The Press-Dispatch
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Teens for Christ Ministries helps Velpen family B-12 pher Pancake received a big boost from the Teens for Christ Ministries last week with five members spend- ing a couple of days build- ing a new handicap ramp and porch on the front of a home in Velpen. The effort was part of the The family of Christo- By Mike Johansen activities that are part of a mission trip by the Teens For Christ group, part of the Eastern Michigan Free Methodist Church, in Pike County. The group was in Pike County for a week dur- ing the spring break for the teens. They rented the Old Petersburg Gym during the week for activities related to the Church and Easter in- cluding holding teen events and Easter related events. They were also at Esteem Coffee House for clean-up work and projects. They al- so visited the JAM Club one day. They stayed with area churches in the evenings. This is their first mission trip in some time. The group also spread out throughout Pike Coun- ty to do several service proj- ects. Tri-Cap of Petersburg was one of the main organi- zations they used to come up with work projects to be accomplished during the week. They helped the City of Petersburg with clean-up in the city at various sites as well as some other projects. One of the projects they need in Pike County during their week of mission work and to bring the good news of Jesus and Easter to those who need it. They have been working with many teens in the county during the week. They held a teen night at the Old Petersburg Gym Thurs- day evening. "We are not only here to bring a bigger bond be- tween our group, but most importantly we are here to show the love of our Savior, that we all know and serve. This is not about us, it's all about Him. I'm here to make Jesus famous., wrote Bal- derman in his blog about the trip. "Someone once told me that we need to 'sit in Christ, walk in Christ, and stand in Christ'. And that's what we're doing. All of you God, and none of me!" For more information go Wednesday, April 11, 2012 The Press-Dispatch to www.tfchome.org on the internet. For the Pancake family the work will help them a lot with making Christopher feel at home and be able to get around easier when he is released from the hospital. There is more to his sto- took on through Tri-Cap was building the handicap porch on the front of the Pancake home across from the General Baptist Church in Velpen. Tri-Cap came up with the tools, materials and all the nails and other items needed for the project and the teens provided the labor along with Brian Beckman of Tri-Cap. Christopher Pancake, 38, son of Shirley Pancake, was injured in an accident on Aug. 5, 2011. His vehi- cle ran off the road just af- ter midnight on Aug. 4, but he was not found until Aug. 5 at about 6:30 a.m. He was found hanging by his seat belt upside down in a ditch about 20 feet off the high- way. Pancake was seriously ry. Doctors say its time for Christopher to move to a facility specializing in spi- nal cord injuries. Medicaid has denied the family's re- quest to move Christopher out of state because he is ventilator dependent. The family says it can't afford this move without Medic- aid. Deaconess is behind the family one-hundred per- cent. Dr. Sam Rogers says this is a rare case, where a patient is in a hospital but not one suited for his needs. The family has exhausted numerous options reaching out to more than 100 facil- ities, government leaders, and not for profit agencies. For now, Christopher will remain in Deaconess, hop- ing for a "yes" after hearing so many "no's." injured and in critical con- dition for awhile. He broke three vertebrae in his neck, bruised his torso and is par- alyzed from the chest down. He does have movement in his right arm. He has been in the hospital since the accident. He will be com- ing home in the not too dis- tant future. Pancake fac- es big challenges because he is disabled. That is why the home needed a handi- cap ramp and porch, so he could easily get in and out of the home. "This is just a blessing get and will help us a lot," said Shirley Pancake, Christo- pher's mother. "They are providing us with some- thing we really need for Chris when he comes home." Brian Beckman is the Tri-Cap coordinator for the project and lead carpen- ter. Helping from Teens for Christ Ministries were Zach Frederick, Eric Klin- genbeard, Dakota Bose and Dan Balderman, Teens for Christ Ministries director. They provided paintings PLUS Exclusive Video to groups they visited and people they helped. The groups blog said: "An es- pecially wonderful blessing reminding the Pancakes' (whose son Chris, was in an accident and is still in the hospital. The ramp we built will allow him to come home, that God was still with them and that we would be praying for him." Her painting reads, "God will make a way where there seems to be no way. May God show her how true that is. Mrs. Pancake sort of adopted the small crew of guys that built the ramp at her place, so they all got hugs from her before they left. Some students are see- ing places for the first time (where they didn't work) while others are getting a chance to say goodbye to new friends. Some of our students made paintings for the people we helped out. We gave them those and a project hope T-shirt (with all our names on the back). We're blessed and honored to be able to help her." Balderman said they have been doing several projects and finding many things to do in the county. He said this project is hard work, but fun to do. Their goal is to provide help to those in It's everything you love about The Press-Dispatch All color photos, plus extra photos of events Interactive Features Search current and back issues SUBSCRIPTION PLANS Paper Subscribers The paper plus online edition Add $4/year* NETedition only Best value for out-of-state net $34/year* pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet pressdispatch.net/edition UNTIL MAY 4! FREE TRY IT home of Shirley Pancake in Vel- pen has been converted thanks to a group of volunteers from Teens for Christ Ministries in Michigan sponsored by the Free Methodist Church. The teens and sponsors, 22 in all, were in Pike County last week do- ing mission work. The teens and workers on the project at the Pancake home in Velpen were Brian Beckman, from Tri- Cap in Petersburg, one of the lo- cal Above: The porch on the Zach Frederick, Eric Klingen- berg, Dan Balderman, Teens for Christ Ministries director, and Dakota Bose. They construct- ed the porch so Mrs. Pancake can get her disabled son into the house. sponsoring organizations; kota Bose work on hammering in a nail on one end of a porch floorboard as Eric Klingenberg and Dan Balderman work on se- curing the other end. The four are part of Teens for Christ Min- istries on a mission trip in Pike County last week. Left: Brian Beckman and Da-