v Ghana: March 15—April 4.When David was part of a team from Calvary Church (Roseville, MN) in 2010, he met with students and some faculty at Trinity Theological Seminary in Legon, Ghana, to present a seminar on disability ministry. The interest in returning to teach a full course was expressed, and this 2011 trip came at the invitation of Dr. Cyril Fayose, President of Trinity Seminary. Sixty-two students from the seminary were enrolled in the 30-hour course on “The Theology of Disability, Suffering, and Church Ministry.” Several additional students audited the course. From verbal feedback received from several students, and from their responses to questions on the final exam, God was at work in the hearts of the students to bring conviction as to their neglect of ministry to persons with disabilities, and to create a desire to move forward with such ministry. If nothing else, awareness was raised as to the responsibility of Christ-followers to show compassion toward persons affected by disability, and to their families, modeled after the compassion which Jesus himself demonstrated.
Since the class at Trinity met in the evenings, David was also able to do a six-hour seminar, split over two days, for the 24 students at Good News Theological College and Seminary, as well as to speak with 15 pastors from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church as they met for an Association Retreat in Accra. In each case, recognition of the need to include persons with disabilities in the scope of church ministry was evident.
v Serbia: April 22—May 2. David traveled to Serbia to be a part of the second Family Retreat sponsored by Joni and Friends. He was a part of an eight-person team from the U.S. This year’s retreat was held at a different location which provided more room for the various activities, allowing for the addition of a short Pastors’ Conference to run concurrently. This year, 20 families were invited (21 children with disabilities plus siblings). Many, if not all, of the families who participated in the Family Retreat in 2010 returned. It was fun to see the joy in the faces of both parents and children with disabilities as they reconnected with one another and with the volunteers who had worked with them last year. It was easy to see that everyone felt comfortable, accepted, and loved in this environment.
Volunteers from HUB Bible School and several other Americans who minister in Serbia with Hana’s Hope carried out fun activities for the children and youth (those with disabilities and their siblings) while David and Chip Bell (a former missionary to Serbia, now pasturing a church in Texas) met with the families to share God’s vision of persons who are disabled. Chip, who has a son who has autism, was able to encourage the families by speaking of how God has helped his family in dealing with their son’s autism and how they have been blessed through their son. Meanwhile, the occupational and physical therapists which were part of the team did evaluations of the children to help the parents learn to more effectively assist their children.
Chip Bell and David also spent Thursday evening and Friday morning meeting with about 20 pastors and church leaders from evangelical churches in Serbia to introduce them to issues related to disability ministry. These pastors were keenly interested in what we shared and with the possibilities for outreach in their areas. Their desire to learn more about ministering to the disability community was very evident.
