JONI: When I think of Proverbs 3:27, I think of 11-year-old Joseph, right Joseph?
JOE: Yup.
JONI: Because the verse says, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” Well Joseph, can I share with our friends why I think of you and this verse together?
JOE: Sure.
JONI: You listen to “Joni and Friends,” don’t you?
JOE: Yeah, a lot.
JONI: And you hear me talking about helping disabled people, right?
JOE: Yeah.
JONI: And so, what was it... at church one time, you spotted a man who started coming in a wheelchair?
JOE: Actually, he started to come in a wheelchair and he couldn’t get up the stairs. And so I watched helplessly while like two guys had to try and come and lift him up the stairs.
JONI: How did that make you feel?
JOE: It made me feel, like... helpless. And I wanted to do something about it because I knew that it wasn’t really good. It’s sort of like saying, “We don’t want you at church,” by not having a handicapped ramp.
JONI: Well then, what did you do?
JOE: The next week when I came, our pastor, he said that financially we can’t afford to build a handicapped ramp, but pastorally we can’t afford not to. So then, I decided because I get Kids Net — it’s a mission pack that I get every month and they give you a mission to do. And when you do the mission, you get to iron on a badge on your t-shirt.
JONI: So what was your mission?
JOE: My mission was to help my favorite charity and raise money. Now, I wanted to raise money for the ramp. So I talked it over with my mom. At first, I wanted to do a backyard carnival in my backyard, but mom said that would only raise about five dollars.
JONI: So what did you decide to do?
JOE: Well, you see, my mom suggested that I call a few friends and neighbors and people from our prayer chain and ask them for, like, a little money... a nickel, a dime, a dollar.
JONI: How much money were you able to raise?
JOE: Well, you see, after I called a few people the first night, I raised about two hundred dollars.
JONI: I can’t believe it!
JOE: Well, my mom went to some small businesses around town with me and I, like, presented my pledge. And I basically brought in all two thousand, five hundred dollars.
JONI: I can’t believe it!
JOE: Yeah. But then I decided to call “VeggieTales” because I had once called earlier and I actually spoke to Mike Nawrocki.
JONI: I guess he makes Bob the Tomato and all the other Veggies...
JOE: Yeah.
JONI: And what did “VeggieTales” contribute?
JOE: Well, he connected me with their financial advisor, who is now my very good friend Bill Halgen -
JONI: Now wait a minute. You’re eleven years old, right?
JOE: Yeah.
JONI: You could have fooled me. But go ahead.
JOE: And he decided, he said, “We’ll give you one hundred dollars in a check and we’ll send you as many videos as you need for free, but you have to promise you’ll sell them in the church and only sell them for ten dollars each.”
JONI: And so that’s how you raised money to build a handicapped ramp?
JOE: Yeah, but the most important thing was, before we did it, my mom contacted all the people in our prayer chain and we all started praying for it.
JONI: Fantastic! Well Joe, I have a picture here that you drew and I’m going to hold it up— my friend is going to hold it up for me so that I can describe it. It’s a picture of Jesus pushing a man in a wheelchair and He’s going up a ramp, outside of a church.
JOE: Yes, that’s our ramp.
JONI: That is fantastic! You are a good artist too.
JOE: Thanks!
JONI: Well Joe, I’ve got to tell you one more time, you sure do remind me of Proverbs 3:27. I think you ought to commit it to memory. (JOE: I will.) Again there, it says, “Don’t withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act.” And Joe, it certainly was in your power to act and I praise God for the difference you made in the life of so many disabled people in your area, okay? (JOE: Okay.) Love you!
JOE: Me too.
JONI: Bye-bye!
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