When Richard and Carolyn Steele applied to Wycliffe there was an unusual hurdle to jump–he was blind. They were discouraged from going ahead with the application. “I see God’s reason for postponing our coming into Wycliffe,” Rich says. “I wasn’t really ready emotionally.” The Personnel Dept of JAARS urged them to attend the Summer Institute of Linguistics training course. They got through the course with flying colours. Staff members said of them: “They showed no bitterness or complaining–absolutely no self-pity. Rich exhibits fantastic determination.”
This determination would come in handy when the Steeles faced field training. “Tackle Jungle Camp? Anyone dumb enough to jog in Oklahoma in the dead heat of summer is probably foolish enough to try Jungle Camp,” Richard said with typical wry humour. “And before we started out, we prayed God would give us a ministry as a family–something other than just the training.”
God started answering that prayer when they met Roger upon arrival in Mexico City. Their introduction was quite unorthodox. Richard, playing with several children, was standing on his head. Roger walked up, bent low enough to look into Rich’s face and asked: “Are you Richard Steele? Are you really blind?” Roger and Marilyn work among the Mixtepec Zapotec where an unusual number of people are blind. These blind villagers are ostracized, kept secluded, and made to feel useless. Roger felt Richard could help them. Richard accepted the challenge and before leaving Mexico City for Jungle Camp started on the project. He obtained a stylus and slates and began putting the Zapotec alphabet into braille for future use in the village.
Once the Steele family reached Jungle Camp and got settled Richard was game for almost every phase of the program. He swam and went on the canoe trips. He hiked the 3500-foot mountain. To test his mettle in the survival training Rich was given a 50-foot length of rope. Anchoring one end of the rope at his campsite, he could move in a 50-foot arc to gather wood for his fire. Since his camp was in a box canyon he felt secure. “As long as I stayed in the rut I couldn’t get lost,” he said. Later, friends showed their love and appreciation for him and shared his sense of humour by presenting him with a red-tipped, white machete.
For the village living phase following jungle training the Steele family headed for the Zapotec village. Armed with the alphabet Richard had prepared in Mexico City, he began teaching blind Zapotecs to read. “My greatest thrill came when the first blind man ‘read’ a word in his own language in braille.” But Richard not only taught Zapotec fingers to feel out words, he showed them they could live normal, happy, productive lives. By visiting the homes of the sighted, taking trips with them and interacting with them, they began to see that their own blind could take an active part in village life.
The Steeles now look with eyes of faith as they serve in Togo. With characteristic optimism Richard Steele affirms: “There is nothing too hard for God.” They are now working with blind people in Togo.
Source: SIL Togo
[WBT, weaknesses, Togo, blind, acceptance, missionary, service]