Celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month by reading this touching story of a mother named Marleny and her daughter Guadalupe. Learn more about how you can help or serve at one of the Wheels For the World outreaches for Joni and Friends at joniandfriends.org.
https://joniandfriends.org/calendar/category/wheels-for-the-world/
The challenges for kids with disabilities overseas are heartbreaking.
And not just the children, but their mothers. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I’m thinking of Marleny in Peru and Guadalupe, her daughter with Down syndrome. This mother and her child with a disability had it rough from the very beginning. When Marleny was pregnant, she was a victim of domestic violence. And yes, it was violent. This mother with child was assaulted by her in-laws. They beat her and threw her out of their house. Marleny was a badly battered woman who received not only injuries to herself, but to her unborn child. Guadalupe came into the world with a broken hip. Not only that, it was clear that Guadalupe also had Down syndrome. Now you would think this would evoke sympathy from the family, but the abuse continued. Marleny’s sister-in-law insisted that Guadalupe should be left to die. Her life was considered useless. The family thought Marleny was foolish for protecting and caring for her child.
And so, over the years, this impoverished mother raised her daughter with Down syndrome, struggling to give her the best care possible. Still, Marleny felt overwhelmed because she didn’t have the means to give Guadalupe what she deserved in terms of treatment and support. And that brought on depression. Marleny said, “My story is one of suffering,” And you can see why. Guadalupe is unable to walk due to the broken hip she sustained when her mother was badly bruised and battered. It means her little girl needs to be carried everywhere and now that Guadalupe has gotten a little older, it has become impossible for Marleny to lift her daughter up on her back.
Yet she says, “I am not ashamed of Guadalupe. She is my daughter. I’m not going to give up.” And it was around that time that Marleny learned about Wheels for the World coming to her town in Peru. So, she gathered up the pieces of her shattered heart and brought Guadalupe to our Wheels for the World outreach. When this disabled child was fitted to beautiful, junior-sized wheelchair, her mother was ecstatic. Marleny kept saying, “This wheelchair, it is a gift from God! He has opened a door for me. I will be able to take Guadalupe with me wherever I go!” While our Wheels mechanics and therapists worked on the new wheelchair, one of our volunteers gave this child with Down syndrome her very first manicure – capturing her attention and keeping her still during her wheelchair fitting. Her mother stood back and watched with tears in her eyes. Her disabled daughter was being treated with such amazing dignity and respect. Something she’d never seen before.
Little wonder that both Marleny and Guadalupe opened their hearts to Jesus Christ that day. in fact, during our Wheels for the World outreach in Peru, we custom-fit 480 wheelchairs and shared the Gospel with every wheelchair recipient and its family. And there were 265 people who accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior! By the way, it’s Down Syndrome Awareness month and if you’d like to see a really fun photo of Guadalupe getting her first manicure, then stop by joniradio.org today and be blessed. Again, that’s joniradio.org. And please be praying as our Wheels for the World Teams go out next week to Guatemala and they’ll be ministering in Chile. Pray for families like Marleny’s that they come to know Jesus. It’ll happen next week in Chile and Guatemala.
© Joni and Friends