Audio bibles for the blind
2004 and 2005 Stories
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila | 2006 Stories |
Pearl Woodford
December 2004
Pearl and her family enjoyed the picture perfect Christmas year after year – for over 55 years. Three generations of loved ones gathered together in one home … fresh, full aromas unfurling in the air—the pine Christmas tree … wild cedar … fragrant hanging wreaths … homemade pumpkin and lemon meringue pies … and a just-from-the-oven, spiral honey-baked ham. Staying with their yearly tradition, the Woodfords huddled around their Christmas tree to open gifts.
Each family member would take turns standing and walking to the tree – then pick a Christmas gift and read the name on the card to learn which family member gave the gift.
Last Christmas, Pearl’s turn arose – she walked to the tree. Gift in hand, she paused--- and stared--- at the gift tag … for an uncomfortably long time. As everyone’s face started to show concern, STILL Pearl h-e-s-i-t-a-t-e-d. Then she began to cry.
Pearl discovered she could not read the gift tag. She could not see who sent the present.
The very center of Pearl’s picture perfect Christmas – and the very center of her field of vision – were gone. Another victim of macular degeneration.
Brenda, Pearl’s daughter, said, “Our worst fears were confirmed. Mom had macular degeneration.” That disorder, as you know all too well in your practice, affects the central part of the eye’s retina and causes central vision loss.
“Mom used to run circles around me,” said Brenda. “She baked cakes for people and stayed very busy. Losing her eyesight was hard on her, especially not being able to read her Bible anymore. All of her life, my mother sat down at the table and read her Bible every day …
But now … she can no longer see her Bible, so she listens to the Audio Bible that you sent to her from Aurora Ministries.” Pearl herself adds, “ I don’t know what we would do without our Bible tapes … thank you so much for your assistance.”
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila |
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Andrew Hilton
March 2005
Eleven-year old Andrew Hilton was enthralled to receive his very own audio Children’s Bible recently from Audio Bibles for the Blind. As a toddler, Andrew was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy after a near-fatal drowning accident. His family was devastated to hear doctors say that Andrew would never see, hear, or speak again–– that he would probably live his life in a vegetative state.
Today, those doctors are quite pleased to admit that a miracle has taken place! Ten years later, Andrew sees many things with the use of visual aids. He can hear. He communicates on a foot-operated computer. He carries on normal conversations with anyone who will listen.
Andrew’s Grandma calls him “God’s miracle!”
And the Children’s Bible we sent him is a precious part of his life. “Andrew loves listening to God’s Word,” says Grandma, “and understands completely what Jesus did for him on the cross. He is constantly witnessing to people––including most recently, his speech therapist, who now often asks Andrew to pray for her.”
Andrew’s spiritual life has become so dear to him that Andrew has told his family he wants to become a minister one day. And who knows? He has overcome so many obstacles that maybe one day Andrew will become a minister.
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila |
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Nate Christiansen
April 2005
Tonight a young man will be caught by his mother, long after bedtime, quietly sneaking a midnight snack.
Only he will not earn a scolding. Not even a dirty look. A hug, perhaps. You see, this after-hours treat isn’t ice cream, chocolate, or potato chips. It will be a “double scoop” of a nourishment this young man can hardly live without–– God’s Word.
And you’re one of the conspirators who helped stock his “fridge”? Let me explain.
It began twenty-four years ago, when Marlys Christiansen was told that her newborn son Nate had Down Syndrome. “Teach his spirit,” a friend told her. “The extra chromosome doesn’t touch the spirit.” [In other words, she was told to target training and nurturing for Nate’s soul because his physical limitations could never limit how God could speak into his soul.]
Marlys followed that sage advice. Today, Nate is an energetic, happy, and sweet-spirited young man. And thanks to the Audio Bible we provided to him free of charge, that childlike spirit is taught and nurtured by nothing less than the spoken Word of God – the bread of life.
Despite his so-called “disability,” Nate listens through the Bible at least three times a year. He follows a daily “Through the Bible” radio study, preparing for each lesson by listening to his tape of the day’s passage. When the Christiansen family travels, Nate plans ahead and packs the right tapes to listen to as they journey along on the road. Nate prepares for Sunday morning sermons by listening the night before to the Scripture verses printed ahead of time in his church’s bulletin. Any time someone wants to find a Scripture passage, they just ask Nate––he knows!
“There are times at night,” shares Marlys, “when I hear noises. I think maybe, a mouse? When I investigate, I usually find Nate, unable to sleep, listening to his Bible tapes.” During the day, Nate likes to “snack on the Word of God” the way others graze on comfort foods.
Nate and his mother recently visited our audio production facility. That’s when Marlys showed us a worn set of cassette tapes. Nate has actually worn out several sets of Audio Bible tapes! So, recently – to preserve them – he began copying them onto blank cassettes––inventing his own custom labels. Only he knows what many of them mean, yet Nate knows precisely what passages each cassette contains!
This is why we gave Nate a brand new set of Audio Bibles on cassette, the CD/MP3 version, and the New Century Version to share with other Down syndrome families.
As he left, we asked if we could have two of the precious cassette copies bearing his home made labels for our “hall of fame.” Graciously, he whispered, “Yes. You can keep them.”
Friend, I’m sure you know that nothing is more precious than God’s Word––especially to someone with a visual disability or print impairment for whom the “usual” kind of reading is not possible.
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila |
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Thenita Howard
May 2005
It was probably unintentional: An Audio Bible for the Blind Audio Bible, labeled with something we would NEVER place on them…
… a price tag! A blatant violation of our most important commitment: to never, ever sell our products to those we serve.
Yet when Thenita Howard saw a modest price of $15 placed on an album of our cassettes by her local charity thrift shop staff, she considered it a terrific bargain.
You see, Thenita had just been scheduled for radical eye surgery to save her failing eyesight. But the one thing Thenita yearned not to live without - no matter what - was God’s Word.
This special lady still had barely enough eye power to focus on the words printed on the package of our Bible cassettes––“Not to be sold under ANY circumstances!” Puzzled by the sentence and the $15 price tag, Thenita took the Audio Bible to the cashier, who shrugged and offered to knock off half the price.
A good price had just gotten better. She accepted.
During the months that followed, Thenita’s eyesight deteriorated considerably. She went without sight in one eye for an entire year. But during it all, her bargain basement Bible tapes provided her a huge blessing. “My tapes have helped me become a much better student of the Bible,” she tells us, “and the Lord has continued working in me to develop deeper patience and sensitivity for others since hearing His Word daily.”
When her Bible tapes wore out, Thenita contacted the number she’d found on the album. She called and asked to buy more, but we didn’t give her the answer she’d expected.
“I’m sorry. We NEVER sell them,” she was told. “But we can GIVE you whatever you need.”
Not understanding, she insisted. “I’d just like to buy a replacement.” Again, Beth (a lady in our office) declined, explaining that simply giving these Bibles freely to those who can no longer see or use a book is truly the heart of our ministry. Finally, Thenita realized how deeply we meant those words on the cassette package – and we sent more to her.
So, friend, do you know what she did? Thenita was so moved and grateful that she began sending us monthly contributions. “Getting the Bible was one of the greatest things anybody ever did for me,” she says. “And I wanted to do for somebody else what you all did for me. I know that I’ll never be able to get out there and personally help people like me. But I can do the best I can to help others by giving.”
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila |
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Jim Grimes
November 2005
The tragic stories of so many recent hurricane victims have affected us like they have you . . . we are deeply saddened. People have lost so much . . . and many of their possessions can never be replaced.
But we have become aware of a cherished personal possession that CAN be replaced with your help. An Audio Bible.
Perhaps this is a need that hasn’t occurred to you. Although we expected some calls, we have instead been overwhelmed by the number we are receiving from some very special people . . .
People like Jim Grimes, a long-time New Orleans resident who had to quickly evacuate because of the rapidly approaching Hurricane Katrina. He was expecting a short stay in Baton Rouge and a quick return home. But on the second day after Katrina hit, the 17th Street Levee failed . . . Jim’s home lay in its path.
Jim is blind.
Like so many of the people you serve and we serve, he has been blind from infancy. And also like so many, he has conquered his physical challenges.
Jim called us right away! He and his wife had left everything behind — their home, clothing, a vast Braille library, and all of their personal possessions. Do you know what they told us they miss the most? They had to leave their Audio Bible and player behind.
When they called,Jim and his wife asked us to replace their set of Audio Bible tapes and player, and we’ve gladly done so. They can now listen to their Audio Bible again every day. After all, it is the most meaningful possession they have.
We continue to receive a steady stream of phone calls from people requesting to have their most precious possession replaced — their Audio Bible!
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila |
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Sheila Rousey
December 2005
Without even knowing her, you gave Sheila Rousey the most life-changing Christmas gift she’s ever received. God’s Word.
And in the process, a whole new life.
Sheila once depended on those around her for even the most basic Bible-reading time. As a woman deprived of sight for most of her life, she was, in her words, “... always waiting for a ‘Good Samaritan’ to come along and read the Bible to me. And maybe they would, maybe they wouldn’t.”
Because of a congenital disorder and severe glaucoma, Sheila’s vision had grown so poor that she had given up reading printed words altogether. At the same time, she had not yet learned to read Braille. Her study of God’s Word had dwindled to living on memorized stories and bits of Scripture.
Not being able to see her world was painful enough. But living without God’s Word was a loss Sheila could hardly bear.
But that all changed when, thanks to friends like you, Sheila received an Audio Bible on cassette tape from us. And nothing was ever the same.
“Having the opportunity to re-open God’s word through listening had a remarkable effect in my life,” Sheila writes. “I realized that being blind did not limit me in my ability to learn and grow spiritually. It was as if God opened up a new path for me in life. He gave me the courage to step out of my comfort zone and sign up for classes at a nearby college.”
Today, as a result of that journey, Sheila is an instructor at a local college. She helps her students to better their lives. “I am very quick to tell them that if God can use me in the capacity I serve, how much more can He do for them if they are willing to hang in there, too.”
But the story doesn’t end there. You see, this Christmas Sheila will experience God’s Word in our new MP3 format.
She is eagerly anticipating the freedom of having a complete Audio Bible on only three discs––whose books and chapters she can navigate with ease!
Gaining the freedom to spend time in God’s Word on her own changed more than Sheila’s spiritual walk. It changed her outlook, her confidence, and ultimately, her entire life.
Pearl | Andrew | Nate | Thenita | Jim | Sheila |
