12 minute read
ARMY HELPS RABIN
Looking Beyond His Disability
Salvation Army helps Rabin Betkhoodoo create the business of his dreams.
by Linda Leigh
“Never allow your disabilities or weaknesses to prevent you from achieving your goals,” says 45-year-old Rabin Betkhoodoo. “You have to look beyond your challenges to succeed in whatever you put your mind to.”
Born in Iran in 1976 and part of the Assyrian community, Rabin was diagnosed at birth with spastic quad cerebral palsy—the inability to control his legs, arms and body. Unable to speak, he eventually learned to communicate by using his toe to type on a computer. Today, with help from The Salvation Army, he is pursuing his ultimate goal—to use his graphic design skills in a small business of his own.
Early Life Challenges Rabin’s inability to use his facial muscles and the core of his body meant he was unable to communicate with others.
“I couldn’t speak—even to my own family. Those were difficult times,” says Rabin. It was the inspiration he received by watching the bravery of his parents that encouraged Rabin to never give up.
“Resources to accommodate my physical challenges were unavailable in Iran,” says Rabin. “My father left his job and moved our family to
Smiling Through “I always receive encouragement from the staff at The Salvation Army,” says Rabin Betkhoodoo
Turkey, with the expectation that we would go to the United States, where medical help would be more readily available for me.”
Unable to immigrate to the United States, they remained in Turkey for two years. When they heard that Canada was open to the process, they moved forward with applications.
“To get an exit visa, I had to prove to health authorities that I was capable of counting and thinking for myself,” says Rabin. “At the hospital, I beat my father at dominoes five times!
“Our papers were approved.” later, he was introduced to a “touch talk” computer. Before long, he was learning English and grammar.
Rabin had always hoped that his condition could be cured through surgery. He wanted to walk and talk on his own. But doctors said that wouldn’t be possible.
“I was extremely upset,” says
Rabin. “The thought of never being able to walk or speak my language, Assyrian, was unbearable.”
Rabin spent one year in elementary school before high school; therefore, his English was limited. Fortunately, the “touch talk” had a dictionary that allowed him to compose whole sentences. Later, when he was introduced to a new speech-generating device, he could use his toe to verbally express whatever he typed on the keyboard.
“I wrote emails, stories and essays,” says Rabin. “I chatted with friends and played games on the internet.”
New Ways of Communicating When they arrived in Hamilton, Ont., Rabin, his mother, father and sister didn’t understand English. His mother accompanied the 13-year-old to elementary school on his first day.
“My mother instructed me to move my head up and down, indicating yes or no,” says Rabin. “We had no idea what people were saying.”
The next day, therapists visited Rabin at school. He showed the team and his teacher that he could type using his right toe. A few months Achieving Lifelong Goals At age 20, Rabin graduated from high school. He furthered his education at community college with a certificate in business applications
skills.” RABIN
for Microsoft Windows.
“I am extremely proud of my accomplishments and am confident that I can achieve whatever I put my mind to,” he says.
Rabin eventually went to PATH Employment Services for help with his career goals. Meanwhile, he became proficient in designing business cards, party invitations, flyers, posters and calendars. In 2016, he was introduced to The Salvation Army, and he enrolled in programs at its Lawson Ministries in Hamilton, which provides support and social inclusion to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
“I always receive encouragement from the staff at The Salvation Army,” says Rabin. “I participate in their digital arts program and, through weekly conversations, assistance and interactions, I have made new friends and I’ve improved my spelling, reading and writing skills.”
Staff at The Salvation Army ask Rabin to create cards for holidays and flyers for events. And they help him share and upload his work.
“Thanks to parents who proved that giving up wasn’t an option and The Salvation Army’s willingness to come alongside me, I am well on my way to creating a business of my own. And it feels great!”
(left) Linda Leigh is national manager of communications at The Salvation Army’s territorial headquarters in Toronto.
Photos: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Welcome to the Serververse In his quest to save his son, LeBron James turns into an animated version of himself. What gives?
Full-Court Press
IN A NEW MOVIE, LEBRON JAMES AND THE LOONEY TUNES GANG GO ALL OUT TO SAVE THE BASKETBALL GREAT’S SON. by Diane Stark
Space Jam: A New Legacy, in theatres and on streaming platforms this July, is a liveaction animated sports comedy. A sequel to the original Space Jam starring Michael Jordan, the film combines live action, traditional hand-drawn 2D animation and 3D computer-generated effects.
As NBA star LeBron James discusses summer plans with his young son, Dom (Cedric Joe), he just assumes that his son will follow in his footsteps and go to basketball camp. But Dom wants to attend computer camp and dreams of becoming a video-game developer. When LeBron insists that his son has potential on the court, Dom replies, “It’s not what I want, Dad. You never let me do
What’s Up, Doc? (right) LeBron and Bugs Bunny get their first view of the opposing Goon Squad
what I want to do. You never let me just ... do me.”
When a CGI humanoid named Al-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle) notices Dom’s computer skills and realizes who his famous father is, he tricks Dom into the Serververse, a virtual space he controls. When LeBron goes to rescue his son, he too gets sucked into the Serververse. Once there, Al-G Rhythm tells him the only way to get Dom back is to win a basketball game against the Goon Squad, a team of powered-up avatars of professional basketball stars. Worse still, LeBron’s teammates are Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Lola Bunny and the rest of the notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes.
Can Lebron, Bugs and the Looney Tunes beat the Goon Squad and save Dom? And even if they can, how will LeBron ever be able to form a true bond with his son without basketball at the centre of their relationship?
Falling Short? When Dom takes off to do his own thing and ends up in trouble, LeBron does everything in his power to save him. That’s what good fathers do.
Every one of us has been in a similar situation. When God created us, He gave us free will, or the ability to make our own decisions. In other words, God allows us to “do us,” even though our choices often get us into trouble. When we find ourselves in need of rescue, God is always there to help us, even when our own bad
decisions led us to where we ended up. He helps us even when we’ve made the same mistake over and over again. He rescues us even when we should know better. It’s never too late to call out to God for help.
Ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, humankind has been in need of rescue. Each of us is born into sin and that sin separates us from God. Romans 3:23 says that everyone has sinned and we all fall short of God’s standard.
Sweet Offer But like the good Father He is, God didn’t want to see His children suffer. He stopped at nothing to rescue us from our sin. He sent His own Son, Jesus, to earth to die on a cross and pay the price for our bad decisions. All we have to do is accept the sacrifice Jesus made. The second half of Romans 6:23 says, “the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (New Living Translation).
It’s an amazing offer. We can trade our sin and shame for eternal life. All we have to do is accept God’s gift.
To make the offer even sweeter, God doesn’t need us to fit a certain mould or follow in someone else’s footsteps in order to gain His acceptance. He created each of us as a unique being and He loves us just as we are. He wants nothing more than to build a close relationship with us.
God offers us forgiveness and eternal life, and all He requires in return is that we believe in Him.
He loves us that much.
Mission: Impossible? (below) Can LeBron and Lola Bunny whip this ragtag team into shape for the big game?
Diving Right In
OLYMPIC DIVER STEELE JOHNSON IGNORED THE “WHAT IFS?” AND FOCUSED ON THE “WHY NOTS?” by Jayne Thurber-Smith
“EVERYONE HAS MOMENTS
in their lives when unexpected things occur. It’s the unexpected happening to us, whether by choice or chance, that can shape who we are if we let it,” says Steele Johnson as he displays his silver medal in synchronized diving from the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The unexpected occurrence to which he refers was a horrific accident he experienced at the age of 12 in 2009. While attempting a relatively new dive, a reverse 3½ somersault off the 10-metre platform, Steele hit his head on the
Steele and Silver Steele Johnson showing off his Olympic medal at the Liberty University convocation that he spoke at in 2018
Photos: Courtesy of Steele Johnson
Taking a Dive Steele with David Boudia at the Summer Olympics in 2016
Steele hit his head on the concrete platform. Unconscious, he was rushed to the emergency room where they pieced his head back together with 33 staples.
concrete platform in the first rotation. Unconscious, he was rushed to the emergency room where they pieced his head back together with 33 staples.
Learning Experience Since the accident, Steele has gone on to complete that dive hundreds of times.
“That injury could have negatively shaped who I was for the rest of my life,” he reflects. “I could have decided not to be a diver, and not had any trust in myself to do what I could do or in anyone else to lead me where I needed to go. But because I didn’t let that moment stop me, I was able to continue to pursue and achieve my dream.”
Sharing his comeback story gave Steele confidence going into his first Olympic competition. The dive that almost took him out of diving ended up being one of his best dives at trials.
“I told myself, ‘No, you can’t back down from any of your dives right now, because you didn’t back down seven years ago. If you had, you wouldn’t be diving at all!’ ” he says. “So why not put 100 percent into what I’m doing? I’ve already been through potentially the worst accident of my entire life. If that didn’t stop me, then what makes me think any dive can stop me now? I don’t think God created that accident, but I do know He really blessed it. It became a learning experience that I gained a lot from.”
Driving Force To those who would question why bad things like that happen to good people like him, Steele comments that we all live in a fallen world where sad situations take place.
“But at the end of the day, we have to trust what the Bible says, that God is good and He is Lord,” he says. “He has our best interests in mind.
He doesn’t cause our pain, but He can bring us out of it. He gives us the opportunity to lean on Him no matter what.”
Steele feels that he is a much better diver because of that crash into the concrete platform. It was the driving force to make him want to be better and work toward his Olympic dream.
“I knew that all of this might have been taken from me in a moment,” Steele says. “The fact that it wasn’t made me strive for greatness day after day. It inspired me to be the person God has created me to be, since He gave me the ability to dive.”
So Steele ignored the “what ifs?” and focused on the “why nots?” He teamed up with David Boudia, and the pair made it to a diving platform in Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2016.
As the world watched, they recited Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Then, in perfect symmetry, they executed a back 2½ somersault with 2½ twists in the men’s 10-metre synchronized diving competition, winning the silver medal.
On to Tokyo Besides helping him medal in Rio, David also helped him increase his faith, along with Steele’s coach, Adam Soldati. Steele had grown up in church but had valued it mostly
True Love In 2017, Steele married his longtime girlfriend, Hilary Nussbaum
for its social aspect.
“David and Adam shared with me that going to church isn’t the most important thing, following God is,” says Steele. “When I was younger, when I prayed, I would focus on hoping God would give me what I wanted. Now, I actively seek and trust Him.”
Steele learned that actively pursuing God alone, in the quiet and unseen, was all he really needed.
“I understand without a doubt that He is enough for me, even if I never once went to the Olympics or even married my wife, Hilary,” says Steele. “All these are variables in life and, whether they happened or not, I can be joyful because I am seen, known, loved by God.”
He is now preparing for Tokyo 2021. With a wisdom beyond his 25 years, Steele knows that even if he doesn’t get what he thinks he wants, God will give him what’s best.
“When I started my Olympic journey, I used to think it was all I ever wanted,” he comments. “But you eventually find out the joy you’re searching for is not in medals. Your identity can’t just be found in being an Olympic diver, because that lasts only a few weeks every four years. We are designed to rest in the presence of God. That’s where our joy comes from.”
A Man and His Dog Steele with Aspen
