OXFORD – The Hosanna New Testament Church will host Jeff and Ellen Steinberg at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, at the church at 109 Schoolhouse Road.

Jeff Steinberg has been coming to the Oxford Hills area for more than 27 years and is well-known for his ministry of encouragement. He was born without arms or hands and with deformed legs. His concert includes stories of his life, struggles and achievements. He’s been able to see the humorous side of life and often has his audience in stitches. He calls himself a “masterpiece in progress.”

Born in Philadelphia, his multiple birth defects – no arms and two bent, scissored legs, a condition known as phocomelia, which is believed to be the result of thalidomide or a similar drug prescribed for his mother during pregnancy.

He spent his first years in a welfare shelter in Philadelphia, then later in a Shriners’ Hospital for Crippled Children. He underwent numerous surgeries, and learned to walk in braces and to feed himself with a hook attached to a prosthetic arm.

In October 1960, a state court placed him in the Good Shepherd Home for Crippled Children and Aged People in Allentown, Pa., a home for the severely disabled, where he lived for more than 10 years.

Now 51, he travels around the country, singing and encouraging people to see what God can do through them, no matter what their limitations are. At 4 feet 6 inches tall, he holds a microphone in the hook at the end of his artificial arm. He’s quick to say, “I am God’s unique design. I am proof that there is no limit to what a person can become, no matter what he or she may look like.”

More information may be obtained by calling 539-2295 or sending e-mail to hosanna@localnet.com. People may can visit the Steinberg Web site, www.tinygiant.com.

There is no charge at the door, but an offering will be taken to support the ministry of the Steinbergs.


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