A Gift of Mobility

September 14, 2010

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Amid the devastation in Haiti lives a woman named Myrta. Even before the recent earthquake that leveled her country, her life had been filled with immense hardship. She was abused to the point of paralysis from the waist down by a husband who fled and took away her children. Rendered unable to move and devastated by her loss, she was carried outside every morning by family members and laid under a shade tree all day. Others in the village would take turns bringing her food.

A nurse in a nearby clinic struggled to help Myrta find mobility and independence. They tried a standard wheelchair, but she lacked the strength to push herself on the unpaved Haitian roads. Friends, when available, would push her around, but the rocks and gravel eventually cut through the thin tires, making travel even more difficult.

When I read Myrta’s story this week, I thought about the man in John’s gospel who waited for thirty-eight years by the pool at Beth-zatha in Jerusalem. Its mysterious healing powers made it a popular attraction for the diseased and the lame. When the waters stirred, the first one into the pool would be healed of their ailments, leaving the rest to wait for another day. When Jesus and the disciples found the man, he was desperate and alone, and his words could have well been uttered by Myrta herself:

Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.

This was a plea for help from one who could not make it alone. The man’s story stands in contrast to anyone who argues that the poor and downtrodden need only conjure the will to work to pull themselves out of their dire condition. What this man needed was no lecture or self-help seminar. He needed a circle of friends to surround him and give him a chance.

He found that community in Jesus and the disciples. When Jesus commanded him to rise and walk, he was able to do so, but only when accompanied by people who cared for his well being and empowered him with new strength. His healing was nothing short of a miracle, granting him new independence and freedom. But it is not rare. Episodes like this one occur thousands of times around the world through a very special program.

This Sunday, you have a chance to be part of that kind of miracle for people like Myrta.

One day, an organization called PET (Personal Energy Transportation) came to Myrta’s village and dropped off a unique personal vehicle built with a rugged wooden frame and the wheels of a wheelbarrow. It was propelled by hand crank, rather than by foot pedals, and was built to last on rough terrain. The moment Myrta was placed in the vehicle, her life was transformed. She pedaled hard and fast, cutting through the harsh gravel roads at roughly the speed of a fast walk. And every Sunday to this day, she pedals the half-mile to church on her own.

The PET program was started fifteen years ago by a missionary who saw a need for affordable, durable transportation for the nearly 20 million people in third-world countries immobilized due to disease, accident, abuse, and land mines. After he developed the first prototype with a missions partner, production of the PET carts were in high demand. They are simple (made of basic lumber and wheelbarrow material), sturdy (made to withstand a variety of harsh road conditions), and affordable (made for only $250 each). Today, over 1,000 units are produced each year in the United States in fourteen different cities, including nearby Hawarden, Iowa.

This Sunday, you’ll have a chance to see a PET cart up close, and hear more inspiring stories from a few of its manufacturers from Hawarden. We’ll take up our first ever special offering for the program, and my hope is that we will be able to raise at least $500, enough to purchase PET units for two people like Myrta. This is a program strongly advocated by the Iowa Conference, and will count towards our Rainbow Covenant Missions program. You won’t want to miss this special chance to put God’s love into action for immobile people everywhere. Let us be a community of healing for the world.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org



John 5:1-18
1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.
3 In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed.
5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’
7 The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’
8 Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’
9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath.
10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.’
11 But he answered them, ‘The man who made me well said to me, “Take up your mat and walk.” ’
12 They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Take it up and walk”?’
13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.’
15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath.
17 But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is still working, and I also am working.’
18 For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.



THIRD GRADE BIBLES THIS SUNDAY
We celebrate a milestone in the lives of our third-grade class as we present them with Bibles from the church, along with a handmade tatted cross bookmark. Join us for this wonderful moment.

YOUTH MOVIE NIGHT
Youth and parents grades 7-12 are invited to join us this Sunday night, from 5-7pm, to view the powerful Christian film “To Save a Life.” You will also receive the full schedule of fun Fall activities scheduled for the youth program.

TOM KRUSE UPDATE
Thank you for the prayers for Tom Kruse, who underwent major surgery last week. Here is the latest from his wife Judy: “Tom is still on the ventilator but they decreased the amount of it so he's breathing more on his own, which is good. He did spike a small temp last night but it was down this morning. He opens his eyes once in awhile but is still quite groggy and seems to be sleeping. They are going to try feeding him again through a tube but push it directly into his intestines to get them going better. It's still a very slow process but as the doctor puts it, he's moving forward and not backwards.” If you would like to send them a card, mail it to 1501 S. Airport Drive #112 Weslaco, TX 78596.

PORK FEED SEPTEMBER 26
Mark your calendars once again for our annual pork feed, on September 26, from 11:30-12:30pm. Bring a generous portion of salad or a side item to share, and all the proceeds will support the Next Generation Fund.