Hundreds of Alabama Baptists head overseas each year to give a leg up. But rarely does one hear of an Alabama Baptist heading overseas to literally give a leg.
Recently, however, one member of Boone’s Chapel Baptist Church, Prattville, did.
Partnering with prosthetic-limb outreach organization Standing With Hope, Dan Smoker, a prosthetist at Alabama Artificial Limb & Orthopedic Service Inc. of Montgomery and member of the Autauga Baptist Association church, traveled to Accra, Ghana, Sept. 26–Oct. 4 to help give residents a second chance at two-legged life.
“Part of it is something we do every day here, stateside,” Smoker said. What set the trip apart wasn’t what the people were getting — it’s what they were being saved from.
“Hopefully we’ve made steps in the direction of keeping them out of being an outcast in society, from any type of child trafficking,” he said.
This may be the case for 13-year-old Elizabeth, who is walking on two legs for the first time in 10 years, thanks to the help of Smoker and fellow worker Randy Roberson of Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Birmingham.
Fitting 21 lower extremity prostheses, Smoker said not only did the trip serve as an opportunity to train workers like Accra prosthetist James Annang but it also was a chance to make a change in a life on a deeper level.
“They know it’s a price they can’t afford to pay,” Smoker said, noting that a basic below-the-knee prosthesis is $7,000. “But then we tell them, ‘There’s also a price Jesus pays that you can’t afford to pay on your own.’”
Then it’s personal, he said. That’s when they understand.
And it’s personal for Peter and Gracie Rosenberger, who founded Standing With Hope after Gracie’s double-leg amputation about 25 years ago.
“In my family, we recognize firsthand the importance of quality prosthetic limbs,” said Peter Rosenberger, who serves as president of the organization, which has provided carbon-fiber prosthetics to approximately 250 men, women and children in need in countries including Ghana, Nigeria and Togo since 2002.
“Through Standing With Hope, we address the physical needs of the amputees we treat, which, in turn, provides us the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in a powerful and unique way. We’re literally pointing people to Christ one leg at a time.”
For more information, visit www.StandingWithHope.com.
Share with others: