches and congregations to become more inclusive. Every church needs to become an ‘enabling church’ that welcomes, includes and involves people with dementia, disability, deafness, their families and those that care for them. The programme involves a majority of speakers with direct experience of a range of disabilities, either for themselves or with close family members.
3rd June 2014: 10:00am to 4:30pm (Doors open 9:15am)
Bethel Convention Centre, Kelvin Way, West Bromwich, B70 7JW
Follow this link to visit the Enabling Church Website where you can find out more about the day, and book your tickets.
A full report will be coming soon!
(Photo shows Roy McCloughry speaking at an earlier Enabling Church conference)
Who are the Disabled Ones? (Ros' Blog)
The day my second child was born, my world changed forever. She was thirteen weeks premature and the doctors had been warning me to expect her to be stillborn. Even if she was alive, they said, she wouldn’t cry, as her lungs would be too immature. Moments after she was born I heard her give a fairly powerful cry – it was, and remains, the most wonderful sound I’ve ever heard in my life.
Now began her long, hard fight to hold on to life. It was more than ten weeks before the doctors could tell us that she would live, and at least two years before we could say with confidence that her life was no longer in danger.
From her birth onwards our world was turned upside down. I wrestled with God over what was happening, as I came to grips with a world of sleepless nights, emergency resuscitations, failure to thrive, physiotherapy and low, low educational expectations. Things that my other daughters received by right (such as appropriate education) had to be fought for tooth and nail. Again and again Ellen defied the prognosis and achieved things we had been told were beyond her. For example, we were told she hadn’t the intelligence to learn any speech and now at the age of 30 she can not only hold a conversation (on her own terms!) but has a reading age of 8. Nonetheless, her learning disabilities are considerable, and as a result much about the world remains puzzling, confusing and frightening to her.
One thing I observed as she grew up was the simplicity and yet the undoubted reality of her faith in God. Her music therapist at school (not herself a committed Christian) remarked that Ellen was clearly developing her own faith and kept asking for songs about God’s love during their music therapy sessions – so she was becoming, in her own way, an evangelist, too! By her late teens she was clearly expressing in simple words her own faith in Jesus. We asked her if she would like to be baptised and she replied with a very enthusiastic “Yes!” So we found a couple of strong friends to carry her from her wheelchair to the baptistry and she was baptised at the age of 19.
This caused me to reflect on my own relationship with God. How often I needed my questions answered before I felt safe to trust Him; how I needed to be able to work out logical reasons for my faith along with my experience of God; how important it was to me to be able to explain exactly why I believed what I did. None of that was needed for Ellen. She constantly flung herself into the arms of her heavenly Father, certain that He was there and would hold her. She saw things that I, with all my theological study, could not see because my spiritual eyes were dim.
In 1 Corinthians 1.20, 25 and 27 Paul writes, “Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?....For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength…. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Amos Yong wrote these words: “If people with intellectual disabilities represent the foolishness of the world, what hinders our viewing them as embodying the wisdom of God?”
I suspect that when the world is wound up and all things are made new, and we begin to find out what things in our lives were of eternal value, and what things have passed away with the temporal world, we will have to revise our whole view of disability. We who thought we had the advantages in life – the strong, the clever, the ones the world regards as gifted – will find that on a spiritual level we have been severely disabled compared to our brothers and sisters who lacked those intellectual giftings, but whose spiritual life is marked by abilities and giftings we never knew they possessed. In that day they will be our teachers, leading us from the place of our spiritual impoverishment on the long road to catch up with where they already are in their deep understanding of, and relationship with, God.
(Photo of a series of wooden steps leading down to a scenic lake is from www.philippreiner.de)
Integr8 in Kenya 2014
A four-person team from Integr8 took part in a trip to Kenya in May 2014, delivering training to over 400 local officials and churches. Due to our recent website problems, we weren't able to post up their daily blog posts, so here's the whole story of their extremely successful trip, all together in one post.
Day 3
The team woke up early ready to go and serve. We travelled to the University of Egerton in Njoro. This was a very impressive facility which has over 40 acres of land and is one of Kenya’s leading universities with many different faculties. We were giving training in the Ace Hotel which is the university hotel and we had a conference room. There were 23 counsellors from all over Kenya, some counsellors had travelled for over two days to get to the training and representatives from the whole country were there. It was the senior counsellors from the counselling services around Kenya. The head of the countries counselling services from Nairobi was there and had arranged accommodation and food for all the counsellors in the Hotel. It was a great privilege to talk to them. They were very knowledgeable and we had a great time sharing about disability in the Bible, personal testimonies, communication and language. The team all spoke really well. The feedback was very positive and the team were really pleased with what was achieved.
We then went to Nakuru for lunch and to change money and do some jobs. We returned back to the hotel for debrief, amazing prayer and dinner. We loved being able to skype with Tim and Sarah who were praying for us back in the officeJ
Day 4
After the success of yesterday the team were excited about training again today. We travelled to Molo which is the equivalent of a county – so the offices for a large area where we met with 35 District department heads. Every area of the county district was represented from policing, to education, to human resources to social work. When we arrived we were told they were expecting a session on work place counselling…. We quickly re grouped and changed our topics to involve the work place and making sure their work place was inclusive. There were approx 45 officials. The team did very well by giving their training eloquently and challenging perceptions on disabled people in the workplace.
After the training we met with the Disability department head and shared experiences with him. We then returned to the hotel in enough time to debrief over a drink and a walk before prayer, dinner, chatting, laughing, fellowship and fun.
Everyone is having a great time and encountering the living true Jesus which is the most important… There is a powerful feeling of the presence of God with us.
Praying for the golf day happening back in UK.
Day 5
The team awoke early and travelled not very far to Njoro. Here the team trained 111district administrators and church leaders. We had a wonderful time with these people who were hungry to learn more. They were particularly interested in Abigail’s testimony and Lucia’s case studies which made them think. By now we are getting used to the long protocols and speeches at the beginning and end of the training which seemed to cut training by half. This group were particularly interested and seemed to have never been introduced to the topic previously.
We really enjoyed training in Njoro. In the afternoon we returned early enough for some of the team to have a walk and a rest before prayer time. We were then invited to Pastor Davis’s house for dinner. This was wonderful- we ate amazing yummy food including local delicacies and quail eggs… It was great to spend time with his family and relax.
Day 6
We woke at a very early 5.30 but very excited as this was the morning we were visiting Lake Nakuru National Park which is a local game park. The team loved seeing the animals, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine and fellowship. We had a wonderful time. We saw flamingos, baboons, monkeys, giraffes, rhinos, wilderbeast etc,etc.
We had lunch in Nakuru and then there was some time for gift shopping. We returned to hotel where we rested and then had a long evening of prayer for one another. It was a great day of relaxation and fellowship.
Day 7
The team had a much needed lie in before going to church at the Hope for Glory Center. It was a great, with lots of singing, dancing and prayer. Abigail danced and sang for the church and Lucia sang. Reninca prayed and presented Bibles from the UK and Sarah preached Gods word.
The service was very lively however lasted nearly five hours. After the service we stayed after to meet with the church leaders and encourage them. Reninca shared about the Bible and disability to help support Pastor Davis in his work on disability.
After we went to meet another Pastor and his wife and encourage them as they work in the countryside
The team were very tired and after dinner had an early night.
Day 8
The team met early as had to travel to Keringet which was 1 ½ hours away. When we arrived there was a bit of confusion and we waited outside while they got the hall ready. We only had one and a half hours to present so shortened our presentations and spoke to them about the main crux of our message. There was one man from a disabled people organisation who spoke at length at the difficulties he was facing. The team felt very happy with the training as had to depend more on the Holy Spirit and the feedback was positive. In the afternoon we travelled two and a half hours down a very bumpy road to go and visit a group of disabled adults. It was wonderful to meet with them.
We then returned back to the hotel and had a great dinner
Day 9
This was our last day of training and we woke up sad about that we travelled for two hours to a place called Kabatec. We were greeted by the District Offical he was extremely welcoming and honouring. This group were particularly interested. However to local problems we were only able to give an hour of training. Remarkably we managed to bring all our key points into under an hour and the feedback we received was very positive.
We returned back to Nakuru where we found from Pastor Davis that he had missed an important interview for a job that morning to take us to the training. However due to us finishing earlier he went to the university to see if he they would be able to interview him late. Praise God he was interviewed and given favour despite being late.
We returned back to the hotel for a final dinner where Pastor Davis and his wife presented us with scraves.
Day 10.
We woke up late, packed and had breakfast. We then went to the Hope of Glory center to meet with some of the children, parents and women who use the centre. We returned for lunch before getting the bus to the airport. Whilst in the bus the team were dreaming of what they would like to eat for tea which included a cheese and tomato sandwich, cake and ice cream. When we arrived at the airport the one café open sold all these things.
The team had a very blessed flight with lots of room so they could spread out. Changed flights in Brussels and returned home. It was amazing.
Through the Roof Charitable Trust Ltd
...Is a UK Registered Company number 04201510 with offices at Through the Roof, Alpha House, Alpha Place, Garth Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 4TQ. It is also a Registered Charity Number 1087788.
Phone: 01372 749955
Fax: 01372 737040
Email: info@throughtheroof.org
Sorry we’ve been offline recently...
... we've had some major problems (our web designer hadn’t seen anything like it in 30 years!) We’re very glad to be back again, but we're aware a number of glitches and odd things still need some attention. We'd appreciate your understanding as we go through fixing these, as soon as is practically possible. Thanks for your continued support.
I know Where I’m Going… (Ros' Blog)
John’s narrative of the Easter story differs from that of the other three Gospel writers in that it is a much more intimate portrayal, seen less from the standpoint of an observer, and more through the eyes of Jesus himself. John, as Jesus’ closest earthly friend, had ample opportunity to observe and listen to Jesus and to get a feel for how He Himself saw events. In particular, he records far more than the other writers of Jesus’ own words in the period leading up to His arrest.
John records how, at the last supper, Jesus took a towel and performed the function usually reserved for the lowest servant in the house – washing the feet of everyone present at the meal. And he prefixes the story with this interesting observation: “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.” The security that Jesus had in facing the cross came from knowing what authority He had, whose He was and where He was going.
John’s Gospel makes three references to a character who is overlooked by Jesus’ other biographers. His name is Nicodemus, and we first encounter him in chapter three. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, is fascinated by what he has heard of Jesus and wants to meet Him for himself. But, wary of being seen to associate with him, he cautiously visits him by night. “Rabbi,” he says, “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” – an admission which, at present, he lacks the courage to make in broad daylight or in earshot of the other Pharisees.
Jesus makes Nicodemus welcome, and has a serious conversation with him about the need to be born again, born of the Spirit, in order to be included in God’s kingdom. He gently teases him in a way people only do with someone they like: “You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things?” Nicodemus is forced to face the reality that, unlike Jesus, he does not yet know what authority he has, to whom he belongs, or where his destiny lies.
Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus has a lasting impact on him. He not only retains his confidence in Jesus’ divine origin, but he begins to gain a boldness in defending Jesus to the religious leaders. When they denounce His teaching and berate the temple guards for not arresting Him in chapter 7 of John, Nicodemus risks (and receives) a rebuke by venturing to ask, ““Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
The final time we meet Nicodemus, he has flung caution to the winds. Jesus has been crucified, has died, and His body is about to be taken down from the cross for disposal. The normal fate of crucified remains is to be flung out into the valley of Hinnom, the place where the rubbish is burned. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea boldly go to Pilate and demand the right to take care of Jesus’ body. Permission is granted, and in broad daylight, in front of all the Jewish and Roman officials who have been present to witness the crucifixion, they tenderly remove the body of Jesus, wrap it in strips of linen and Nicodemus applies seventy-five pounds of spices which he has brought with him for the purpose. It has been estimated that such a quantity of spices would have cost the equivalent of about £110,000 in today’s money.
Nicodemus is making a very bold and very public statement about his estimation of Jesus’ worth. What a journey this man has come from the timidity that had him scurrying furtively to Jesus at night. Somewhere along the way he has learned what authority he has, whose he is, and where his final destiny lies. This has not come through any intellectual process of reasoning, but simply through keeping company with Jesus, feeling the warmth of His appreciation and acceptance, and realising his worth in God’s eyes.
And what about us? We all arrive at adulthood hampered by things that make us insecure and uncertain of our identity, whether that is the result of a physical or learning disability we’ve grown up with, abuse or neglect in childhood, being the victim of school bullies, or even just the self-doubt and longing for acceptance that are part of the normal experience of adolescence.
From there we have a choice. We can either go through life hamstrung by these limitations that we or others have placed on us. Or, like Nicodemus, we can associate freely and regularly with Jesus, observing His confidence and security that come from knowing what the Father has given Him, His total acceptance and belonging to the Father, and His ultimate destiny in taking the full place the Father has reserved for Him.
So, this Easter, let’s not continue to dwell on the things that hold us back or make us feel inadequate. Instead, let’s be confident in our authority (for Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me… go in My name”), in whose we are (for Jesus said, “You did not choose Me but I chose you… I no longer call you servants… instead I have called you friends”) and where we are going, that our destiny is inextricably bound up with that of Jesus (for Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am you may be also”). Armed with these three confidences we can face with complete trust in God anything that lies ahead, knowing as Nicodemus eventually did, that our allegiance to Jesus matters more than anything, and is worth any sacrifice of reputation or wealth.
As C.T. Studd said, when he gave up a glittering international cricket career and an inherited fortune to take the Gospel to parts of the world where Jesus was unknown, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for Him.”
Image taken from Gratisography - follow this link to visit their site.
Wheels in Kimilili, the final day
We're very grateful to volunteer, Charlotte, for her inspirational blogs from our wheelchair distribution in Kenya. Here's the final one...
We stayed in a lovely little guesthouse overnight and returned to the Eldoret centre on Friday morning for our final distribution.
There were nine more clients expected - Seven of those were seated and all went to plan. Our final two clients were struggling to travel to the centre.
Sadly, one mother struggled to get to us as her husband did not allow her to travel due to their child's disability. Fortunately, the staff at the centre got involved and a policeman shoed the husband away. The little child was seated with us and the mother was overwhelmed with emotion. She had no idea her child could sit up. What a huge answer to prayer! Our other mother managed to make it just in time as well!
After we finished, we had lunch and some went for a quick swim in the hotel next door. On leaving, the staff at the centre gave us ladies a beautiful scarf each and the two chaps fantastic animal printed shirts! They also blessed us with a beautiful picture of water dripping between pots to put up at the WFTW office. They were a fantastic team and such an encouragment to us. It was incredible to see God working in their lives and through them in their work.
Our return flight plans went smoothly. Reninca managed to check all of us in (bar one) from the UK, which was a huge answer to prayer and such a relief! We did have a bit of a manic rush at Nairobi to ensure the final member of the team was checked in, but praise the Lord they were - despite the queues.
A real sadness fell over me as I left Kenyan soil. It has been an incredible, life changing 10 days. We have seen God move and work in unimaginable ways. We have experienced mind-blowing answers to prayer and never changing grace. God is alive and at work in those regions of Kenya and what an encouragement that is!
Please continue to pray for the folks of Kimilili and Eldoret; that their wheelchairs would bring real joy to their lives. Through independence and new freedom, they would be able to share with others around them the real Gospel of grace. Please pray they would feel accepted and secure in Jesus's love for them as His children, not separate from Christ through their disability.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragments for us as a team. We encourage you to follow in our footsteps and get involved with a future wheels trip - it will change and develop you for God's glory.
Over and out. x
You can find all our Wheels Blog posts by following this link.