wfn.org | Woman gives life to ministry following 'miracle'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 19, 2000   News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn.  10-33-71B{331}

By Chrissy Gourneau
United Methodist News Service*

Two years after a medical miracle changed her life, Donna Bella Agaser has
decided to dedicate herself to ministry.

The young woman, who lives in Isabella, north of Manila in the Philippines,
was born with a severe deformity that hung from her face. In 1998, with the
help of United Methodists around the world, she was able to come to the
United States and undergo reconstructive surgery.

"When she returned to the Philippines, she made her decision to go into the
ministry," said Bishop Daniel Arichea, who leads the United Methodist
Church's Baguio Area in the Philippines. "She felt led by God."

The chain of events that led to Agaser's transformation began in 1997. The
video team of J. Fred Rowles and Ronny Perry had been assigned by United
Methodist Communications to tape an after-school youth program in the
Philippines. When they met Agaser, they were shocked by her appearance,
which was caused by a condition known as neurofibromatosis. Her face haunted
Perry after he returned home, and he began seeking a way to help her. By
using e-mail and the World Wide Web, he was able to communicate quickly with
people around the world.

After much searching, he found and enlisted the help of Fresh Start Surgical
Gifts Inc., a nonprofit cosmetic surgery organization in Encinitas, Calif.
Filipino churches in Southern California and the Philippines got involved,
as did Bishop Arichea, in helping Agaser and her aunt, Estelita Guerrero,
make the trip to the United States. 

Dr. Dennis Nigro had started Fresh Start to help teen-agers and children who
could not afford cosmetic surgery. 

Agaser, then 19, arrived with her aunt in Southern California on Jan. 15,
1998, and the first surgery occurred two days later. More operations
followed, and Agaser finally returned to the Philippines that August with a
normal-looking face. Before her trip to the United States, she had studied
agriculture in school, but her career plans changed after her return home.

Last May, Agaser and 14 other young people gathered at the annual conference
as candidates for ordination.  

Bishop Arichea was at the event. "Even though I have only known Donna for a
year, I feel a connection with her," he said in a telephone interview.
"There is a bond between us. She feels close to me."

Agaser is studying at Eveland Christian College in Isabella for her
bachelor's degree in theology. 
She will undergo supervision by a senior pastor for one year, after which
she will be licensed as a local pastor and assigned to a weekend
appointment.

During the next few years, she will continue her education and attend
seminary, where she will work for a master of divinity degree. Afterward,
she will go into a three-year period of more education and pastoral service.
Then she will be fully ordained by the annual conference.

"Donna now has the confidence to go out into the world and give help to
other people," Perry said. "From her experience, she now knows that help
from other people can change your life, and she wants to help others too."

# # #

*Gourneau is an intern at United Methodist Communications in Nashville,
Tenn. 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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