Augustana Ministerium

[Please circulate the following far and wide; this need and so many other needs of hurting pastors and their families are so great, and we can only help meet those needs if ‘everyone’ hears about them.]

Augustana MinisteriumTo those who have supported and/or prayed for the Rev. Danny Chambers (and anybody else interested):

First of all, Dan wants you to know that he is extremely grateful for your various expressions of loving concern.  Making ends meet on disability is impossible.  Things would be far worse financially without your great outpouring of selfless giving, not to mention the many visits, kind words offered to Dan, as well as petitions to the heavenly Father on his behalf.

1522019_10151925271912912_185132449_nHere is an update on Dan’s current situation:

Dan’s abdominal wound is doing well.  It has been slowly but surely shrinking.

Dan is now able to get into a wheelchair with the assistance of a lift.  Standing is still quite a ways away because of his weak legs (heterotropic ossification in both hips and knees).

One concern is that medication to help the ossification around his joints is currently not available because the manufacturer is out and not resupplying the market until the end of the  year.  The ossification keeps his limbs from moving properly.  Bone growths around the joints can buckle or break when he moves, sometimes leaving bone fragments.  This is extremely painful, as if broken glass was inside his limbs when he moves.  Managing the pain is a challenge right now.

In spite of difficulties, Dan continues plugging along.  The support of his family, particularly his wife Karen, is very helpful.

The insurance situation goes up and down.  Currently, Dan has insurance which covers himself and his family.  However, certain drugs have fallen off the list of covered medications.  Some of these are very expensive, as much as $ 11 per pill (and this is not the only medication that he can’t afford).  Over the last year, physical therapy has been certified by insurance one moment, then denied the next (forcing the Chambers to pay for it out of pocket).  Of course, PT is key to regaining strength and mobility for Dan.  At the moment, PT is covered, so please pray that this situation may continue.  A constant fear is that insurance may decide that Dan is not progressing fast enough.

Dan is thankful for what he has, especially for the love shown in various ways by many people.

The Augustana Ministerium is pleased that we have been able to help Dan, and hope to continue to do so in the future.  Please consider remembering him in your prayers and/or giving a donation to TAM designated for Danny Chambers.

Here’s how it works:
1) If you use PayPal, send a donation to [email protected] and include a memo that it is for Pr. Chambers (there is a paypal link at augustanaministerium.org)
2) If you want to use a debit or credit card, go to https://augustanaministerium.org
and click on a ‘Donate’ button. This will take you to a PayPal page, where they will offer to set up a PayPal account, etc., but you don’t have to do so: just enter your card info on their secure site, make sure a memo is there saying it is for Pr. Chambers, and you’re all set.
3) To send a check, put “Pr. Chambers” in the memo line, “TAM” in the pay to line, and send it to:

The Augustana Ministerium
c/o The Rev. Gregory J. Schultz, Bursar
1314 S. Cattleman Dr.
Milliken, CO 80543

A COUPLE OF THINGS TO CONSIDER
1) Now would also be a great time to make a general contribution to the work of the Ministerium and to add it to your congregation’s budget for 2014; there are many pastors who are in need of assistance, and our funding has been running very tight.
2) Along these same lines, now would be a good time for a pastor to join the Ministerium or for a layman to join The Augustana Confraternity (see the links on our web site), so that we might have the resources to carry out this work of helping faithful Lutheran pastors be able to afford to remain in their parishes and keep their families fed and clothed.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your prayers and any other aid you are able to provide this pastor and his family!

Rev. Andrew Eckert, Dean of Pastoral Care
The Augustana Ministerium

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