As some of you may know, I am on the board of The Elisha Foundation (TEF), a superb organization founded by Justin and Tamara Reimer in 2005, being spurred on by their eldest child Elisha, who has Down Syndrome.
TEF ministers to families of people with special needs, pursuing Christ-centered transformation in their lives. One of their key programs is providing retreats where the families of those with disabilities can come, have a break from their ongoing responsibilities, and find refreshment and encouragement in workshops and activities through the weekend in a fun and beautiful environment. They have several other programs as well, and TEF provides all of their services at no cost to those whom they serve.
I can’t say enough good about the ministry of TEF and am very excited about what they are doing. Justin leads TEF as executive director and is a fantastic guy with a great heart, a great head, and great plans for the future of TEF.
Today TEF has just announced that it is putting together a team to trek to the Mount Everest base camp next spring (arriving there exactly one year from today) to help generate awareness and funding to support and grow the ministry. All proceedes from the Trek go to TEF to help fund and expand their programs for families of those affected by disability.
Here’s a summary of the purpose of the trek from the Trek4TEF website:
Trekking to Everest Base Camp, promotes the work of The Elisha Foundation and the opportunity to display the glory and the sovereignty of God in the lives of the disabled. We believe that those with disabilities have been created in the image of God, just as those without. We desire to show God’s glory as our disabled participants climb these mountain trails, just as they navigate the sometimes treacherous paths of their disability. What a testament of the infinite value of those with disabilities to the cultures of the world who find little to no worth in the disabled!
There are three ways you can participate in the trek and helping to fund the ministry of TEF:
- Join the trekking team (the trek looks incredible!)
- Financially support a trekker
- Pray for the ways the trek can bless TEF and its beneficiaries
You can learn all about the trek on the website they’ve just launched and in the video at the beginning of this post.