I often think, why was I born into such privilege?!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and you might think that’s odd for me to be asking myself; after all, I am a quadriplegic. Most people wouldn’t consider that a privilege, but being a quadriplegic in a wheelchair here in America is quite different from being a quadriplegic in, let’s say, El Salvador.
Not long ago, my husband, Ken, and I were in El Salvador to help kickstart a Joni and Friends Family Retreat – yep, that’s right, we are now taking the fun and fellowship of a Family Retreat overseas to families who are really desperate for help and hope. During our time in El Salvador, I’ll never forget visiting the tiny cinderblock house where a young woman named Leanore lived. And when I say a house, it’s hardly that, with no front door and a roof made of rusty tin and banana leaves. When we arrived, I wheeled past a chain link fence and over a rutted dirt path. My wheelchair sent chickens scattering when Ken and I finally reached the front of the house – with no door, it was just open to the street.
Leanore lives with her Aunt Doris; and the relationship between her and her aunt isn’t very good: in a family already struggling under the weight of so much poverty, Aunt Doris sees Leanore as a burden. And so this young disabled woman rarely gets a bath, often misses meals, is hardly ever turned in bed, and never sees the light of day – and I mean that literally. Ken and I needed a flashlight to maneuver down the narrow, dark smoky hallway to reach the little cavern that was her bedroom. And Leanore’s bedroom is her whole world.
I was honestly stunned when I saw her. Twenty-seven year old Leanore has rheumatoid arthritis, is blind, paralyzed almost completely. Honestly she is nothing but skin and bones, but she was so happy to see us, especially since we had brought her a junior-sized wheelchair. We lifted her into her new wheelchair and together we wheeled out into the backyard – basically a catch-all for old tires and trash. Yet when a fresh breeze touched Leanore’s face, oh my, she was so happy. Such a simple pleasure made her so joyful. And I can’t begin to tell you how that new wheelchair not only made her day, it made her year!
I will never forget that young woman – impoverished, blind, paralyzed, relegated to a back bedroom, poorly treated… when I asked Leanore what kept her hope in Christ so bright (given her situation), she said in Spanish that she so looked forward to listening to Christian radio everyday. Wow! That’s all it takes for this disabled girl to have hope – she feeds on God’s Word and Christian encouragement through Christian radio, period. That’s it. Sure does make you want to write the management of this station, doesn’t it, to thank them for the inspiration you draw from the music and programming you hear every day, right on this dial! And it just goes to underscore it is so important to have a constant lifeline of good teaching and Biblical insights – a source for understanding God’s perspective on all things. Honestly, Christian radio does it, not only here in the United States, but around the world in some of the neediest places. But back to Leanore…
Truly, God has made the poor of this world to be rich in faith, so please be praying not only for her, but for thousands like her, not only in El Salvador, but this week in Guatemala where we’ll be holding another international Family Retreat. And while you’re at it, thank the Lord for Christian radio… it’s reaching a lot more needy people in a lot more hurting places than you’d ever imagine.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends