I wish you could sit down for a few minutes with my friend, Don Bania. This guy is so heavenly-minded sitting in that wheelchair of his. He broke his neck 38 years ago and sits tall and straight in his wheelchair with his arms resting on a lap board. He’s pretty handsome, he is, with his gray beard, clear blue eyes, and winning smile. I'm looking at a photo of him right now sitting in front of racks of used wheelchairs. Don collects these chairs for us and in the photo he’s got this T-shirt on that says, “Got Wheelchairs?”… written like, “Got Milk?”
Don knows he just can’t get up and go be a missionary in some foreign country. As it is in his wheelchair, it’s hard enough to get around his hometown, but Don Bania still has a heart for disabled people like him overseas in poorer countries… people who aren’t able to sit up in a wheelchair like he can… people who spend most of their days in bed because they can’t afford a wheelchair. And so Don is doing something about it. Through his network of friends, he linked up with the kids at Teen Challenge who help him collect used wheelchairs… then there’s a local trucking company that picks up those chairs free of charge… then his friends at a local auto and body shop provide free storage for those wheelchairs… and, finally, Don’s local Wal*Mart transports those wheelchairs to the prisons nationwide where inmates restore them and make them like new. The thing is, Don Bania has assembled this entire team of ministries, churches, and local businesses… and he’s doing it all from his own wheelchair. He’s kind of like the “traffic control center,” organizing everything from his home base on his home phone.
When I asked him about his incredible ministry, Don explained to me that he believes he and his team have “a little part in eternal salvation of those who receive our wheelchairs. Plus, we’re also helping them restore their dignity and liberty. It’s amazing that a wheelchair which is often seen as an object of hopelessness and sorrow, has become a symbol of mobility as well as spreading the Gospel worldwide.”
I read that comment of Don’s and I just can’t wait for heaven on that wonderful day when he will finally rise up out of his wheelchair to receive his eternal prize. And by his side will be many hundreds like him from every tongue, tribe, and nation… people who, like Don Bania, will shed their disabilities and rise up on grateful, glorified legs to praise the Father for His gracious gift of salvation. Hallelujah, I can’t wait, ’cause I’m one of them!
Maybe you’re not able to go on the mission field… like Don Bania, maybe you have significant limitations which keep you close to home. Well, you, too, can have a little part in eternal salvation of needy people in other parts of the world. It doesn’t take much, just a network of friends, a plan, a telephone, and a heart to serve. Visit us at joniandfriends.org and we’ll help you get started just like my friend, Don Bania.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends