Saving lives and limbs
by David Lawrence

(This is the edited transcription of an interview Associate Pastor Ralph Starling conducted with David Lawrence in the morning worship services at First Baptist Church, Sunday, November 11, 2007, the day that David was baptized.)

I grew up in the Lutheran church, and was baptized as an infant. But it wasn’t a baptism by choice. As an adult I tried to figure this all out. I am somewhat of an analytical person, and I needed to know all the answers. I got farther and farther and farther away from God and from the church.

Then I came across this passage in Proverbs, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” It really turned things around for me. The idea of trusting in the Lord completely, not having all the answers, not being able to feel like you have to figure it all out. I have colleagues around the world of many different faiths and religions and I couldn’t reconcile in my mind how this all came together. And so finally God just gave me this revelation that it’s not my job to figure it out.

Ralph Starling: David, what is it that attracts you to Christ?

David: Wow, I think the glory of everything I see around me. You know, I hit a big speed bump in my life seven, eight years ago. And it kind of shook what I thought I knew. And it provided a great opportunity for me. Honestly I think that has happened to a lot people. An opportunity to re-analyze what you know and what you don’t know. And I think that is what attracted me to God is the belief that there has to be something bigger than just what I know.

Ralph: Now you have an interesting profession. Tell us about that.

David: I’m a physical therapist by trade and God’s given me the opportunity to utilize some of my skills and abilities to become, I guess, somewhat of an expert in area of rehabilitation with individuals suffering from limb loss.

In the United States, we have these really cool prosthetic limbs and technology. And that technology is available to us and to Europeans. But beyond that, it is not readily available to many others. So about seven years ago, I had the opportunity to start a program called “Walking Free,” with a group, “Physicians for Peace.” We go into underprivileged countries and help fulfill this need to produce prosthetic limbs and orthotic devices and to teach and empower people to do this for themselves.

In the United States a prosthetic limb is really helpful - helps you get around. But in these countries, it can mean life or death. If you don’t have the ability to get around you can’t be a productive member of society and likely are not going to survive in that society.

Ralph: What are some of the places you go?

David: I started the project in Diyarbakir, Turkey, which is just above the Iraqi border. There’s a huge need there with land mines and kids in that region. And we have a project in Amman, Jordan which helps the children in Basra, Iraq. We also work in the Philippines, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.

Ralph: I know it must be staggering, the number of folks who don’t have limbs around the world.

David: Oh, absolutely. In the United States the majority of amputations occur in later years, because of diabetes. But outside the United States and Western Europe, 80% of the world’s amputees are between 14 and 28 years old. So these are working-age individuals who create a huge economic impact on their countries. The numbers are in the hundreds of millions of kids with amputations. We keep statistics well; but in places like Haiti and other countries, the records are not so reliable. So it’s a bit of a guess-work. All I can tell you is the lines are hundreds and thousands deep when we’re in an area to help.

Ralph: Can you think of a story or a picture of a face of a kid or someone you’ve helped?

David: There are so many stories in so many countries and in so many locations. But, the one I think that keeps coming back around to me whenever I think of what we’re trying to do is a girl named Annabelle Batista in the Dominican Republic. We met her in an area which was very downtrodden. She had lost her leg to due to cancer. She had no opportunities, had no options, no resources. We were able to get her a prosthetic limb and get her back on her feet. She had all the motivation and drive in the world. She went on to enter the school of physical therapy in the country, because she wanted to become the first ever physical therapist in the country with a prosthetic limb and give back to the community that she was able to receive help from. One of first emails to me after we had helped her was about the immediate impact of being able to be mobile and get going. She said, “I’m so excited, I now have a job and a boyfriend - two things I thought would never happen again in my life.”

Ralph: Thank you, David, for being the presence of Christ in all the places you go. God Bless you.