Pray that the new Joni’s House opening in Belgrade, Serbia will bring many people with disabilities and their families to the saving knowledge of Jesus.
Through Joni’s House programs, Joni and Friends identifies and meets the needs of people living with disabilities through local, Christ-centered support. At international locations across the globe, Joni’s House is raising the standard of care for people with disabilities, offering physical, economic, spiritual, and social support, all in the name of Jesus. Learn more here.
I’m Joni and do you recall the war long between Bosnia and Serbia?
It raged between those two countries, all throughout the 1990s – it was a vicious war and thousands lost their lives, or were left homeless, or horribly disabled. Shortly after the war was over, my husband Ken and I visited that part of the world with our Joni and Friends team. We were there to encourage churches, to distribute wheelchairs, and to shower love on the many soldiers and family members who had become disabled, both in Bosnia and in Serbia. With no social services, and a government that was being accused of war crimes, people with disabilities were caught in the cracks. The poorest of the poor they were. And I saw awful images and heard terrible stories that I’ll never forget. My heart broke and I remember thinking, “Oh, how I wish we could do more for the church here in the Balkan Peninsula, as well as do more for all these wounded people with disabilities. It just seems that – I don’t know, giving wheelchairs and Bibles just isn’t enough.”
I put that matter to prayer, not knowing back then what God would do. So, okay, fast-forward to the year 2020. When the world was hit by Covid, everything shut down. But our partners in places like El Salvador, Brazil, Nepal, and yes, Serbia kept ministering to the disabled in their countries – our precious partners told us, “Joni, we don’t need wheelchairs for these people; we need food and water for them; they need medical care and equipment. Can you help us?” And that started us praying. We asked God how we might effectively give his gospel, yet also meet the social and economic needs of these disabled, and provide hands-on practical help, like medicine, food, medical supplies, hygiene kits, Bibles, scholarships for surgeries for children with disabilities and more. We moved forward with this idea and after more prayer, feasibility studies, and discussions with our international partners, we launched the first Joni’s House. Joni’s House has Bible studies, biblical counseling for special-needs parents, micro-enterprise opportunities for young people with Down syndrome. There are Joni’s House programs in Asia, in Nepal, El Salvador, in Brazil, and also now – Serbia!
Thirty years ago, I visited that war-torn area and I prayed, I wondered how we might support churches and help those with disabilities. And now, God has answered! In fact, my husband Ken and members of our staff will be heading to Serbia to celebrate Joni’s House in that country. And we are to thank our wonderful partners there and the churches. I sure wish I could go with Ken to be in that part of the world again, but with my fragile lungs, it’s just not possible. But I’m so grateful that Ken will be there to represent me. As we lay the groundwork for the grand opening of Joni’s House Serbia. We’ll be thanking the many Christians who have worked hard to make this dream a reality. And I couldn’t be happier. Thirty years later I am so happy!
So, please pray for this new Joni’s House opening up not too far from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Pray also that God will use Joni’s House to bring many people with disabilities and their families into a saving knowledge of Jesus. If you want to learn more about Joni’s House in other parts of the world, then visit joniradio.org where I’ve provided a link to Joni’s House. Learn more about it at joniradio.org. That’s your good word today from Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope.
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