Can you imagine an entire football or baseball stadium filled with over 4,000 adults and children sitting in their first wheelchair, packed tightly around the entire grounds of the field?  Can you imagine the length of the procession if each of these recipients formed a line and rode two feet apart?  The parade would extend for over 16,000 feet or three miles. Can you visualize it? Well, this is the miracle we accomplished for physically disabled people at our Second Annual Free Wheelchair Mission Summer Event (see Aug 2004 newsletter), held on July 27, 2004. We raised enough money to support the manufacturing, shipping, and distribution of seven containers of wheelchairs, we introduced many new people to our mission, and we were all touched deeply by the experience of working for this purpose.

A magical summer night was the culmination of fervent effort since February in assembling gifts, cash donations, underwriting, securing a location, developing a guest list, and countless trips to craft and office supply stores to finally create the beautiful event. As we surveyed the room during the presentations, it was easy to spot tears that were being wiped away as hearts were touched and our very blessed lives were changed. As we sat at the check-out desk and had people write out major checks for wheelchairs, the check writer and the Free Wheelchair volunteer often shared the bond of tears and amazement at the emotion and power of the evening. As one man was thanked for buying a half-container, he just shook his head and said he'd been so blessed. He almost seemed stunned, but also very excited, by his own generosity.

Under the guidance of our relentlessly optimistic and energetic Chairperson, Deborah Anderson, and our amazing Ngoc Nguyen (no title quite covers everything), an army of volunteers had the time of their lives working toward fulfilling dreams and hopes for more people than we could have thought possible. When will the tears of wonderment stop springing up in retelling of the magical evening? We can hardly wait to review the video, relive the events, and debrief on how we succeeded in our plans and how we can enhance the experience and results next time.

The highlight of the event was the guest of honor, King Osagyefuo Amotia Ofori Panin, of Ghana, who spoke about the plight of the disabled in his country. SEE VIDEO

Will you please continue to be a regular part of our donors and share the magic with friends and family who might also take up our vision? The rewards are so "big-time," and are actually an indescribable joy.