Who Am I?

I have been a born again believer for over 40 years, involved in ministry with children,youth and adults in a variety of churches. Currently I am the director of community care ministries at Westside Church, where I am completing her eighth year of employment.

I have 30+ years experience working with children and adults with mild through severe disabilities, including autism in both public schools and private institutions. I hold a Bachelors Degree in Special Education from the University of Illinois, and a Masters Degree in Special Education from Creighton University.

I have previous mission experience, having lived and taught for two years in the early ‘70’s among the Lakota people on the Rosebud Reservation of South Dakota. I have made multiple short term mission trips to Latin America, including Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.

I have also developed strategic relationships with current Guatemala missionaries, who have agreed to network with me in ministry endeavors, to the mutual benefit of both of our organizations. In addition, I have developed relationships with a number of local churches and families, primarily in the Antigua, Guatemala area. I can speak Spanish reasonably well, and will continue to study the language, as well as the culture of Guatemala. I have visited Guatemala both alone and with others, and am comfortable in the environment.

Personally, I am divorced, have four adult children, one grandson and another grandchild due to be born in October. I have no family responsibilities which would interfere with my service in Guatemala. My desire to serve through foreign missions has grown steadily over the past ten years, and is strengthened and confirmed each time I make a short-term mission trip.

The Need

Numerous children in Guatemala experience physical, oral/motor and cognitive disabilities which interfere with their ability to communicate efficiently and effectively. There are currently mission groups working with this population to provide housing, education, medical, and mobility care to these children. These current Guatemala missionaries confirm this need, and attest to the lack of services available to children with these communication difficulties.

A variety of approaches are available at little or no cost to help these people communicate their basic wants and needs effectively. The first individuals who will be targeted for these services will be those identified by current missionaries, and the children and adults who reside at Hermano Pedro Orphanage in Antigua.

Strategies to improve the feeding methods for individuals with severe disabilities and swallowing problems, primarily in the orphanage setting, are also a significant need. It will require time to develop trust from the staff, convince them of the value of a more controlled and compassionate manner of feeding those at risk for choking, and then implementing the program.

Another difficulty faced by the women of Guatemala is significant and recurrent respiratory difficulties and chronic health problems, resulting from cooking over open fires. Stoves can be economically constructed, allowing women to cook in the manner with which they are familiar, and yet vent the smoke outside the house. These stoves also burn significantly less wood than an open fire, further reducing the cost or work load for the women.

Many Guatemalan women are significantly abused physically, and at this time no measures are taken to protect these women, unless they happen to have relatives who are willing to take them in. How this might be addressed in a culturally sensitive yet effective manner will take a significant period of research and observation. It is my desire to find a way to address this critical need.

A long range goal would be to develop small Christian residential settings in which those with disabilities will live in community with “assistants” who are also residents of the homes and participants in the community. This model has been developed by Jan Vanier, and his organization L’Arche, and has successfully been implemented worldwide, including 2 homes in Honduras, and a number of homes in Mexico. Currently, this type of care is not available in Guatemala, but the initial research necessary for implementation has been done by Steve Osborn, a founder of Love the Child Ministry in Guatemala.

Timeline

My last day working for Westside Church is scheduled for May 31st, though I will be sticking around Omaha until June 19, when Donna, a friend from church, will travel with me to Guatemala.  Each trip I have taken over the last two years has further confirmed for me that Guatemala is to become my home. 

The first year in Guatemala will serve exploratory purposes as well as providing direct services wherever possible. Initially, I will live with the Hernandez family in Antigua, and focus my primary efforts on the children at Hermano Pedro, assisting at Love the Child and other orphanages in the area as possible.

By the second year of residency, it is hoped that a suitable house can be found in a village near Antigua, where relationships with neighbors can lead to natural opportunities for evangelization and discipleship of women and children.

During the first 18 months to 2 years of residency, I will use public transportation or contracted services. During this initial period, the need for a personal vehicle, the advisability of a single woman driving the countryside alone, and the cost/benefit associated with personal vehicle ownership will be evaluated and submitted to the Board for recommendation.