Welcome to Joni and Friends. I’m your host Joni Eareckson Tada.
Man’s days are but few and full of trouble, it says in Job 14. I thought of that verse when I heard of the story of Señor Ernesto. He had arrived at our Wheels for the World distribution in Cuba clutching his 8-year-old namesake, little Ernesto, in his arms. This was his only son and the little boy was the spitting image of his daddy, except for the trachea protruding from his throat and the spasms in his arms and legs. Like fathers the world over, Señor Ernesto was protective of this little boy of his, holding him tightly but lovingly to his chest.
After assessing little Ernesto’s disability and specific needs, our physical therapist gathered her team of mechanics around that little boy and his parents to pray, asking for God’s guidance in choosing and adapting a wheelchair that would be perfectly suited to his needs.
When the mother stepped back and saw the dedication of this team, she began to cry and she opened up and said, “Every three days we must take our son to the hospital. It is very difficult and we are so tired from the journey that we are not able to take him anywhere else.” When we asked how they transport little Ernesto, she replied: “We have made a bed with wheels for him … we move him from place to place and take him to the hospital in this bed, carried by our hands. A church nearby told us about Joni and Friends and said a wheelchair might be possible for our son! We never believed such a thing would be possible. We had no place to go, no resources for this kind of miracle.”
Seconds later, after little Ernesto’s mommy had shared that, our physical therapist wheeled in a beautiful tilt-back, transport wheelchair with multiple assistive devices. Absolutely overwhelmed the family was! Their eyes widen and then filled. Señor Ernesto was crying and he said with his tears, “I speak few words, but my heart is so full of thanks. I have never been able to take my son to a baseball game, but now we will have a new life together.” Wow!
Maybe Señor Ernesto’s days have been full of trouble before, but now his future looks a little brighter and lighter. A Bible verse came to mind at that moment, the one that speaks about God doing “Exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask or imagine.” This was one couple with a severely disabled son who, for the first time, experienced the lavishness of God’s provision for their family. And to prove it, as they left, the mother said in excitement, “Tomorrow we will go to the zoo! It will be the first trip of joy for our family. I do not know how to thank you for this.” Oh… I think she knows. Because her and her husband and little Ernesto simply bowed to the God of the Bible that day who had done exceedingly and abundantly above all they could ask or imagine.
And friends listening, I want you to know that this is what happens when you donate that used wheelchair to Joni and Friends and Wheels for the World. Or when you give or when you pray.
There is so much happening through Wheels for the World right now and we have lots of new outreaches planned for 2011. If you would like to join a Wheels for the World team as a seating mechanic of if you are a physical therapist then consider serving with us, would you? Just visit our Wheels for the World page at joniandfriends.org for all the details and more. Until next time, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and you are listing to Joni and Friends.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends