Archive for the ‘Members’ Category

Member’s special prayer need answered

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Samaritan member Timothy Wehse of Tennessee expresses his gratitude for other Samaritan members helping with expenses relating to a pre-existing need. Since it was pre-existing, it could only be published as a special prayer need, but Timothy has been blessed nonetheless.

Although God’s people scattered around the country are not required to help with this particular need (I was not an active member when the TIA occurred), they have been sending both encouraging notes and checks for weeks.  We are thanking God for the hundreds of dollars that have been so graciously given, and for the kind words of encouragment.

This is just another example of how God takes care of His people.

Visit Timothy’s blog, Striving for Reality.

I had EECP treatment for heart problems

Friday, August 6th, 2010

This is What Happened to Me

I recently had treatment for heart problems. I had been experiencing chest pains and tests showed my arteries were very constricted. Doctors said I would need a stent.

Then I learned about Enhanced External Counterpulsation, or EECP, from a friend. EECP is an FDA approved treatment that has been shown to enlarge arteries and blood vessels giving your body a “natural bypass.” It costs a fraction of the more often prescribed surgeries, and has almost no risk of side effects. It can even give existing stents a longer life span. It is totally non-invasive.

EECP has also been used to help people with kidney disease, diabetes, and many other problems. We heard a testimonial of a lady whose diabetes was so bad that her feet turned black, and doctors were considering amputation. But after EECP blood flow returned and her feet got back to normal, pink and healthy.

I was very impressed with the quality of care that I received, and what we learned. So much can be done these days as an alternative to stents and the bypass surgeries that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We even learned of medical studies showing that patients with artery blockages who don’t have surgery have the same survival rates as those who do have the surgeries. With odds like those, I preferred to try EECP.

I highly recommend this procedure. I am feeling years younger and my chest pains are gone. I am now focusing on eating healthy and keeping to an exercise program to continue to care for my body.

James and Ronnelle Buck
Northport, WA

P.S. Here’s a link to some information on the EECP treatment from the website of the Whitaker Wellness Institute in Irvine, California, where I had the treatment. The largest manufacturer of the machines is Vasomedical, and on their site you can find doctors and hospitals by ZIP code that do the treatment. I hope some members will consider it, and find that it is appropriate for their situation.

Podcast interview of Shalom Sanchez, missionary in South LA

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

The interview of Shalom Sanchez, who mentors young people in South L.A., is up.

Member Spotlight: Shalom Sanchez and Great Commission Ministries/Students Run L.A.

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Shalom Sanchez, right, and a student she mentors.

By Michael Miller

Shalom Sanchez didn’t run away from her calling.

She ran to it.

Go to the notoriously violent neighborhood of South Los Angeles, the subject of movies like Boyz n the Hood? A far cry from Sterling College in Kansas, but … OK.

Serve as a mentor to young people at the local high school while training them to run a marathon? She had never been the athletic type before, but … OK.

Share young people’s lives and share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ? No problem.

“Coming out to Los Angeles was definitely something from the Lord,” says the 32-year-old New Mexico native and Samaritan Ministries member. Before she started helping with a Great Commission Ministries church plant in East Hollywood in 2002, “I never had any desire to be here.”

Now her desire is to work with at-risk youth through Students Run L.A., a running and mentoring program that works informally with high school students from James A. Foshay Learning Center.

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Board meeting at Gitche Gumee

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

The Samaritan Ministries board of directors was privileged to hold their summer meeting on the shores of Lake Superior, in the heart of copper country on the Keweenaw peninsula in Northern Michigan. There Samaritan members Melvin and Carol Jones direct Gitche Gumee Bible camp, that offers camp experiences for children and families as well as seniors. They also work with churches and other organizations for special events, all for very reasonable prices. Here is a pdf of the member spotlight on Melvin and Carol from a few years ago: Melvin and Carol Jones.pdf

Mel and Carol Jones

Copper Harbor Lighthouse

Sunset on Lake Superior

Don’t leave home without it!

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Public policy specialist John Creath, while helping out member services yesterday, reported an unusual call about a member. Not from a doctor or hospital, but from a toy store.

A clerk from a toy store in California called and reported that she found a customer’s wallet in their department store and she was trying to return it to its rightful owner. The only phone number listed among the contents of this wallet was, you guessed it, Samaritan Ministries’ on the back of a Samaritan membership card. My first inclination was to be skeptical because it just sounded too outlandish, but after the clerk provided a name and address for the wallet’s owner, I cross-checked them in GH. I decided that it would probably be best for me to take down the store’s phone number and call the wallet’s owner myself and see if they were in fact missing a wallet.

Sure enough, after calling the member and explaining that I wasn’t really calling about their subscription but was trying to facilitate a reunion between him and his wallet, the owner quickly figured out what had happened and was very appreciative that we didn’t just write it off as a prank call.

Moral of the story: always carry your Samaritan membership card in your wallet/pocketbook!

Donna Schillinger’s ministering on her own now

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

The June member spotlight in Samaritan Ministries Christian Health Care Newsletter focuses on Donna Schillinger, who is putting her past experiences to use by offering life lessons to young women.

By Michael Miller

Donna Schillinger wants younger women to learn from her mistakes so they don’t make them, too.

Mistakes like walking away from God’s Word and living a hedonistic, sinful lifestyle.

The 44-year-old Arkansas writer and Samaritan Ministries member is devoting increasing amounts of time to publishing practical and spiritual guidance for young adults, particularly women. She has written one book, On My Own Now: Straight Talk from the Proverbs for Young Christian Women Who Want to Remain Pure, Debt-free and Regret-Free, and is editing another one on purity and premarital sex due out next year.

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Inspiring DVD on betrothal, marriage

Monday, May 10th, 2010

The Waller family, profiled in the August 2009 Member Spotlight in our newsletter, has released Betrothed, an inspiring video about the betrothal and marriage of their son, Brayden Waller, to Talitha Lupinacci in 2009.

Brayden and Tali were brought together by their parents, with their consent. During their courtship, they were never with each other without a chaperone present.

That’s not completely unheard of. Where Brayden and Tali moved to an interesting path was with their betrothal, during which they were legally married. Immediately after that two-hour ceremony, the groom left his bride–to prepare a place for her. Then, Brayden came back for Tali, who was wearing a spotless white dress.

I don’t want to spoil the real-life storyline for those who want to be kept in suspense. Suffice it to say that what happens is a parable and prophecy brought to life. Our marriages are supposed to reflect the relationship Christ has with His Church, and the story of Brayden’s and Tali’s betrothal and wedding does just that in a literal way.

Nicely filmed, very funny in spots, very pro-family. It’s also good to see Tommy and Sherri Waller again, even if only on video!

You can read a blog entry on Brayden’s departure from home here and find out more about the Wallers’ ministry, Hayovel, here.

MSNBC.com posts piece on health care sharing

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

MSNBC.com reporter JoNel Aleccia published a piece on health care sharing ministries today, with a heavy emphasis on Samaritan Ministries International. JoNel’s story focused on members Mike and Mary Suitter of Hayden, Idaho.

HAYDEN, Idaho – Mary Suitter is sporting fresh bandages on her face and arm, markers of two new biopsies that may reveal yet another bout with melanoma.

Though she lacks conventional health insurance, the 57-year-old mother of four says she isn’t worried about the costs of a recurrence of her 2006 diagnosis with the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Suitter — and her husband, Mike, a handyman and builder — are members of a health care sharing ministry, a religious co-op whose participants agree to support each other — and to pay each others’ medical bills.

Also quoted were Tracy Kamprath of Texas

Tracy Kamprath, 49, of Chappel Hill, Texas, admits she had doubts about the program when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor two years ago.

“We weren’t sure, but we joined in faith,” said Kamprath, a former Christian school teacher whose family had no other option for health insurance when they signed up two years before she became ill.

The bill for her successful treatment topped $240,000, but with discounts for paying cash and some negotiations with providers, the Kampraths were able to reduce it to $60,000, which was covered by dozens of Samaritan members.

“Every penny was paid for,” she said.

and Samaritan VP James Lansberry:

The federal exemption to mandatory insurance may fuel even more interest in the health care sharing ministries. Samaritan is already enrolling 200 new members a month, Lansberry says, numbers that may grow as the 2014 deadline for mandatory insurance looms.

There’s also a poll about the value of health care sharing ministries and, on the poll page, a place for comments. Please weigh in with your opinion and add some comments if you see the need.

Thanks to the Suitters and Tracy Kamprath for agreeing to be interviewed and for representing Samaritan members.

Member details health care ministry blessings

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

A Samaritan Ministries member named Lori not only took time to write an e-mail to Rush Limbaugh explaning what a health care sharing ministry is, but she also posted an entry about HCSMs on her blog “Lifetime of Learning.”

In the excerpt below, she compares being a member of Samaritan with having health insurance:

A better understanding of what a blessing Samaritan is came with the birth of my son. Since bills for the birth, prenatal care, etc, were all sent directly to me instead of an insuance company, I was able to see just what the exact costs were. The grand total of all tests, prenatal care, delivery, anesthesia came to just under $10,000. WOW! That is a lot of money. You might be interested to know how much of that we were responsible for….a mere $300. Really. Now, a couple of years later I talked with someone who had a union job and great medical coverage who had to have a hernia repaired. He had 80/20 coverage (which is pretty standard) and when all insurance was paid out he owed $2000. They are still working on paying it off. At the point, I really began to see what a blessing Samaritan was. If that was my husband, we would have only paid $300 of the total bill. At that point, I became so grateful for what I had! I took some time to see and understand all of the benefits of HCSM, but now I am totally sold!

Thanks for the thumbs up, Lori!