By: Heidi E. Johnson, MS – Social Work

What does it mean to live a JOY filled life? On the surface it is easy to conjure a variety of images, thoughts, and desires; presenting a picture of what our lives ought to look like.  In Philippians 4:8, we are challenged to seek out and dwell within the positives in our life. Consider these words; to seek out, to be actively looking; searching for, and dwelling. We are asked to create a home within the positives of our life. What a unique concept. To actively look for positives and then to create a home within those things that are positive. Spending time dwelling in the arms of our Savior; dwelling in the arms of Abba Father, JOY comes in abundance. Our JOY is multiplied simply by laying within the arms of God. It is here that we create our home in the most positive place of all, the sanctum of Gods arms, a grasp that will not let us go. Such a place can only allow our hearts to sing with praise. Thanksgiving and praise only increases our JOY!!!

So now you may be asking, “What does this mean for me? How does this change the struggles and limitations that I must deal with daily; struggles that come with having a disability?” Like many who will read this, I too struggle daily with disabilities. These limitations have had a great impact when it comes to my day to day living. Through this struggle, the blessings and the lessons of patience and understanding have been learned. Opening and aligning our hearts and souls to the blessings of our Creator through JOY, through worship, and praise, there is a flow from our separateness to oneness with God. Such incredible and beautiful freedom! We are blessed to know the Father intimately, blessed to experience the fruit of the Spirit.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, this JOY filled relationship becomes dynamic and alive, this relationship is flowing. Words that enter my mind as I close my eyes and imagine this beautiful, fluid relationship are healthy, self-awareness, acceptance, and openness. We no longer reside in a space that is static and predictable. We are brought into a space of noble truth: the truth of Jesus. Jesus tells us that He IS the Way, He IS the Truth, and He IS the Light. Jesus is the way to the Father. Imagine that Jesus lovingly takes your hand and guides you along. He begins to tell you with great excitement, with tremendous JOY, that he wants YOU to meet the Father. He wants to guide you to those wonderful loving arms, to His lap big enough for all of us. The Father wants to hold each of us safe, He wishes to guide us and teach us. This is where Jesus and the Father share the Holy Spirit; that still small voice, three in one; so complex, yet so simple. Think of your own self, the various roles that you play. You are the same, yet different. It can be a struggle to think about this, but consider how many hats, how many roles you play, yet you are one in the same. It is here that we close our eyes, jump in and say, “Just flow with this.” Accept and receive on faith. Consider all of the things that we take on faith everyday, even the most basic of things such as driving, or being a passenger in a car. Every time you are in a car you are going on faith that the other drivers share a vested interest in safety like yourself. Moving to the more intricate things in our lives, such as relationships that we share, we have faith in the words and actions of our partner. We find ourselves able to trust a mere human when they tell us that we are loved and cared for. So now imagine coming to a place where we could recognize that if we can have faith in so many, many things, so many, many people, how could we not place our faith in God when he tells each of us who He is? When He tells us that He is three in one? A perfect holy union!!!!!

As I write this, I have such a smile in my heart, and of course one on my face as well!!!!! As we maneuver down the path of this spiritual journey, it is important to be engaged in the here and now. Life can be unpredictable, life can be difficult, and life can wondrous. Yet we are so blessed to have a Heavenly Father who assists us in navigating this path; even more so, navigating this path in JOY. God is speaking with us all of the time. We know that our bodies are temples of the Lord. If this is the case then it stands to reason that we commune with God all of the time. The JOY of the Lord is present within us all of the time, not just once in a while, but all of the time. Now, stop and mull this all over for a moment. Jesus dwells within me. I am His child resting in His arms. The JOY of the Lord flows abundantly through me all of the time. We are made in His likeness. Wow.

I know that typically I write articles that pertain to things such as navigating school systems, or finding new ways to obtain services to empower and support each individual; however, I felt this desire in my heart to really share with each of you some of my thoughts about JOY. I want to know how all of you feel about the JOY of the Lord in your life. How His presence impacts you in the things that you do. How does the JOY of Abba Father move and flow within the small everyday tasks to the much bigger tasks? The JOY of the Lord is with us always, it is not fleeting. JOY is with us and within us continually. It is simply up to us to us to ALLOW this JOY to flow. To allow the Holy Spirit to assist us to recondition our minds and our hearts so that we may see things as they truly are. Such simplicity, such beauty is here this is where reframing begins. We begin to let go of the “old story” and create a new one. We are all interconnected through Christ. As I begin to wrap this up, I find myself so very grateful to be connected to each and every one of you. Thank you for this wonderful gift to have shared these words with each of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. I encourage each of you to feel the pulse of your own life. Allow yourself to be immersed in the love and JOY given to us by God. This love will flow so freely from our own hearts to others. The love of the Lord is meant to be shared, to expand. I pray that you are as blessed reading these words as I have been writing them. Let us open up a frank dialogue about JOY. Let’s be honest and share the good and the not so good times. We are family. Let us be truly authentic with one another. God is so very, very good!   

Dominican Republic and ultimately the Caribbean and Latin America

“In eighteen Latin America countries where I have ministered, there is little or no government assistance for people with disabilities…The number of people with disabilities on the street indicates how little is being done. In urban areas, families will often avoid church and community activities for fear of being considered inferior, having sinned or having a curse. Not understanding that a disability is a condition rather than a disease, others may fear contagion.

More extreme stigmas exist in primitive Latin American cultures such as found deep in the Amazon jungle where electricity or cars are unknown… A married couple representing two such tribes graduated from our ministerial program. They had built a bamboo-thatch church and many became believers. One of their ministries was to defy an ancient custom of throwing newborn babies with disabilities into the river! Over the years they have rescued these babies from the river and raised them as their own. When I taught the wife in one of my classes, fifteen of their girls rescued from the river came and sang of Jesus in their tribal tongue. What a challenge for Special Touch to GO and begin NOW to reach and disciple people with disabilities in Latin America.” – Roy Smeya, Missionary

South Africa & Zimbabwe

“To make it even more incredible, as God was leading us to His “Gateway” for Latin America… Thomas and Angelia Carpenter, who serve on our National Leadership Team, were being asked to bring Special Touch to South Africa and Zimbabwe… AT THE EXACT SAME TIME!” – Charles T. Chivers, Executive Director

From October 13th thru November 3rd, Thomas and Angelia Carpenter will be traveling to South Africa with Rev. Ron Bernard , Assembly of God Missionary to Africa. They are endeavoring to open up ministry to people with disabilities in South Africa.

The Carpenters will meet with the leadership of six large churches in Johannesburg who are interested in bringing ministry to people with disabilities, including a Summer Get Away next year, to the area. From there, the Carpenters will travel to Cape Town to meet with a group of business owners desiring to help support ministry in South Africa.

Orphanages in South Africa consist almost entirely of children with disabilities. Honoring a wish expressed by their son Buck on his school paper …”For every child in Africa to have a toy to play with!” …The Carpenters will distribute Buck’s toys to children in local orphanages as well as attend a banquet designed to raise funds for orphanages throughout South Africa.

In April 2013, the Carpenters plan to return to South Africa and provide Leadership Training and developing ministry to include Zambia and Zimbabwe. Follow-up trips for training and development are in the works for all of 2013. Your prayers and support are much appreciated.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! We must raise $6000-$7000, this year, to send our team to the Dominican Republic, and Thomas and Angelia Carpenter to Africa. Thank you.

“This new location provides a viable opportunity for us to transition the Arizona Summer Get Away into a true Southwest Regional Summer Get Away, serving an expanded group of people with disabilities from other Southwestern states including Arizona, Southern California, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and even Colorado. A quality Christian camping program, for people with special needs, a little over six hours from Los Angeles, is just the start of a lot of opportunities for this group of people,” says Carl Hespe, Tech Support Coordinator.

Young Life recorded these exciting video clips Tour 1 and Tour 2 to take you on a tour of the grounds and give a taste for some things you may experience this summer. This brochure for Tour 2Tour 2Lost Canyon provides additional photos and details of this incredible facility.

Since this is a centralized location, we’re recruiting people from all throughout the Southwest Region for a wonderful week. This facility also has the capacity to house an increase in the number of staff and guests. Our hope is that many additional lives will be impacted at the Southwest Regional Summer Get Away.

An added bonus this year, Rev. Ed and Julie Norman will be speaking during our evening chapel services. At age 17, Ed experienced a spinal cord injury when he attempted to take away a gun from a friend who had been playing with it. Unfortunately, the gun went off as the two wrestled for it; leaving Ed to live his life in a wheelchair. Ed and Julie are dynamic speakers who always bring encouragement to those with challenges./

We’d love to see you in Arizona on August 27-31 and look forward to seeing you as well. If you know friends in the Southwest Region, please share this exiting opportunity with them. To download an application (click here) or to find information about Special Touch Summer Get Away’s in other locations (click here).

As Director of STREAM (Special Touch Ready Emergency Assistance Mission), Thomas Carpenter brings hope to families suddenly confronted with disability. The risk of disability increases as people age. Al, who was near retirement age, had a stroke that left him with a disability.

Al’s wife, Sallie says, “The hardest thing for me to accept was the severity of his condition – it took me time to accept that he’d never talk and that he was disabled.” Tasks such as: home health, buying equipment, and making doctor appointments all fell on her shoulders. They seem overwhelming for anyone confronted by them for the first time.

STREAM is here to help families, like Sallie and Al, cope with their unfortunate circumstances and offer assistance. This ministry is all about expressing God’s love in a tangible way.

Recently, Thomas presented Scotty Jones, a man who is challenged by Cerebral Palsy, with the title to a van. He was, to say, a “little beside himself” literally. The van is setup for Scotty to drive.

Thomas loves to make the lives of people with disabilities easier in tangible ways. If you have a project for him or want to help, please call us today!

Special Touch Ministry has been blessed with an incredible resource in the Tech Truck. It travels across the nation to support the Summer Get Away Program. The Truck is supplied with everything from store merchandise to the sound system to medical resources used by nurses.

The Tech Team, directed by Rev. Carl Hespe, is a group of unselfish servants who are committed to working behind the scenes to ensure each Summer Get Away runs smoothly. The team specializes in removing barriers and designing new inventions greatly assisting staff in caring for people with disabilities. One caregiver said, “Wow, is there anything the team can’t do? They always find the resources I need.”

These supports enhance the opportunity for people with disabilities to embrace God’s love and let go of those things that keep them from reaching higher. The reward for Carl’s team is simply watching God touch hearts as people with disabilities give their anger and resentment to God. Changed lives are exactly what Tech is ALL about!

Carl is always looking for candidates with tech skills to join his team. Contact Carl today to find out how you can serve on his team at an upcoming Summer Get Away! It will be a life-changing experience!

Thank you, Tech Team, for making a huge difference!

Are you motivated by a leader who demands strict compliance or demonstrates excellence through serving? The Special Touch family is incredibly blessed with several gifted leaders who inspire us by triumphing over adversity.

Geographically, Jacksonville, FL is one of the largest cities in the United States. It has a huge population of people impacted by disability with over a hundred group homes to serve them.

In February, I had the privilege of speaking at the First Coast Chapter that meets on the west side of Jacksonville. Roger, Chapter President, introduced me to Lori who plays a key role in the Chapter’s community outreach to people impacted by disability. She also serves as the Chapter secretary. Lori has Spinal Muscular Atrophy and uses a power wheelchair to get around. She hopes to develop a “coffeehouse-like” meeting within her Chapter where people with physical disabilities can receive support. Also, Lori is very diligent in making sure the Chapter’s reports are filed accurately and on time with the Ministry Office. This is a great blessing to us!!! Lori not only demonstrates excellence in her Officer responsibilities but is always a joy to be around.

Lori has proven that a disability isn’t a valid excuse for a person not to hold a position in leadership. In fact, Roger, says:

“Lori does an AMAZING job. I completely forget that she has a severe disability. Nothing holds her back. Her work ethic is an absolute inspiration to all of us. If I need something done, I know I can always account on Lori. I thank God for letting her be a vital part of the First Coast Chapter.”

Lori’s condition takes a toll on her, like the times where her arms feel “as weak as dishrags”. She says the smiling faces of the Chapter attendees inspire her to do more to make them feel special and have a good time. Some of Lori’s co-workers get worried about her doing too much, but there’s no stopping her from serving.

What keeps you from serving as a leader? With God’s help, like Lori, you can be an incredible leader as well!

A Disability Awareness Sunday can be a milestone in the life and vitality of the local church. Unfortunately, this event too often becomes a token offering to fulfill an obligatory date on the annual church calendar and appease a few vocal constituents with disability ministry concerns. This would include Disability Ministry coordinators, special needs Sunday school teachers, and those individuals and families directly impacted by physical or mental disability on a daily basis. These two groups of people, one with a lonely ministry call and the other with a daily cross to bear, are often disenfranchised from the body. They feel unnoticed and unwanted because they ride an unpopular “hobby horse” that makes others uncomfortable. They are rarely included or considered in the overall planning of the church.

For some reason, reaching people with disabilities is the unwanted stepchild of church ministries. Here are some facts for consideration:

• When building renovations are made, the building committee or architectural team rarely consults with Disability Ministry leaders or gets the input of those affected by disability. They don’t realize that blindly following state specifications can lead to costly do-overs. (A Christian camp in Illinois had to re-do all the “accessible” bathrooms in their new lodge because no one thought to test the specs with real people in real wheelchairs. The state specs did not take into account needed “turn around” room.)
• Major churches sometimes isolate and lose contact with their ministry to people with disabilities. The disability ministry becomes a church within the church that is never visited by the church leadership or the congregation at-large. Workers within the ministry are seldom encouraged.
• Members of the disability community within the church are generally overlooked as active participants in church life and ministry. Even though these connections are absolutely vital for people with disabilities, they are virtually ignored when people are recruited for activities such as teaching a Sunday school class, working in the nursery, participating in church dramas and musicals, Sunday school picnics, fellowship, and even work days. Since many people with disabilities have the desire and the skills to perform these functions, this lack of consideration sends silent signals that they are perceived as useless.
• When people feel disenfranchised, two things occur. Individuals and families affected by disability react by becoming very private and retreating even further into their own world. Some may appear self-involved, strange, indifferent, unfriendly, and unwilling to fit into the church family. Others will become manipulative, abrupt, and ungrateful, marking themselves as undesirable to be around.

At the same time, disability ministry workers in the church tend to become vocal advocates on behalf of those they serve. They become warriors for their people who are sometimes more than willing to risk being perceived as offensive or belligerent in pursuit of their righteous cause. There is nothing wrong with being an advocate or a warrior, but constant extreme behavior accompanied by continual “harping” can cause one to appear angry, single-minded, deaf, indifferent to the needs and concerns of others, and insubordinate. Such attitudes and tactics will never win the heart of church leadership. They only alienate good people, pushing them away instead of drawing them into supporting the ministry.

If disability ministry workers become lobbyists, using political muscle within the church to manipulate the pastor into supporting their agenda, then disability ministry ceases to be a worthy outreach and is reduced to a token gesture of political expedience. That kind of pressure leaves a bad taste in the pastor’s mouth and triggers a negative emotional response towards ministry to people with disabilities.

It is important to understand that ministry to people with low-functioning intellectual disabilities must be geared to their level. When they can understand and participate in it, everyone profits from the service.

People with low-functioning intellectual disabilities are real people with the same basic needs all of us have. They need love, acceptance, and understanding to experience accomplishment. Because of sin, they need the message of the gospel. They can learn spiritual truths when taught on a concrete level and within their mental functioning range. Learning takes place very, very slowly for people with low-functioning intellectual disabilities.

• They cannot keep pace with their peers without disabilities because their response time is so much slower. Some pastors and worship leaders may not understand this because they see people with low-functioning intellectual disabilities dancing, clapping, and loving the fast, syncopated rhythms, beats, and the speed of modern worship songs. They love the energy, but their minds cannot process the information fast enough to participate in the worship.
• They have short attention spans, and they cannot grasp abstract ideas well. Leaders must use concrete words, examples, and various types of audio-visual materials such as overhead projectors, slides, costumes, puppets, and drama to help them understand the message.
• Repeat simple truths over, and over, and over again, in many different ways.
• People with low-functioning intellectual disabilities do not have a normal curiosity to learn. Therefore, they are not motivated by normal internal and external motivators. However, they quickly form strong attachments to people, so significant individuals in their immediate environment may become the chief motivational forces in their lives and in the learning process.

Also available for purchase through the Special Touch Ministry office is Principles For Life, a one-year Christian Education Curriculum published by Special Touch Ministry, Inc. in cooperation with Life Publishers.

Principles for Life is a series of simple Bible lessons designed to assist Christian education leaders and churches in reaching people with intellectual disabilities with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Twenty weekly lessons cover basic biblical principles and characters from the Old and twenty from the New Testament. Also included are eight extra lessons for special occasions.

Principles for Life Excerpt

Available for only $99.95 plus S & H

Call 715-258-2713 today to order!

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine being born into permanent darkness. Continue the journey. Your eyes see but your ears don’t hear. You are born into a sub-culture that largely rejects both the label of disability and the remedies for your condition.

In this next vignette you are traveling to meet your fiancée when in the space of ninety seconds while adjusting for an oncoming truck you roll your car over three times down an embankment. After regaining consciousness you find that you are paralyzed from the chest down. In the instant it took for your vertebrae to puncture the spinal cord you have been suddenly and violently transformed into a stranger you do not know.

These are just a few of the ways that millions of people are impacted by disabilities. This book will take you into the isolated and painful world of physical and intellectual disability and show you and your church how to touch lives for Christ in this vastly neglected community.

Available for only $29.95 plus S & H

Call 715-258-2713 today to order!

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Just a few of the over 700 brand name online stores participating, include Aeropostale, Amazon, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor, Avon, Barnes N’ Noble, Chadwick’s, Circuit City, Best Buy, Bass Pro Shop, ebay, Family Christian Stores, Expedia, Lands End, Dell, Footlocker, JCPenny, Cabella’s, Gap, Old Navy, Office Depot, Staples, Overstock, Victoria’s Secret, Vitamin Shoppe, Zales, Tigerdirect, Toys R Us, Sears, Miles Kimball, Oriental Trading, and many more. Shop at these stores, using iGive.com, and up to 26% of your purchase will be donated to Special Touch. It´s all free & private!

Still wondering how it works? Well, I’ll give you an example. Let’s say you want to buy grandma that extra special gift for Christmas, this year. Go to www.igive.com/specialtouchministry. Fill in all the fields and click on “register.”

A page will come up, listing all the new ways you can donate to Special Touch using iGive. Click the link at the bottom to start using the iGive mall.

Enter the item you want for grandma into the search box (she could use a new set of oven mitts). Press search and you have a number of types to choose from (everything available from over 700 vendors).

If you want to search at a specific store instead, such as JCPenny, select from the A-Z merchant list on the left side of the page. When you click on the JCPenny link, the website pops up in a new window. Place your order and your work is done.

Just remember, the only way for Special Touch to receive these donations is to go through iGive.com, first. If you go back to shop again later, just go to iGive.com and enter the login information you used when you registered.

Don’t forget, New Shoppers get a $5 bonus donation! Tell all your friends to use iGive.com for all their online holiday shopping! Those who purchase anything within 45 days of signing up with www.igive.com/specialtouchministry, get an extra $5 bonus donated to Special Touch!