Features by Sarah Campbell My parents say I should be a pastor, but I'm not sure yet.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Features | Send mail to The Voice Blind student adjusts to Multnomah life Richard Dunnick often enlists the help of others to guide him around campus. -Mark Hinkleman, photo Richard Dunnick, a transfer sophomore at Multnomah Bible College and his identical twin, John, have been blind since birth. After working through anger at God for his blindness, Dunnick has emerged with a postitive attitude and a hunger to serve God on the mission field. Sarah Campbell, a freshman, spoke with Dunnick about his blindness and about attending MBC. The Voice: Is there a medical reason for your blindness? Dunnick: My twin and I were born three month premature. We were put in an incubator with too much oxygen. It destroyed and ate our retinas. Thirty seconds after we were placed in there, the damage was done. A laser surgery could have been done before the scar tissue formed, but they didn't do it. They covered the mistake and said it never happened. The Voice: How have people throughout your life responded to your blindness? Dunnick: Mixed review. You have the little kids who don't understand, and the parents who don't know how to teach them. They like to ride their bikes around us and throw rocks and laugh, but we ignore them unless they run over our canes or put themselves in jeopardy. If they don't listen to us, we complain to the parents. I had one instance when I actually had to call the police and let them know about these little kids. They never bothered me again. Then you have those people who want to help, but they don't know how. They just grab me and pull me across the street. And that's not good, either. I was in Boise, and some guy who had had too much to drink told me it was safe to cross the street. He started pulling me out in front of a semi. I said, "It's not safe to cross the road, but nice meeting you. Go ahead." I had heard the truck coming. I listen for my traffic. When I hear the traffic go straight through an intersection, I know I can go. But I also have to listen for people turning on red. I'd say about 80 percent of people are helpful and friendly. But I found that moreso at Multnomah. About 99 percent of the students are helpful and friendly on campus. I've had a few people pass and not say anything. And usually I won't say anything to them; I'll just nod my head to them as I'm going by. The Voice: What is your major and why? Dunnick: I'm a music ministry major. I'm leaning toward music in missions, but I'm open to intercessory prayer or door-to-door evangelism. I want to serve in some way. My parents say I should be a pastor, but I'm not sure yet. The Voice: How do you handle your schoolwork? Dunnick: Tests I do orally with the instructor, one-on-one. The school just bought a new scanner and reading voice software. You put a sheet on the scanner; it scans into the computer and is saved. I pull up the file and read it by voice input. I type on a standard keyboard. I have a voice spell check that reads me all the words and all the errors. I haven't figured out how to do double space, type faces, centering -- those kinds of things. The other members of the house help occasionally if they're around. Generally, I'm doing homework, and no one is around or they're busy. So that's still a barrier to overcome yet. Research is the tricky part. I still need eyes -- someone to help me find the book I'm looking for or to help me make copies. Eventually, I'll be able to get online and look up these materials. But I'm not online yet. The Voice: What technology do you use? Dunnick: I use a tape recorder to tape lectures. I use my little Braille and Speak. It's like a notebook. I use it mainly for keeping addresses and phone numbers. I also use my computer at home. I have a talking watch that has an alarm on it. It annoys everybody. The one alarm is a rooster, and it goes off at 6 or 7. The other one goes off at 8. The clock sings a different song every morning. I guess the alarms are so loud they annoy the other guys. They'll come down and pull out the batteries, which they did on mid-semester break. And of course I never go anywhere without my cell phone, just in case I get hurt or attacked. I never have, but I've been pick-pocketed before and not known it. That's why I always have a waist pack, or I carry my heavy jacket with inside pockets. That's why a lot of times I walk around with my coat zipped. Even though I know everyone is friendly here, you never can be too careful. The Voice: How do you deal with money? Dunnick: By trust, which is the only drawback. I have to trust store clerks to tell me what change they are giving me. I fold bills in certain ways: Fives are folded in half, left to right; ones are flat; 20s are folded lengthwise and then left to right; 10s are folded lengthwise. Fifties are folded like fives, and then I fold them sideways. But I seldom mess with 50s and 100s. The Voice: If you could see for a day, what would you want to see? Dunnick: Nature. Birds, green grass, the clouds. I love being outdoors and listening to all the sounds around me. When the weather was still warm, I'd get up at sunrise and, on my way to breakfast, listen to birds and squirrels. The Voice: Has your blindness affected your relationship with God? Dunnick: I was mad at God for 12 years. Even though I did go to church and I believed the Scriptures, it took me until 1991 to fully accept him as my personal Savior. I attended a Singing Continentals concert at a local church, and through the story of Joseph, I was convicted. I wanted to go to heaven. God gave me the general call to go to the mission field. He had a plan for my life. And I accepted it. 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