Christcare Therapies
In 2009 Rosebank Union Church did a four week study entitled “Faith @ Work” which dealt with the significance of work from God’s point of view, bringing our faith life and our everyday life together. Before she did this study God had been working in Joanna Coetzee’s life with regard to this important truth and the study confirmed what the Lord had been doing in her heart and mind. Wanting to use her profession to actively show the love of Christ to all she treated, Joanna had begun to run her biokinetic practice along these lines.
After my hip surgery at the end of 2011, I was one of the patients Joanna treated. I wanted to do hydro-therapy so chose to go where my recovery would be the easiest. It wasn’t long before I had a strong sense of God being very much a part of this practice.
Outside her rooms at San Sereno Retirement Village is a notice board with a Bible verse on it that is changed regularly. A page on the board has the words “I am thankful for….” and anyone walking past can write something on the by this board. People have written some wonderful messages and it’s been a means of encouraging people as well as identifying other Christians.
Patients know that they will never get an appointment between 8:00 and 9:00 on Thursday mornings because that’s the time Joanna and her colleagues pray for each other and for their patients. I have been fortunate to be included in those prayers! They record what they are praying for and praise God as they see Him answering those prayers.
While I’ve been doing my exercises in the water, I’ve seen some of the very sad and heart wrenching circumstances of other patients, such as those crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases. As a result of a motor cycle accident, a very severely handicapped young man is unable to function normally but Joanna works with him regularly in the water with the hope and prayer that she can help him have a better quality of life. Sharing Christ and his love with her patients is Joanna’s deepest longing. How powerful it is for someone to know that the person treating them is asking God to help and heal them, both physically and spiritually.
Twenty-nine year old Stephen, a Zimbabwean, was severely disabled in a car accident. Not having medical aid, Joanna and her team treated him for an entire year at a very reduced rate. Their prayers and treatment worked miracles and Stephen has improved significantly. One can’t help but wonder what quality of life Stephen would have today if he had not been able to be under Joanna’s care and influence.
Joanna is taking her desire to do even more for Christ through her practice by letting one of her staff, Riana, work every Wednesday at Park Care Frail Care Centre, helping to rehabilitate residents who can’t afford treatment. They’ve set up a rehab centre with equipment that’s been donated and this enables the residents to do their exercise/rehab programs on their own when Riana is not there. At a time when our culture is very money orientated, it’s remarkable that Joanna is willing to pay Riana to help those at Park Care.
Joanna is now in the process of registering as a NPO “Christcare Therapies,” intending to recruit other professionals (biokineticists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, etc.) to donate their time to help more of the residents at this centre. Their hope is to set up similar facilities at other centres around Johannesburg. They’ve even been approached by the Biokinetics Association of SA to assist them in setting up basic biokinetics centre in government facilities as part of the new NHI (National Health Insurance) drive.
Why does Joanna, a young mother of two small children, do this? In her own words, “to have more and more exposure to spread the Word and the love of Christ through our work.”
Joanna is learning to listen to God and go where He leads. She is truly merging her faith in God with her career as a biokineticist.
Note:
If you are a professional who would like to be part of Christcare Therapies – please contact the church office on (011) 7846214 and we will put you in contact with Joanna.
