our mission
To serve the Lord by creating sustainable therapy programming that promotes participation in healthy occupation to elevate the dignity and quality of life of those living with disabilities across the world. With St. Therese the Little Flower as our intercessor and guide, sustained by the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, Little Flower Catholic Therapy Missions seeks to demonstrate the tangible love and mercy of Christ to those entrusted to our care.
Our Projects
Wheelchairs and Positioning
The pediatric population of the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) presented with severe physical deformities, contractures and bed sores. Some of the diagnoses noted were cerebral palsy, hydro/microcephaly, traumatic brain injury, and more. Most of these children were bed bound due to lack of suitable wheelchairs. The adult and geriatric populations of MOP presented with less physically severe positioning needs, but nevertheless required wheelchairs for mobility.
With the help of Assistive Technology Professionals, we were able to evaluate each resident, collect and modify used wheelchairs to provide a specialized wheelchair for those in need, or purchase standard wheelchairs for the less physically involved. These chairs have allowed the residents to further interact with their environment while providing optimal support and positioning to reduce time spent in bed.
Our continued goals include: training in wheelchair maintenance, providing new used chairs for new residents and those who have outgrown their current chair, creating more wedges for bed positioning, and creating affordable, supportive bath benches.
Education
The population of children and adults at MOP require very specialized care. The vast majority of the Brothers and Sisters and volunteer workers who serve as caregivers receive only basic caregiver training. We have identified a need for more in depth training on therapeutic interventions.
Based on the needs of the residents, we developed our own therapy manual including chapters on: The Importance of Activity, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Down Syndrome, Feeding, and Ergonomics. We've completed education in the homes with the brothers and community volunteers. To improve efficiency of education we've tried to target the novices during their training.
Our continued goals for education include: continuing to provide education to the novices in addition to advocating for designated therapy staff to whom we could provide more in-depth education.
Activity Development
Our primary goal as an organization is to increase meaningful activity in each resident's daily routine. Our most recent project focused on one of the adult homes for the women. This home has a diverse population, but many have cognitive and/or emotional impairments. We began with cognitive testing using a modified version of the Allen Diagnostic Tile Tray Assessment. Based on the residents' scores, we introduced appropriate leisure activities including: dominoes, ring toss, lacing, coloring, fidget toys, and more. We hope lay volunteers will continue to lead these activities under the direction of the Sisters who run this home. By increasing meaningful activity in the residents' days, we hope to improve their quality of life.
Our continued goals in activity development include: assessing functional cognition of all adult residents, providing appropriate activity kits to each home, and training the caregivers in how to lead activity groups.
Our Beginnings
Shannon, Carla, and Sarah all started serving in Jamaica over 15 years ago as lay people with Mustard Seed Communities, a group of Catholic homes for children and adults with special needs. As they completed their training in Occupational Therapy their missions shifted to a therapeutic focus. After being introduced to Missionaries of the Poor, Shannon and Carla visited for the first time in 2014. The love and hard work the Brothers and Sisters of MOP gave to those they served was apparent. It was that same love and hard work that showed their potential for more, for increasing the dignity and quality of life for those in their care. It has been an exciting partnership as they challenge us to grow in our love for the Lord, and we challenge them to grow as caregivers.
our Leadership
Shannon Hillestad
Shannon has been volunteering in Jamaica since 2005, citing her experience there as the biggest influence in becoming an Occupational Therapist. She has worked in outpatient pediatrics, home health and is currently working in acute care.
Sarah Gingrich
Sarah went on her first mission trip in Jamaica when she was 15. Fifteen years and 12+ trips to Jamaica later, Sarah is able to use her expertise as an occupational therapist in pediatrics, feeding, and neurological rehabilitation to serve the poor.
Carla Heinsch
Carla graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 2001 with a B.S. in Occupational Therapy and from Franciscan University in 2011 with her Masters in Theology and Christian Ministry. She primarily works in outpatient pediatrics. Her first trip to Jamaica was in 2001 and has been back many times since.
Grant Hillestad
Grant graduated from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND with his Masters in Occupational Therapy. He has worked in post-acute rehab, home health, acute card, and currently works as a wheelchair specialist.
Our Patron
"The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.”
St Therese of Lisieux was born January 2, 1873 in France to a devout Catholic family. She entered religious life in a cloistered Carmelite convent at the young age of 15. She was known for living out her faith with simplicity and practicality and doing small things with great love. St. Therese died at the age of 24 after a long battle with tuberculosis. Her feast day is October 3rd and she was canonized in 1925. St. Therese was declared Patroness of missions along with St. Francis Xavier in 1927 by Pope Pius XI, and declared the 33rd doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II. Why was a young, cloistered Carmelite nun who never left her convent entrusted with the title of Patroness of missions and Doctor of the Church?
From a young age St. Therese had the desire to go into the missions. Her great zeal and ardent desire for souls was instilled in her from early on. In July of 1887, St. Therese heard her call to her vocation to enter cloistered life. It happened in the Cathedral of Lisieux. “One Sunday, looking at a picture of Our Lord on the Cross, I was struck by the blood flowing from one of the divine hands. I felt a great pang of sorrow when thinking this blood was falling to the ground without anyone’s hastening to gather it up. I was resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross and to receive the divine dew. I understood I was then to pour it out upon souls… I wanted to give my Beloved to drink and I felt myself consumed with a thirst for souls. As yet, it was not the souls of priests that attracted me, but those of great sinners.” (excerpt from her autobiography: Story of a Soul). Her physical life on earth was in the cloister but her missionary heart burning with zeal for souls was already in the mission fields and distant lands.
She instinctively understood that contemplative life was the foundation of missionary activity. St. Therese, once in Carmel, understood her missionary vocation from a contemplative point of view. She wrote: “I had declared at the feet of Jesus–Victim, in the examination preceding my Profession, what I had come to Carmel for: I came to save souls and especially to pray for priests. When one wishes to attain a goal, one must use the means; Jesus made me understand that it was through suffering that he wanted to give me souls, and my attraction for suffering grew in proportion to its increase.”(excerpt from her autobiography: Story of a Soul). The principle of her Carmelite life was constant. She believed that through prayer and sacrifice that one can help missionaries.
In her quest for sanctity, St Therese believed that it was not necessary to accomplish heroic acts, or great deeds, in order to attain holiness and to express her love of God. She wrote,” Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.”(excerpt from her autobiography: Story of a Soul). Because of this understanding, St. Therese is also known as St. Therese of the Little Flower.
In 1997, Pope Saint John Paul II declared St. Therese the 33rd doctor of the Church, making her the 4th woman as well as the youngest person ever to be declared a Doctor of the Church. In his homily Pope John Paul II stated, “Jesus himself showed her how she could live this vocation: by fully practicing the commandment of love, she would be immersed in the very heart of the Church's mission, supporting those who proclaim the Gospel with the mysterious power of prayer and communion.” Based on this understanding, we ask St. Therese to pray for, guide, and protect our organization in all we do.