Oakseed Ministries » children with disabilities http://oakseed.org Telling the stories for those with no voice Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:32:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Praying for Children with Disability http://oakseed.org/annual-day-of-prayer/praying-for-children-with-disability/ http://oakseed.org/annual-day-of-prayer/praying-for-children-with-disability/#comments Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:19:49 +0000 Benjamin http://www.oakseed.org/?p=183 Diversity in Disability Brought Together in Christ

PRAY for churches to reach out to children of all abilities to equip them and their families to become full participants in the Body of Christ and their community.
PRAY that all churches open their doors to welcome children with disabilities into specially adapted programs that demonstrate they matter to God and to God’s people.
PRAY for society to open its eyes to look first at the child with a disability and not the disability, showing them acceptance, kindness and respect.
PRAY for the medical community to find new cures adn treatments for children who suffer with physical and mental disability.
PRAY for protection from abuse of children with disability who are totally dependent on others to care for them.
PRAY for educators and those in authority to give positive support to children with special needs and those who advocate for them.
PRAY for God’s intervention when divorce threatens the well-being of a child with special needs such as financial, emotional and physical support.
PRAY that God’s people open their hearts with the love of Jesus to children with disabilities and their families.
PRAY for those who care for and minister among children with special needs.
]]> http://oakseed.org/annual-day-of-prayer/praying-for-children-with-disability/feed/ 0 "Step Through the Fear" and into the Lives of Children with Disabilities http://oakseed.org/blog/step-through-the-fear-and-into-the-lives-of-children-with-disabilities/ http://oakseed.org/blog/step-through-the-fear-and-into-the-lives-of-children-with-disabilities/#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:02:03 +0000 Benjamin http://www.oakseed.org/essay-contest/step-through-the-fear-and-into-the-lives-of-children-with-disabilities/ Brenda Darke offers insight into the lives of children with disabilities and their families as she reflects on her experience working in this area. Here are a few quotes that stood out to me as I listened to the interview.

“The scriptures are actually full of God’s heart for people with disabilities, even though there is a lot of misunderstanding on this issue. But one thing that I always call people’s attention to is Luke 14. Where there is Jesus teaching how to include people with disabilities in His kingdom. He goes out of his way and crosses barriers that other people are not prepared to cross. He teaches us in practice and by his word… that we should be including them in our church.”

“The statistics are that the situation of children with disabilities living in developing countries is always much worse. There are more children growing up in disadvantaged situations, in countries that are being developed, mostly related to high levels of poverty. If a child is born into a family in Latin America, they do not have the kind of support that might be available in countries in Europe, for instance. Even if the family is a middle class family or fairly well-to-do, there is such a drain on the resources that this family too becomes poor.”

“Huge, huge poverty actually provokes many disabilities in children because of poor antenatal care, poor diet, there are many birth accidents. They actually acquire disabilities directly because of their situation of poverty.”

“We just have to step through the fear and just begin by getting to know some children with disabilities and their families… we need to get along side them and begin to dialogue with the family.”

“I think [children with disabilities] teach us about ourselves. I think there is actually a spiritual issue in recognizing that the child with the disability is really no different. We may start off thinking, ‘Oh we are going to be able to do so much to help them and give them so much.’ But in my experience, we are usually the people who gain.”

Listen to the entire podcast for more from Brenda Darke.

Podcast Interview with Brenda Darke

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