Ministry to the Blind Reaches 14 Year Milestone

   It was in 2001 that Wausau’s Josh Swatosh, blind and wheel chair-bound, contacted Dave Andrus at Lutheran Blind Missions in Missouri.  The St. Louis-based ministry had a long history of providing Braille material, large print literature and audio cassettes to the visually impaired.  But it was their program of helping cities establish local ministries to the blind and visually impaired  that interested Swatosh.
   The phone call was especially meaningful to Andrus, a Wausau native who had lost his own sight at age 11.  As a blind pastor and Director of Lutheran Blind Missions in St. Louis, Andrus had received many phone calls from visually impaired  people seeking help on a local basis. “Ninety-five percent of blind people are unchurched,” said Andrus.  “We recognized an opportunity to bring members of the blind community together, share a meal with them, tell them about Jesus, and see what else we could do for them.”
   Dennis Pegorsch, Associate Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church on Wausau’s Stewart Avenue offered to help Andrus and Swatosh establish a local ministry.  Later that year, aided with the help of additional church volunteers, the Wausau Christian Ministry to the Blind held its first gathering.  Now in its 14th year, the outreach ministry continues providing bi-monthly luncheon meals, musical entertainment or a guest speaker, an inspirational ...