A New Challenge (12-19)

2019 is winding down…finally!

So many challenges this year with our loss of Santana, hospitalizations, medical mysteries, and disappointments. On the brighter side, I’ve been writing bunch including the weekly sermon reflection questions for church, studying scripture, and enjoying life with my beautiful wife. I couldn’t get through this year without her.

Here is our latest challenge that we’d like your help with…

Our van is on its way out. It’s a 2005 dodge caravan with close to 97,000  miles on it. Now that might not seem like a lot of miles, but when you add the fact that  it should have been totaled out two or three different times over the years, the wear and tear is showing its ugly head.

Due to my current situation with my medical issues, we need to have a reliable form of transportation that will allow me to get to and from doctor’s appointments. This vehicle will help me strengthen relationships with ministry partners. And it will also allow me and Kelly to participate in community based activities with our church, family, and friends.

Kelly and I have been working on our credit the last several months to secure a loan for a new van and are ready to take the next step. While we don’t know the exact van we are going to purchase, we’re looking at  getting one that is a couple of years old.  Kelly would like to stay with the Dodge Caravan type. We are confident that our local dealer will help us find the perfect vehicle.

Would you consider helping us reach our goal of $5,000 for the down payment?

An anonymous friend has offered to match any gift given up to the $5,000.

A gift of any amount can be tax deductible if it’s sent to Mephibosheth Ministry.  If writing a check, please make it out to Mephibosheth Ministry and put TBV on the memo line.

They can be sent to us at the following address :
The Berges
PO Box 1964
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

Online gifts are also welcomed but won’t be able to be processed for a tax deduction. If you like to give online, please contact Kelly at KDizne@gmail.com or at 786-427-5674 to discuss your options.

Thank you for considering this request.

May you have a wonderful and blessed  Christmas season.

In His grace,

Tait and Kelly Berge

Something New On This Blog :)

Penny Lane – 07/19/18

I have loved giraffes for a long time now but very recently have fallen in love with the giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. CMZoo.org.

On June 4th, the zoo celebrated 200th birth in the history of their giraffe  herd.   They named her Penny Lane and though she has been struggling with issues with her legs for a while, she has a bunch of humans (zoo staff and her supporters) wrapped around her little hoof 🙂

For more information about her birth and her story since her birth can be found on the zoo’s Facebook page www.www.facebook.com/cmzoo

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

So yesterday, I was up at the zoo with my parents and when we were in the giraffe barn we got to witness Miss Penny visiting a larger stall still located in the back of the barn for the first time since the  issues with her legs started.   That alone was a special sight to see for me just for what Penny means to me.

But even better than that her Dad, Khalid, the herd’s breeding male just happened to be in the large stall where the rest of the herd spend the night and days when the weather is bad, because he needed to be inside because of a training session going on with the elephants in a training yard adjacent to Khalid’s outdoor area.

So long story shorter :P….I realized that there was a chance to take the following pictures of Penny and Khalid in close proximity to each other.   Yes there were two gates and a hallway between them but they were “close enough” to each other that I could  get the pictures seen below.

If you would like a copy of either  picture for your personal use only, please feel free to leave me a comment below and I will see what I can do to get it to you.

Khalid & Penny 07/19/18

Khalid & Penny 07/19/18

Caregiver Needed For Tait (11-06-17)

44-year-old male, Tait Berge (TB), who has Cerebral Palsy, is looking for a dedicated caregiver (18 years or older) to join his caregiving team.

Shifts needing coverage are 8:30 am – 10:30 am, 5 days a week, Monday thru Friday.

If his wife, Kelly, needs help on a Saturday so she can work her other job, she will switch out and work the Wednesday before the Saturday she needs help on.  At least one week notice will be given if this needs to happen.

Additional hours could be available in the future and will be offered to the new employee as they come up.

Caregiver responsibilities will include using the Hoyer lift to get TB out of bed, bathing, brushing teeth, shaving, helping with toileting, with medication, preparing breakfast, and feeding the dogs and cat.

On the job training will be provided by TB and his wife Kelly.

For training times and the first 30 days the pay will be $13/hour.

After 30 days, all parties will meet to ensure that the arrangement is a good fit for all involved.  After that meeting the pay rate will be $15/hour.

Caregiver must agree to fill out an employee packet for CDAS regardless of employment with another CDAS participant.

If caregiver is already employed by another CDAS participant, it is their responsibility to keep their total hours worked at no more than 40 hours a week per CDAS rules.

CNA certification is NOT required for this job but CNAs can apply.
CNAs will not be compensated for their certification if chosen for this job.

For more information and/or to set up an appointment for an interview,
please contact Kelly at 786-427-5674 /kdizne@gmail.com

Air Travel and Autism: A Letter To Jet Blue

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via Air Travel and Autism: A Letter To Jet Blue.

Kings and Queens (Audio Adrenaline video)

I absolutely love this video and this song by Audio A 🙂   The video was filmed in Haiti and the children are from the Hands and Feet Project.  www.handsandfeet.org

CHILDREN’s SMILES LIGHT UP THE WORLD (From Real Hope For Haiti)

children’s smiles light up the world

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:20 PM PST

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

-Dr Seuss

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

-Frederick Douglas

“Stay a child while you can be a child.”

-Stephen Sondheim

 

Way To Go D Wade! :) (from PublisherWeekly.com)

[words] Thanks Dwyane Wade Last week, basketball player and author Dwyane Wade (A Father First) donated his paycheck to Hurricane Sandy relief. Here, Jonah Zimiles of [words] Bookstore in Maplewood, NJ gives a thank you to Wade with a window … Continue reading →

Church access for people who have disabilities

Today is a  simple post. We start our workshop by having someone (usually the pastor or,  if we are in another country, a native speaker) read the Beatitudes for family  and friend.  We want to set a tone that people with disabilities should  not be ignored. They have something to offer, and they will always bring out  the good in everyone.
  

Beatitudes for Family and Friends
 
Blessed  are you who take time to listen to difficult speech, for you help us persevere  until we are understood.
 
Blessed are you who walk with us in  public places and ignore the stares of strangers, for we find havens of  relaxation in your companionship.
 
Blessed are you who never bid  us to “hurry up”, and more blessed are you who do not snatch our tasks from  our hands to do them for us,
for often we need time-rather than…

View original post 77 more words

Danny Thomas Forever Stamp unveiled at St. Jude – Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee

Danny Thomas Forever Stamp unveiled at St. Jude – Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee. click here for video

 

Action News 5 – Memphis, TennesseeDanny Thomas Forever Stamp unveiled at St. Jude

MEMPHIS, TN –

(WMC-TV) – The Danny Thomas Forever Stamp went on sale for the first time Thursday through the US Postal Service.

The stamp, sold in panes of 20, is already a hot seller among those carrying on Thomas’ mission at St. Jude.

With St. Jude patients front and center, Tony Thomas unveiled the stamp bearing his smiling father’s image with his beloved hospital as backdrop.

“I think the only problem he would have had with this is he would have said put the hospital in the front and put him in the background,” said Tony Thomas.  “That’s the way he would have wanted it.”

“I love it,” said St. Jude patient Grace.

“Danny is an icon, of course, but he’s also in a way a father figure for everyone who is working here,” said St. Jude CEO Dr. Bill Evans.  “The man drives us today as if he’s still in the room.”

St. Jude has over nine million donors.  Direct mail is a key strategy that has a now favored stamp.

“I think it speaks to the purity of our mission that 9.5 million Americans and people across the world have embraced Danny Thomas’ dream that no child should die in the dawn of life,” said St. Jude. Director Rick Shadyac.

The stamp’s debut coincides with Danny Thomas’ 100th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his hospital’s grand opening.

“Fifty million have already been printed, which is a pretty good printing for a commemorative stamp,” said Stephen Kearney with USPS Stamp Services.  “We’re ready to print more if the demand merits it.”

The demand was strong among St. Jude employees Thursday, who bought up the stamp as they work to advance their founder’s mission.

You can buy the Danny Thomas Forever Stamp at usps.com or at your local post office.

 

Copyright 2012 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.

Entertainer and humanitarian Danny Thomas honored on U.S. Commemorative Forever Stamp

Entertainer and humanitarian Danny Thomas honored on U.S. Commemorative Forever Stamp.

 

 

LOS ANGELES, California (January 7, 2012) – The United States Postal Service tonight unveiled a commemorative Forever Stamp honoring legendary entertainer Danny Thomas, the founder of renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The unveiling took place at a star-studded gala in Los Angeles to celebrate Thomas’ 100th birthday and the 50th anniversary of St. Jude.

 

“The Danny Thomas stamp, which will be officially dedicated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and go on sale on February 16, will become an ambassador for philanthropy, traveling on letters and packages to households and businesses throughout America and the world,” said Ed Ruiz, USPS Los Angeles district manager.

 

“It also will serve as a lasting tribute to one of America’s most beloved and enduring entertainers who worked tirelessly to help the most helpless of all—children with diseases.”

 

“My family is honored that our father will be immortalized in a Forever Stamp not only because of his success in the entertainment industry, but also for his efforts to save the lives of children by founding St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – a place unlike any other in the world,” said Marlo Thomas, national outreach director, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Dad always considered St. Jude—where patients are saved through the latest research and ground breaking treatments without any regard to pay—to be the crowning achievement of his life and career. This stamp is an incredible testament to him on his 100th birthday and St. Jude’s 50th anniversary.” Starting today, customers may pre-order the Danny Thomas Forever Stamp online at usps.com and by phone at 800-782-6724.

 

Ruiz was joined to unveil the stamp by Tony Thomas, son of Danny Thomas; Terre Thomas, daughter of Danny Thomas; Phil Donahue, talk-show host and husband of Marlo Thomas, Thomas’ daughter; Tony Bennett, singer and featured performer at the gala; and Ray Romano, a good friend of the Thomas family and an ardent supporter of St. Jude. Thomas was a star of radio, film and television. From 1953 through 1964, he received five Emmy^® nominations for his starring role in Make Room for Daddy, winning in 1953 and 1954 for Best Actor Starring in a Regular Series. The show also received an Emmy for Best New Situation Comedy in 1953 and Best Situation Comedy in 1954.

 

In addition to Tony Bennett and Ray Romano, Hollywood turned out in force to support the nation’s leading pediatric research and treatment hospital devoted solely to children with cancer and other deadly diseases, including Jason Bateman, Jon Hamm, Mila Kunis, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Daisy Fuentes, and Vanessa Williams, among others.

 

In 1962, Thomas founded St. Jude with a mission to save the lives of children everywhere. He fervently believed that “no child should die in the dawn of life.” Thomas wanted to create a hopeful place that was accepting of all children whether or not the family could afford treatment.

 

Today, St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research hospital where no family is ever turned away due to an inability to pay and no family ever pays St. Jude for anything. For 50 years, St. Jude has advanced treatment of such deadly childhood diseases as cancer, saving the lives of children across America. Research at St. Jude has changed how the world treats leukemia, brain tumors, and sickle cell disease, helping push survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent in 1962 to almost 80 percent today.

 

Featuring a new portrait of Thomas by artist Tim O’Brien and depicting the hospital he founded in the background, the Danny Thomas Forever Stamp was designed by Greg Breeding.

 

Customers may view the Danny Thomas Forever Stamp, as well as many of this year’s other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

 

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital:
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The hospital’s research has helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the institution opened to almost 80 percent today. It is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children, and no family ever pays St. Jude for care. For more information, go to http://www.stjude.org and follow St. Jude on http://www.facebook.com/stjude and http://www.twitter.com/stjude.