Earth Day, Earthquakes & Riots

I always look forward to Spring - everyone (including myself) is restless and wanting to open the doors and get outside. The sun makes more of an appearance, the breezes are warming up and the trees begin to bravely bud in the anticipation that summer will come. Earth day marks the middle of April - a celebration of the earth waking up and the amazing beauty of God's creation all around us.  But this April has been a difficult one.

With CNN on the background as I write this - the news here on earth is devastating. Today the death toll in Nepal from the massive earthquake earlier this week is already over 5,000 and is steadily climbing. Closer to home the city of Baltimore is reeling from civil unrest, violence and cries for justice as people lose their lives, inflict pain, and live in fear. The pain here on earth seems to overshadow the beauty of celebrating God's creation on Earth Day.  The Earth and its inhabitants are in pain.  I'm reminded of the passage in Romans chapter 8:  "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

"...liberated from its bondage to decay" - those words have deeper meaning in the face of the sadness we have watched unfold.  Our earth, our bodies, our societies are in bondage to the decay that was brought about when sin entered the world. But this verse is not without hope - we 'wait with eager expectation' for the freedom God promises to His children. 

Spring is an annual reminder of new life and sometimes - as this spring has proven - is also a reminder of decay. Yet even in the midst of devastation and pain, God is faithful and His promises are trustworthy. I hope that today you too can find hope in the promises of God's word - and use that knowledge to share it with the world around you facing seemingly insurmountable circumstances. At PET we serve the underpriveleged and the downtrodden everyday with this message of hope and the promise of a brighter future.

For more information about PET or how you can get involved - visit our website at www.petwestmichigan,org

50,000 PET Carts to Waiting Adults & Children Around the World

PET West Michigan has churned out over 2,000 PET carts since its beginning, and we are proud to be a part of over 50,000 carts making their way into the hands of waiting adults and children around the world! Please read the following press release from PET International: 

"PET International announces the production of the 50,000th PET (Personal Energy
Transportation) cart. A celebration will be held at noon on Thursday, April 16, at the PET
Mobility Project factory at 1908 Heriford, in Columbia.

This milestone was reached by the combined efforts of 22 PET Affiliates established in the
United States and another in Zambia. PET carts, hand cranked 3-wheel vehicles, allow the driver
to go where ordinary wheelchairs won’t go.

World Health Organization cites over 21 Million people are leg disabled due to diseases,
casualties, and birth defects. PET Mobility Project started in 1994 when retired Methodist
minister Mel West and two friends, a missionary in Africa (Larry Hill) saw the need, and an
engineer (Earl Miner) designed a cart to meet that need. West began production of the first carts
in his garage in Columbia Missouri. From that, the volunteer organization has grown to 23 shops
across the world.

In 2004 PET International came into being as the umbrella organization to distribute PET carts,
coordinate PET affiliate production sites, and communicate the need for PET carts. PI Director
of Operations Von Driggs, stationed in Lindale Texas, coordinates the distribution of the carts in
over 100 developing nations. Over 50 distribution partners assist with shipping containers of
PET carts and identify those who will receive the carts in-country. Driggs said “There is no cost
to the recipient – we reflect the love of God by giving them the gift of mobility.”

Each PET affiliate shop started with an inspired individual or group of volunteers and a desire to
help others. They organized their facility, recruited volunteers, raised funds for operations and
supplies, and received training on how to build a PET cart. A standard design, continually being
improved and coordinated by PET International, provides the design for the cart.

The 50,000 milestone represents the donations of thousands of PET Mobility Project supporters
across the world. Each affiliate raises funds for their shop through fundraising events and
donations from hundreds of supporters. Over the years, organizations such as United Methodist
Men, Lion’s Club, Rotary, and Kiwanis have adopted the PET mobility cause and provided
money as well as manpower to build PET carts.

The 50,000 PET carts made also represent thousands of volunteers working at the 23 PET
Affiliates, an estimated 600,000 hours of time volunteered, and over $12.5 million to build them."

If you would like more information on how you can get involved with PET West Michigan, please be sure to visit our website at www.petwestmichigan.org

60 PET Carts Shipped to Orphan Grain Train!

What is Orphan Grain Train you ask?  Well we're excited to tell you! Orphan Grain Train is a Christian volunteer network that ships donated food, clothing, medical and other needed items to people in 64 different countries including the USA. In 1992, Rev. Ray S. Wilke, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Neb., volunteered with a group of Lutherans who traveled to Latvia and Russia to help with a church mission. There they met people with "no hope" in desperate need of spiritual, emotional, and humanitarian aid after the breakup of the former Soviet Union.Wilke envisioned a train that would travel through America's midwest, picking up cars of donated grain along the way, until it reached a port from which the grain would be shipped to feed starving orphans in Eastern Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Wilke contacted Clayton Andrews, president of Andrews Van Lines, a worldwide transportation company, and told his story. Together, they founded Orphan Grain Train.*

PET International and Orphan Grain Train have partnered together for many years to bring humanitarian aid to children around the world. When PET West Michigan was asked to provide 60 PET carts to be shipped through the OGT program, we couldn't have been more pleased to oblige. 

To learn more about the Orphan Grain Train, visit their website at: http://www.ogt.org/

To find out how to get involved with PET West Michigan and donate a PET cart to a waiting child, visit our website at www.petwestmichigan.org

*Information from the OGT website

Enterovirus - Same Viral Family as Polio - Hits Michigan

This winter was predicted to bring another "polar vortex" that would rival last year's frigid weather, but so far we haven't seen that to come true.  One thing that has been rampant all over the country is the cold virus and influenza.  Whether you've had the bug sweep your own home, or have read the never-ending updates in your social media feed, more than likely you've seen how many people have been affected more this year than in recent history.

As reported by ABC News back in December, another scare has been the uptick on young children being admitted to the hospital for the Enterovirus. The Enterovirus is part of the Polio family of viruses. One case in particular caught our attention - a four year old boy at the CS Mott Children's Hospital here in Michigan. Allan Howe contracted the enterovirus and in its normal course caused respiratory issues - but more oddly found him experiencing paralysis. Although doctors were hesitant to confirm that the paralysis was connected to the virus, as more cases began to be reported - there appeared to be a direct link.

Polio has been a disease that has been eradicated from the United States for decades, thanks in large part to education and vaccinations. Even as this four year old continues to heal and has a prognosis for a full recovery, the fact that this virus has effected so many Americans just this past year - serves as a stark reminder that much of the world does not have the medical care that we enjoy. For millions, Polio and other life-altering viruses are very much a part of their world.

PET West Michigan serves to give the gift of mobility to children across the world who have lost the use of their legs due to Polio, or a variety of other diseases.  If you would like to learn more about how you can help, visit our website at www.petwestmichigan.org

$25 A Month For 1 Year, Changes A Child's Life Forever

The New Year is upon us, and if you're like the millions of other Americans, you'll make resolutions and set goals for 2015. Alot of those goals center around financial changes, and for some - charitable giving. Anymore, $25 won't fill up your gas tank, and its hardly enough for 2 people to eat out at a restaurant. Its hard to imagine then that just $25 per month in the year 2015, will change the life of a child forever.  How can that be, you ask?

For immobile children in third world countries, not having the ability to get around can destine them to a life wasted away. Being mobile is absolutely key to earning any kind of income, going to school, helping provide for the family, etc. Even using crutches is only a partial solution as street conditions and unstable living quarters can make it difficult.  Giving a child the gift of a hand-cranked cart changes everything! For just $300, your donation can change the life of a child forever!

If you've been looking for a new place for your charitable donation for 2015, please consider PET West Michigan, and help a waiting child find new success with the gift of mobility.  For more information, visit our website at www.petwestmichigan,org - where you can also give online.

15 Child-Sized PETs to Cotonou, Benin

Christmas is a wonderful time of year all over the world. But just as many who celebrate and get excited for what they will find under the tree, hundreds more wish for gifts they will never receive and health that seems impossible to obtain.

15 child-sized PET carts shipped from our facility to join a shipment with our partner MIERS [Mission Internationale d’Evangelism et de Reveil Spirituel], in New York. The director served for many years on a Mercy Ship in Africa, and then settled there after getting married.  These small PETs joined 150 adult size carts to make the long trip across the globe - just in time for Christmas.

Imagine the face of a child who has given the gift of mobility after spending their years crawling on the ground!































































Thank you to all of you who have been generous donors of time, finances and prayer support this last year!  Before the year closes out, you've made Christmas special for 15 waiting kids across the world!

For more information or to find out how to donate, visit our site: www.petwestmichigan.org

Holiday Greetings from the PET West Michigan Family

Dear Friends of PET West Michigan,

 

In 2014 we built and packed for shipment child PET number 2,000.  As we approached that milestone the packing team would remark on historical events of the year represented by the PET number.  Now we look to the future and hope to send number 2,500 and quite possibly number 3,000 by the end of 2015.

This accomplishment represents the efforts of our volunteers, our suppliers, many of whom deeply discount or donate their materials and labor, and you.  Without donations, nothing we do can occur.  With donations, we can not only continue but also would be in a position to increase production.

Members of the PET team, at their own expense, have traveled to be present when our carts have been distributed in Kolkata India, Hue Vietnam, and Antigua Guatemala.  The stories of lives changed inspire us all. 

Children who have been seen as a source of shame by families and a burden by societies peddle themselves from being marginalized to being part of their world.  Just being up on a PET cart instead of on the ground gives them a presence they have never experienced.  Peddling to school offers them an opportunity to be a productive member of society instead of a beggar crawling on the ground.  Their family is freed from a burden and can participate more fully in their community. 

Envision a child lying in bed at home, or crawling on the floor away from society and the world.  Now see that child peddling his PET cart down the road on the way to school interacting with the crowd of kids going his way.  YOU can participate in that transformation.  Your donations now make it possible; your volunteering when you retire will continue the story.  Both will enrich your life and the life of others.   

Please join us in demonstrating the compassion of Jesus Christ by providing mobility to least of God’s children.  

Sincerely,

The staff and volunteers at PET West Michigan.

To Donate Online, click here: http://petwestmichigan.org/donate.htm