Hear about Josleen’s arrival at a recent outreach in Haiti and the joy of moving her from a wheelbarrow to a wheelchair.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I’ve got a heart for the disabled.
Especially young people who are desperately needy and living in poverty with their families in places like, how about Haiti?! I have with me today my good friend and co-worker, Jean Schintee, who, earlier this year, served as the photojournalist on our Wheels for the World team to Haiti. Jean, welcome!
JEAN: Thank you! It’s great to be here.
JONI: Absolutely. And for anyone who reads our Joni and Friends newsletters and the stories of the people we serve, you, Jean, are the one who travels with our teams to record those stories and take the photos. But I know that being in Haiti, a really poor country in the Caribbean, really touched you, didn’t it? Tell us about that.
JEAN: It did.It was a trip unlike any other that I’ve been on. I’ve had the opportunity to travel with Joni and Friends to places like Jordan or Guatemala, El Salvador. But Haiti was different. And what our team saw, just the poverty and the hopelessness. It was truly heartbreaking, but in the midst of that, getting to meet these wonderful families and wonderful people like Josleen.
JONI: Now, disabled people in a place like Haiti – they’re at the bottom of the rung, of the socioeconomic ladder. They’re the least, aren’t they?
JEAN: They’re ignored. They’re seen as cursed. They’re not touched or looked at even.
JONI: So what touched you about Josleen?
JEAN: Yeah, I remember with Josleen, that day, it was a really special day. It was very busy at the outreach, but she came in with her mother. What struck me first is seeing her being brought in by her mother in a wheelbarrow. My first thought was – wheelbarrows are made for dirt, not people. And here is a mother carrying her child in a wheelbarrow to get a wheelchair here at our distribution. As I got closer to her, and found out more about her, I learned that she was 16, but she looked so thin and frail. And her mother had obviously put on the best article of clothing that she had, a dress, but it was just dirty and soiled, and as I got closer to her I could smell that she hadn’t been bathed in a really long time, and there was flies buzzing around her. So that was really heartbreaking.
JONI: What did you do?
JEAN: So, when she was getting her wheelchair worked on, they had placed her down on a soft foam. And just at that time the air conditioning in the church that we were at had gone out. In Haiti, you know, it’s very hot; it’s humid. And so I just sat down next to her – just had a piece of paper with me – and just started fanning her on her face to get some air. And just started singing songs – “Jesus Loves Me.” And, you know, reciting Scriptures such as Psalm 139, that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
JONI: Did she respond?
JEAN: She couldn’t speak, but I remember something that was so vivid in my mind was just her eyes looking at me so piercingly and so gentle. And that just touched me so much.
JONI: So the team fit her with a wheelchair that was far better than a wheelbarrow.
JEAN: It’s just like such a stark image. From a wheelbarrow now to a wheelchair. She can now sit up with dignity; hold her head high. And it will be a huge relief to her mom. The Haitian pastor afterwards then came over; they gave both mother and daughter a Bible in their language and shared the Gospel with them for the first time, and went through the Gospel bracelet, each of the beads, what they stood for. And that was incredible to see, too.
JONI: Well,Jean, I gotta thank you for the many stories of young people like Josleen that you share – millions of them around the world – and you’ve painted quite a picture. Even in that awful wheelbarrow. I’ve posted photos on joniradio.org. Take a look and be inspired. I’ve posted a link to read Jean’s newsletter online. And to get more details, Jean, I’ve posted a video of you sharing this story. And it’s all at joniradio.org. So, friend listening, go to it today and be blessed!
© Joni and Friends