Ever heard of someone who cannot speak serving as an ambassador?
I have, and this particular ambassador is very popular as he serves overseas. Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and I want to tell you about my friend, Justin Howard. Justin has cerebral palsy, is a wheelchair-user, and is non-verbal. So… how does this young man communicate? Well, first with his absolutely contagious smile. It’s why we call Justin “our ambassador of smiles”. And as it concerns all other communication, this young man expresses his thoughts, his needs, and his emotions by using a communication board. Where does Justin serve as an ambassador? Recently, God used him to show families in the Dominican Republic how they can communicate with their non-verbal children!
You’ve got to understand that this young guy is quite bright. He and his family first got connected with us through Family Retreats, and after attending camp for three years, Justin decided he wanted to give back by serving others. Well, God paved the way… recently Justin and his parents brought their disability experience and unique giftedness to the Dominican Republic with our Wheels for the World. There, they burst open a new door of ministry! Let me explain…
Justin sits in a wheelchair with his communication board in front of him, it’s part of his lap board. He makes good use of that communication board, because Justin has a lot to say. He can point to a picture that says he’s hungry or sleepy… he can point to a picture of his backpack or a picture that conveys, “Hey, you’re funny!” Using this tool, Justin is able to able to express himself in a specific way. And all anyone needs to do is just watch where Justin's finger points and, bingo, you’ve got the message. This young man and his parents know how much a communication board can mean to someone who is non-verbal like Justin. And it gave them an idea…
Justin and his mom and dad went on this Wheels for the World outreach to the Dominican Republic and while there his dad helped serve as a seating mechanic, and Justin and his mother, Laurie, interacted with the families who were waiting. There were lots of nonverbal children with cerebral palsy… and it was clear that their mothers didn’t think their children could communicate. They had never even thought of anything like a communication board. So you can imagine the delight of these moms and dads from the Dominican Republic when they saw that – oh my goodness – their non-verbal children wanted to use a communication board like they saw Justin use!
And on that one Wheels for the World trip, Justin and his parents gave communication boards to 28 families who also received the gift of a wheelchair and the Gospel. Many parents had never realized their children could communicate at all until shaky little fingers began to point purposefully to the pictures Laurie offered. With tears pouring down their faces at the joy of “speaking” with their children for the first time, all they could say was, “Gracias! Gracias!”
I’ve posted a photo of Justin on our radio page today, plus a special little video that shows what a wheelchair distribution looks like when we took Wheels for the World to Haiti. And this week, even as I speak, we are taking wheelchairs and Bibles and maybe even a few communication boards to special needs families in Peru. Just see what Justin and his parents are so excited about by visiting my radio page today at joniandfriends.org. And once again let me remind you of our website. Just come by and visit us at any time… its joniandfriends.org. God’s blessings on you until next time when we get together at Joni and Friends.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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