[Faith-Talk] Serving in Church and Related Issues

[Ericka]

PJ, I have a friend here in Wisconsin that is a part of a church planting group. He also has tunnel vision and part-time works at Industries For The Blind with me and he and his wife also run a business enterprise vending thing. Would you like to talk to Bob? If you do, please send me your contact information off-line at DOTWRITERone at gmail.com and I will get you two together.

Ericka Nelson
K E9DYN
Proud general class him license owner

> On Nov 7, 2025, at 8:35 PM, Pj Navarro via Faith-Talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I don’t recall speaking with a Linda Mentink a couple years ago so sorry
> about that. A lot has changed since then because my one goal was to assist
> in getting more blind folks out of their homes, up until I’ve become
> trapped myself. I took my dog for a walk earlier for the sake of just
> getting the body moving. Nothing has changed over here in Corpus Christi,
> nothing ever happens for the blind community in this town whether it be
> adaptive sports or the goals of our local chapter, it’s depressing & with
> great shame, i have to say I’ve given up. My brains already fried & so now
> there’s not much else I can do but pray I don’t become homeless, the last
> job I had was paying too much so I made the mistake of canceling SSI, after
> being laid off late February, I was unaware that I won’t be receiving my
> first disability check for about a year or 2. Thank God my family has been
> assisting me financially since no other employer is hiring me. Andrew & I
> are simply laying down the obstacles we’ve come across to perhaps find some
> clarity in overcoming them. I’m not sure how old Andrew is but we
> should never tell another adult that they’re just complaining when he or
> she is trying to open up. Even his mom has been doing her best to help out,
> like how my mom is the reason my utilities have been paid for. I used to be
> strong, energetic, & optimistic, but then life happened when I tried over &
> over to get a life. People who I thought could help ended up bailing, Jesus
> Christ is the only one I could depend on now. Everyone in my family drinks
> beer so I was just tired of being alone. It’s only with them when I drink,
> it’s not like I can afford to get my own beer.
> 
> Is the information in this link still accurate?
> If so, is there Blind Christian Group Meeting coming up on Thursday of next
> week at 7:00pm?
> https://nfbks.org/chapters-divisions/blind-christian-group
> 
> 
> 
>> On Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 6:54 PM Linda Mentink via Faith-Talk <
>> faith-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Good evening All,
>> 
>> First, I'm starting a new message because you all have forgotten to delete
>> old stuff when replying, and the string is WAY too long!
>> 
>> I have been busy and have not had time to respond. So here goes from me!
>> 
>> First, Andrew, we have tried to help you on this list many times. There's
>> absolutely nothing we can do from here to help you. Again you've been given
>> some ideas of things you can do. My suggestion is that you work on being
>> content with where the Lord has planted you, and do your best to improve
>> what you can in yourself. Concentrate on being a faithful church member and
>> on making friends with people there who will learn to understand you and
>> your needs as a blind/learning disabled Christian. Complaining to us here
>> without making any changes is not productive.
>> 
>> PJ, I was surprised to read your  post about things like drinking beer and
>> being a loser. That doesn't sound like the same person with whom I
>> corresponded a couple years ago. I had sent you my telephone number so that
>> we could talk about things like a Facebook page, but you never followed
>> through. There are plenty of good leaders in the TX affiliate with whom you
>> could talk about the issues with the local chapter with which you were
>> involved. Also, you should learn some skills of blindness so that you don't
>> have to be frustrated with tunnel vision. By staying at home, you are
>> isolating yourself—never a good idea.
>> 
>> I remember that you sent me a link to something in your church. It sounded
>> like a good church, and I find it shocking that you seem to have dropped
>> your relationship with your Lord. Being blind is no reason to give up on
>> life! Please get out of the beer and into the Bible!
>> 
>> As Chris shared, we are working on a multi-faith toolkit for clergy and
>> congregations to help with inclusion of blind/low vision individuals.
>> Coloborators are by invitation of the executive director with the Faith and
>> Inclusion Network. There were some categories in the outline where we
>> didn't have much written, so, with his permission, I sent an email to the
>> members of the NFB Blind Christians Group a couple weeks ago. It is a work
>> in progress, and I hope it will be a done project soon.
>> 
>> I must get back to things I need to read for a meeting tomorrow morning,
>> so I will sign off. I wish you all a good weekend and a blessed Lord's-Day!
>> 
>> In Christ's Service,
>> 
>> Linda Mentink
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