If you ever feel like an outcast, remember that God has a great plan for you. Even in a little village in Uganda, God is watching over. Sign up for a Wheels for the World outreach today and help reveal God’s plan by changing lives one wheelchair at a time.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a powerful story.
Because whenever our Wheels for the World teams return from delivering wheelchairs and Bibles overseas, there are always powerful stories. Like what happened recently in Uganda. In a tiny village way out in the bush, the tribal people had a radio; and all throughout the week, they had been hearing one radio message beaming out, “Bring all people with disabilities to the city church, Joni and Friends is coming!” Well, one teenager named Elliot was especially excited; his heart was filled with hope for his younger brother, Atneplan who had cerebral palsy. Although the villagers were polite to the family, all of them snubbed Atneplan, they considered him cursed from the day he had been born. His only friend was his older brother, Elliot, this teenager who, bless his heart, carried Atneplan everywhere.
Now, Elliot knew this would be the only chance for his little brother to receive the miraculous gift of a wheelchair. So, on the day of our wheelchair distribution, Elliot woke up at 2 am, got his little brother ready, and began the long hike to our Wheels for the World outreach, carrying Atneplan on his back. By the time the sun came up, Elliot and Atneplan were halfway to our distribution. But as the sun rose higher in the sky, it got hotter, and Elliot began to tire in the heat. As he walked, he kept shifting Atneplan on his back. Elliot wondered if they might not make it. But knowing the difference a wheelchair would make to his little brother, he kept plodding on.
By midday, they arrived, completely exhausted from the heat. Our Wheels team members gently lift Atneplan off of Elliot’s back. The older brother collapsed onto the floor. But when he got his breath, he was right by his little brother’s side, explaining to our physical therapists all about Atneplan and his disability. Elliot told us, “People see my brother as worthless. Our neighbors will not speak to him or even get near him. They will not touch him or help my mother with him. He is seen as nothing but a burden.”
Never had we seen such a courageous teenager as Elliot. It made our team work all the harder to fit little Atneplan to his new, beautiful little pediatric wheelchair. And it was just right for him – side supports, a chest harness, head rest, adjustable foot pedals and so much more. Our team spent hours fine-tuning all the adjustments required for this little boy and his cerebral palsy. Elliot sat on the floor, hugging his knees, and watching it all. He told us, “When my little brother was born, my mother refused to think of him as a curse. So his name means, ‘God has a plan’ and today I see that, through you, God’s plan for Atneplan is to be loved and valued.” Wow! That afternoon, Elliot left pushing his little brother home in his new wheelchair, and with a new Bible on Atneplan’s lap.
Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” Well, even people in a little village in the bush of Uganda. So, for all of you who pray for our wheelchair outreach, thank you for having a part in revealing God’s plan for little Atneplan. And the villagers, they have a new respect for this child with cerebral palsy – most of all, a deeper respect for his older brother, Elliot.
And there are so many more like these two brothers so please pray for our Wheels for the World teams because God does indeed have a plan for the littlest, the last, the least among us. Just like he has a plan for you. And you know, we’ve got a couple of slots left open in upcoming Wheels for the World trips. We would love to have you help us change lives one wheelchair at a time.
© Joni and Friends