The Optasia Story

This page is provided simply for anyone who is curious about how Optasia Ministry got started.

Optasia Ministry is a recent development with long roots. When I was about 18 years old I was diagnosed with an eye disease that would progressively erode my eyesight. At the time that felt far off and unreal, for the doctors could not tell me how long it would be before this became a significant issue for me. So I went on to college and seminary, following the Lord’s call to ministry. I served a church in Kansas and in 1987 we moved to Iowa. Soon after we began this ministry I realized that my vision was significantly impaired, and within a year I realized it was no longer safe for me to drive a car. Members of the congregation immediately stepped up to serve as my volunteer drivers. Over the years my wife and children have done significant amounts of driving as well. Since my wife has a full time job, it has been a great help to be served by members of the congregation in this way.

At this time I also started studying Braille, and over the course of twenty years I made significant progress. As my vision continued to decrease I made further adaptations. I began using a white cane, at first somewhat sporadically then more and more consistently every time I left the house. I also began using screen reading software. Over several years I moved from finding the screen reader helpful to relying almost totally on the screen reading voice to tell me what is on the computer screen.

Some years ago I realized that the time was coming when it would become very difficult for me to read printed text. Magnification and good lighting helped, but has its limits. So I began the tedious process of scanning in the resources from my library and files that I wanted to have available in the future. This required that I also sort through my library and pare it down to those resources that I thought were most important. So I have converted virtually everything that I need to computer files

Another step along the way happened when I received a Braille note taker – a Pac Mate from Freedom Scientific. I use the Pac Mate for reading by copying files to the Pac Mate so I can take them with me and read them wherever I am. I also use the Pac Mate to practice my Braille reading.

For 20 years it had been my goal to gain enough skill with Braille that I would be able to use it for reading Scripture, leading liturgy and preaching. But it finally became apparent to me that I would not reach that level of proficiency in Braille, even though I invested a great deal of time and effort into it, including distance learning courses.

Therefore I have discovered that I am able to put all my worship service and sermons, meeting agendas and books on the Pac Mate, and listen to this material as I lead worship and meetings and do my pastoral care. I am able, for example, to listen to a passage of Scripture line by line and repeat it verbally for the congregation, in a way that sounds like normal reading. This has been a tremendous relief as I realized the Lord has given me the means to continue serving in ministry. I continue to use Braille and study it for increased proficiency, but with less urgency as in the past.

At the time I received the Pac Mate I was looking for a New International Version Bible that would work on it. No vender could assure me that their version would work. So my son, who has high computer skills, sat down, and within a few hours produced an HTML form of the NIV that works very well on the Pac Mate (see Optasia Library ). We began thinking about ways we could distribute this Bible and my other library resources to others with visual disabilities, but kept running up against the legal block of copywrites.

Finally we ran across information about the Chaffee Amendment on the website of the National Library Service (Library of Congress). This amendment allows a nonprofit organization, which has as its primary mission to serve the needs of those with disabilities, to distribute copywrited material to those with disabilities in alternative format, without needing to seek the permission of copywrite holders. Thus the idea of Optasia Ministry took shape in our minds and became a reality in early 2007. We have followed the path of seeking legal incorporation in the State of Iowa and have received approval from the Internal Revenue Service to be a nonprofit organization.

We intend to continue to expand our library resources. We especially want to provide the kind of resources that pastors can use in serving their congregations. We are in the process of expanding the number of bible translations we offer. We want to provide these resources free so that cost is not a difficulty for anyone to receive a solid library of Biblical study resources.

Where the Lord will lead us we do not know, but trust that He has blessed this beginning to be a useful ministry to many in the disability community, for His glory.

Tom Vos, director

Optasia Ministry, Inc