Our Mission & History

According to the CDC, more than 1 in 4 (28.7% adults in the United States) have some type of disability. 12.2% have mobility difficulty, 13.9% have cognitive difficulty, and 1 in 4 adults do not have unmet health care needs because of cost. And most tend to earn less than those who do not have a disability. That’s where EDE can help.

We are supported by families and organizations that recognize the needs the differently enabled have. Over the last few years, we have aided over numerous families and individuals.

Our Founder

In the beginning of our journey, we had no idea that Emily would arrive 12 weeks early. We had our own plans but as it says in Isaiah 55:8-12 God’s ways are higher than the heavens and the earth. Tom and I were shocked, in disbelief and totally taken out of the day-to-day activities of the life we had been living and anticipating as new first-time parents. Our world was now focused on the daily activity at the hospital with a 26 old premature beautiful baby girl.

We were not familiar with hospital settings, meeting doctors, hearing all kinds of foreign-to-us medical terms and witnessing medical procedures all in the effort to save Emily’s life. Moreover, wanting to celebrate this new life of precious Emily but also being haunted with deep feelings of devastation was the start of our grief journey. Honestly, what in the world is grief? Lord is this all there is…. was our nagging question. All our hopes and dreams for our family’s future came to a screeching halt – right into a dead end! Cerebral Palsy was diagnosed at the age of 15 months. We did not have Google then, so off to the library we went to get information to our questions to find some sort of direction.

Emily is joyful, smart and outgoing but physically very limited – 6-month-old babies pass Emily up in the gross and fine motor department. We found that adapting Emily’s life so that she could live to her fullest potential was going to take teamwork, communications, community, durable medical equipment, funding, access to resources and a well prayed through plan.

After 36 years with many valleys, roadblocks and mountain top life experiences we have found with God as our advocate – EmPowering The Differently Enabled was born!

At EDEHOPE.ORG, we offer a Roadmap to Hope to help navigate so many detours and pathways. We place you in the driver’s seat with a laptop and organizational tools so you can then hit the road with an intentional trip set out before you. Many areas of life come at you: Medical, Education, Financial, Service Organizations, Dreams, Spiritual, Emotional – where do you go with all that is coming at you known or unknown? With God in the driver’s seat, you will know what things will ride in the front seat, to the passenger’s seat or placed in the trunk for the time being. But as Emily’s Dad’s famous quote goes, “Humor is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles” – Proverbs 17:22a (NIV) A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Statement of Faith

ABOUT GOD
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. Genesis 1:1, 25, 27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14

ABOUT MANKIND
We are all made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. We are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although mankind has tremendous potential for good, we are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates us from God.

We believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end. We believe that since all life is sacred, every human being has value and deserves dignity. As such, we must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellow men. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a, 59:1-2; Romans 3:23

ABOUT ETERNITY
We all were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in unison with God through forgiveness and salvation. The place of eternal separation from God is called Hell. Heaven is the place of eternal unison and eternal life with God.
John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; (Hell) Matthew 25:41; Revelation 21:27 (Heaven)

ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrew 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13

ABOUT SALVATION
Salvation is a gift from God to mankind. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can we be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment we receive Jesus Christ into our life by faith. Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1

ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in the salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives this security.
John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10, 14; 1 Peter 1:3-5

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Son as God. He is present in the world to make mankind aware of our need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.
2 Corinthians 3:17; John 14:16-17, 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:1

ABOUT THE BIBLE
The Bible (unmodified and unedited) is God’s word to all mankind. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error. 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 12:6; 119:105, 160; Proverbs 30:5

ABOUT MARRIAGE
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as individual biological persons, male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God, is the foundation of the family, and basic structure of human society. We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female, and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within that union. Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Mathew 15:18-20