GoodNews Florida

TESTIMONY 30 JUNE 2018 Good News • South Florida Edition "Can't wait to see snow," was my reaction when I learned that I had to travel to Chicago on a business trip at the ripe age of 22. I took a night flight, and al- though cold, the drive to the hotel was pleasant.Adate at the federal courthouse awaited me the next morning, and since my lodging was only a couple of blocks frommy destination, I de- cided to "hoof it." And there it was… white, wet, cold snow. However, this stuff had no re- semblance to what I had seen on television. Instead of falling from the sky, the snow whipped around the buildings, a vicious, numbing, blast of matter not fit for humans. I leaned into it, as my eyes watered and my nose dripped like a six-month old, and when the torment ended, I re- mained next to a radiator heater for several minutes in what could be described as a "fetal position." It was rather embar- rassing to explain to the inquisi- tive security guard that I was a federal agent; right there and then I decided never, ever to live north of Vero Beach. My constant travels then took me through endless corn fields, to the "Rust Belt," to non- descript towns, to freezing lakes and to dingy red brick structures. I even turned down a job with twice the pay in Columbus, Ohio. The die was cast… the Midwest was per- sona non grata. However, my attitude changed when I ac- quired a new spousal family from Michigan. These folks may have lacked the "pizzaz" I was accustomed to, but they more than made up for it with their hospitality, transparency, sincerity and simple way of life. They were duty bound, family oriented, God fearing and fiercely nationalistic; I loved the way they "did life" although I did not wish to do it there. Several years ago, my dear friend Les Feldman, who is the publisher of this newspaper, in- troduced me to an organization named Hope Haven from Rock Valley, Iowa. He gushed about their wheelchair ministry, which started in 1994 and had pro- vided almost 125,000 custom- made individualizedwheelchairs to 108 of the poorest countries in the world. He expounded on their work ethic, their unselfish attitude and their ability to pro- vide so much for a town of less than 4,500. That led to my wife and I accompanying Les on two wheelchair mission trips to Guatemala and later visiting the wheelchair refurbishing center at a prison in South Dakota. We were hooked! A few months ago, Les asked us to accompany him to Israel to participate in another "wheelchair junket," and we im- mediately jumped at the oppor- tunity; participating in this wonderful ministry AND touring Jerusalem....count us in!! So, in late April, Les, my wife Julianne andTodd Scoggins, our photog- rapher, traveled to Israel where we joined a dozen volunteers from Iowa and Illinois, all of whom were experts in assem- bling wheelchairs. They ranged in age from 19 to 80 and, of course, being from theMidwest, they tended to keep their emo- tions "close to the vest" until it was showtime. This was not our usual trip; no trekking through mountains, confronting abject poverty or dealing with an unknown lan- guage; however, thepain, frustra- tion and despair was just as poignant. The recipients were very young children confined to a hospital, most of whom would never walk or talk, and in some instances were blind or deaf. They suffered from diseases like cerebral palsy or spina bifida, amongothers, andwould thereby The Midwest Meets the Middle East Omar Aleman President, Aleman and Associates Pictured at the Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem are Hope Haven Wheel- chair Ministry Volunteers from Iowa, South Dakota and Florida.