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April 2008 Newsletter
Mobilizing the Blind
This year Brian Bushway will fly to India to conduct
an intensive mobility workshop to improve the
quality of life of the blind in Calcutta, India.
At age 14, Brian lost his sight due
to a genetic condition that caused the
optic nerve between his eye and brain to
deteriorate. Yet, while calling Brian blind
is true, his condition is just another detail
like any other for those who know him.
As long as I’ve known him, Brian’s
never said that he is unable to do
something for any reason, including
blindness. He mountain bikes and runs.
He plays bass guitar in a “roots” rock
band. He’s a confident motivational
speaker on being visually impaired, talking
in college classrooms and other countries.
But knowing Brian, it isn’t any wonder
that he does any of what he does.
Brian is one of those rare friends who
challenges any assumptions on what
it means to be a normal human. His
activity, skills, and talents shatter any
preconception that a blind person is ever
less capable of performing. Blindness
is simply (so to say) one more element
of his life. For those around him, it’s not
WHAT he approaches life with, but HOW
he approaches life that makes Brian
inspirational.
Energetic, hopeful, joyous, and a little
on the adventurous side is how Brian
goes, and it’s inspiring to be around. I’ve
never known him to feel sorry for himself,
ever, or ask anyone to feel the same. I
worked on a short documentary about
him, and the first thing he told me was,
“Don’t let them make this a sad video.”
He’s never asked anybody to ignore the
fact that he’s blind, only that they don’t
think him any less able at life than them.
“A disability is not a thing of capability,”
says Brian, “but a thing of accessibility.
Table of Contents
Mobilizing the Blind
Golf Tournament
Volunteering
Announcements
Partner with Us
1-2
3
3
4
4
(continued on page 2)
54 Years of Service to India
Since 1954 the Buntain family has been serving the poor of India
In October of 1954, Mark and Huldah
Buntain and their one-year-old daughter,
Bonnie, arrived in Calcutta, India for a
one-year assignment. For the next 35
years, they worked together to share
the love of Christ with those in India.
After Mark passed away in June of 1989,
Huldah continued the ministry.
Now, over 50 years later, their efforts
have grown to include over 700 churches
and 100 schools. A daily feeding program
provides nourishment for 25,000 people
daily. Children’s homes have been built
in Calcutta, Puri, and Ranchi. Calcutta
Mercy Hospital with 173 beds treats over
100,000 patients every year. The hospital
also sends out doctors and nurses to daily
rural clinics, providing health care to many
who cannot travel to cities for help. The
hospital plans to establish another 40 rural
clinics. Through the School of Nursing
and the Teacher’s Training College,
young people develop skills to fill needed
positions that meet the needs of India.
Today, Calcutta Mercy Ministries
continues the work of Mark and Huldah
through healthcare and educational
programs. Bonnie is the Executive
Coordinator of the Calcutta Mission
Hospital and her husband, Dr. James
Long, serves as President of the hospital.
With partners from around the world, the
work continues to serve the people of
India with the love of God.
Huldah and Bonnie Buntain Long (Founder
and President, Calcutta Mercy Ministries)
at Calcutta Mercy Hospital in India.
www.childrenneedlove.org
U.S. Office
Calcutta Mercy Ministries
3267 E. 3300 S. #131
Salt Lake City, UT 84109, USA
888-637-2987
[email protected]
www.buntain.org
Canada Office
Buntains’ Calcutta Mission
101-1001 W. Broadway, Suite #161
Vancouver, BC V6H 4E4, Canada
800-201-9975
[email protected]
www.buntain.ca
German Office
Missionswerk Karlsruhe
Pastor Daniel Mueller
76232 Karlsruhe, Germany
49-721-952300
[email protected]
www.missionswerk.de
India Office
Sanjay Prasad (CEO)
Calcutta Mercy Hospital
125/1 Park Street
Kolkata 700017, India
+ 91-98300-10010
[email protected]
www.calcuttamercyhospital.org
Help the Blind in Calcutta
If you would like to help the blind in
Calcutta, please partner with us to
cover the expenses for Brian and
Daniels trip to India to build the
foundations for a mobility program for
the visually impaired to fully access
their world and become autonomous,
contributing members of society.
Costs include travel, food, lodging,
transport, and workshop expenses.
Please fill out the enclosed card and
send it with your check or credit card
information to our financial services
center or make a donation online.
US
www.buntain.org/donate
write “Brian” under “comments”
Canada
www.buntain.ca/donate
write “Brian” under “comments”
Total Cost
$10,000
www.childrenneedlove.org
Brian Bushway
Mobilizing the Blind (continued)
You are blind because you don’t have
access to the same visual information of
the world.”
Everyone depends on the information
they are able to receive in any given
situation. As a “mobility coach,” Brian
trains others who are blind to utilize their
perception of such information. Currently,
Brian works for World Access for the
Blind, a non-profit organization aimed at
improving the lives of the visually impaired
across the globe. Along with Daniel Kish,
the organization’s founder, Brian trains
those who are blind in and outside of
America about mobility and perception.
Mobility can be enhanced through a
technique that Brian and World Access
for the Blind teach called “echolocation.”
Using it, people can build a mental image
of the environment around themselves
by hearing how objects reflect sound. A
click of the tongue sends out a sound
that echoes off objects and returns to the
listener, much like sonar. One thinks of
bats when Brian describes it, hence the
name of his Mountain Biking crew, Team
Bat. With plastic zip-ties wrapped on the
tire spokes that click as the wheel turns,
the team uses sound instead of sight to
ride along steep trails and down slopes.
While incredible to consider, such skills
are not the central lesson Brian teaches.
For Brian and World Access for the Blind,
blindness is just as much an internal
perception as external condition. How
blind people perceive themselves amidst
their condition and their surroundings is
more important than any vision they might
ever have. When he was losing his sight,
Brian made up his mind that he would live
to his fullest despite what was happening.
“Everyone’s broken in one sense
or another,” he says. “There’s always
obstacles in life. They may be emotional,
or whatever. It’s about transcending one’s
limitations and obstacles. If you set high
expectations, even if society has low ones
for you, you will raise up to that.”
To say that Brian is just like everyone
else is not true, because he’s not like
everyone else. He sees more, does
more, explores and dreams more than
most people I know. For him, living with
blindness isn’t about living normally. It’s
about living fully.
In May 2008, Brian and Daniel Kish
will travel to India to conduct an intensive
mobility workshop with Calcutta Mercy
Hospital’s administrative team and
children from the Calcutta blind school.
Their goal is to give these people a crash
course in mobility and echolocation so
they can become teachers and trainers
for those around them – creating a lasting
effect beyond a single event. From the
US, Brian and Daniel will continue to
support this core team in hopes to develop
a full, independent mobility program
for the visually impaired in Calcutta to
become fully independent, contributing
members of society.
You can also see the short
documentary about Brian on YouTube.
Just search Brian Bushway or use
this link: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=oaCUMxNz1sM.
By Daniel Long
First Annual Buntain Festival of Golf
The Buntain family invites you to their first annual golf tournament
The Buntain family invites you to our
First Annual Buntain Festival of Golf at
the Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort
(www.cdaresort.com). Don’t miss your
opportunity to take a relaxing vacation at
an award winning golf resort on a lake in
Idaho and meet the leadership of Calcutta
Mercy Ministries while helping the poor of
India.
Date: September 15-17, 2008
Entry: $2000 single / $2500 couple
(Entry includes meals, accommodations,
course fees, and a little extra pampering.)
The expenses for this tournament are
being underwritten by a donor, which
means 100% of your donation goes to the
ministry.
Reserve a spot by filling out the response
card and mailing it with your check to our
financial services center. Space is limited.
Reservations are on a first come first
serve basis. Don’t miss out and send in
your registration as soon as possible. We
look forward to spending time with you this
fall!
Volunteers in Calcutta show Dr. James
Long drawings from an art program they
conducted with children at Calcutta Mercy
Hospital.
“I am 25 years old and I am from
Michigan. I teach mentally retarded
students in a high school. This visit
completely humbled me. Humbled me in
the spiritual area and the superficial area
us Americans tend to have. I would go
back in a heartbeat. I think about Calcutta
almost every day. In all honesty, it was
hard to leave, and it has changed my life
and way of thinking. I hope and believe I
will go back sooner, rather than later.”
- Karen Kramer, teacher
Becoming Involved
The volunteer revolution
By Dr. James Long
President, Calcutta Mercy Hospital
I do not consider myself “a man of
the cloth” as priests and pastors are
commonly described - unless you’re
talking about my surgical scrubs. I am
a medical doctor and my wife, Bonnie
(daughter of Mark and Huldah Buntain), is
a nurse. Yet, we feel we have been called
to serve and become involved in the lives
of the beautiful and needy people of India.
It has been our joy to put together
a strong volunteer program that allows
for many more to become involved with
Calcutta Mercy Ministries. Here are some
comments from those who have served
alongside us in 2007:
“Especially knowing that the hospital
is a Christ centered program... it was
a demonstration of Christian charity at
work... It is more real and personal to me.
Now I also understand why and how my
monthly donations are used to promote
love and care in Jesus’ name.”
- Nancy Stone, RN
“...it was the greatest experience we ever
had in our lives... I think anyone who
decides to go should have a calling in
their life to go... Then, they will realize that
Calcutta is more beautiful than the Grand
Canyon or the Niagara falls. It will change
their perspective of life altogether in a way
benefiting to the kingdom of God.”
- Binju Joel, MD
“During a church service entitled ‘Make
Your Life Count’ I had an overwhelming
feeling that I needed to go on a volunteer
mission trip. At the time I had no money,
no time off, no partner to travel with and
no idea where to go. God blessed me
with all of these things. Coincidentally,
Calcutta Mercy Hospital had been praying
for firefighters to help them strategize
a fire safety and prevention system...
we happened to be an answer to their
prayers. It was such a rewarding feeling...
doing something that we believed would
last far longer than the short time we spent
there. I truly believe I am forever changed
by the experience.”
- Taylor Bishoff, firefighter
Following God’s leading is exciting, as
you never know where it will take you!
Come and join us in making a world
of difference. Visit www.buntain.org/
volunteers for more information.
www.childrenneedlove.org
Announcements
Partner with Us
As we rapidly expand our services, the need for financial partners has never been
greater. Please join us and support this life changing ministry!
How You Can Help
Indian Children’s Wall Exhibits
In September 2007 a group of volunteers
conducted an art program with patients
receiving free treatment at Calcutta
Mercy Hospital. A presentation of select
drawings, photos, and stories from this
project were displayed at Mars Hill Church
in Seattle, Washington at the beginning of
the year and will continue to be displayed
at Calcutta Mercy Hospital through 2008.
The materials from this project will also
become a book and be displayed on
www.childrenneedlove.org.
Who Will Reach the
Children? Digipak
Released This brand
new two CD collection
features Robert
Solomon’s best songs.
All donations will go
directly to care for
children in Calcutta with
thalassemia, leukemia,
or cleft palates who
could never afford
treatment otherwise.
For a copy of your CD,
email
[email protected].
Mark Buntain
DVD Released A
remastered DVD version
of Friend of God, Friend
of Calcutta, a video
about the life of Mark
Buntain, has just been
released. To receive a
copy email
[email protected].
Pray
Please join us in praying for the children
of India and that God would continue to
guide us and provide the means to do
the work He has called us to do.
Become a Monthly Donor
Pledge a monthly commitment to partner
with us to serve the poor. You can start
today by filling out the form enclosed and
mailing it to our financial services center.
Mobility Program for the Blind
Support Brian and Dan’s travels to India
to build the foundations for a mobility
program and blind center in India
that will include mobility education,
echolocation training, and eye surgery.
To donate fill out the enclosed form or
make a donation online at www.buntain.
org/donate and write “Brian” in the
comments section.
Volunteer
Use your passions and skills on
a service trip to India. For more
information go to www.buntain.org/
volunteers or email
[email protected].
How to Give
Please join us in making a difference in the lives of the poor in India.
US Residents
If you are a US resident you can make
donations through Calcutta Mercy
Ministries online, by check, or through
monthly electronic withdrawals.
Contributions to Calcutta Mercy
Ministries are tax-deductible under
section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code.
Canadian Residents
If you are a Canadian resident you
can make donations through Buntains’
Calcutta Mission -- a registered
Canadian Charitable Organization. All
gifts are tax deductible. The Canadian
Revenue Agency registration number is
BN 84468 3342 RR0001.
Online
www.buntain.org/donate
Online
www.buntain.ca/donate
Check
Please fill out the enclosed response
card and send it with your check to:
Check
Please fill out the enclosed response
card and send it with your check to:
Calcutta Mercy Ministries
1464 Mt. Pleasant Rd.,
Unit 16, Suite 311
Chesapeake, VA 23322, USA
Buntains’ Calcutta Mission
101-1001 W. Broadway, Suite 161
Vancouver, BC V6H 4E4, Canada
Monthly Electronic Withdrawals
Giving on a recurring basis is easy using auto withdrawal, using your credit card or
with the electronic funds transfer program (EFT) using your checking account. To
sign up, please call us at 888.637.2987(USA) or 800.201.9975 (Canada). Or, you can
e-mail us at [email protected] (USA) or [email protected] (Canada). Recurring
gifts are charged to your credit card account or deducted automatically from your
bank account (for the EFT program) on the 15th of each month.
Personal Giving Accounts Now Available Online!
Now, US donors can view a record of your personal giving online. To get your
personal ID and password email [email protected] or call us toll free at
888.637.2987. You can access your account at www.buntain.org/donate.
www.childrenneedlove.org | International Partners
USA Calcutta Mercy Ministries Canada Buntains’ Calcutta Mission India Calcutta Mercy Hospital