Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada with another story from Wheels for the World.
And welcome to “Joni and Friends” where you know how much I love passing on the wonderful stories that happen when we distribute wheelchairs to disabled people overseas. And today I’ve got to tell you about Ovidio in Romania. When this 29-year-old young man was carried in on a rickety wooden chair, we could tell this guy was really in trouble. You could see the anger on his face. And his mother who was beside him seemed to be taking the brunt of it, she did. Just six years earlier, Ovidio was at a lake with his friends goofing around when a few guys playfully threw him into the water. He landed at an odd angle and broke his back. His friends fished him out of the water and when they realized he was paralyzed, they put him in their car and took him to a nearby hospital. Now you have to understand, that Romania is not known for its rehabilitation of young people like Ovidio, so for many months – even years – this guy just languished at home, sinking deeper and deeper into depression and anger.
When we realized that Ovidio spoke good English and that at the time of the accident, he was only a month away from earning his PhD in computer science in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, well, we wanted to do all we could to get him back on course, even though he didn't think it was possible. Just an hour later, though, when we finished making adjustments on his sporty, streamlined, zipedee-do-dah light-weight, low-back wheelchair, this guys eyes really began to brighten. And when he sat up in his chair and began testing it out, poppin’ wheelies for the first time we actually saw Ovidio smile.
Within a few minutes he was maneuvering his new wheels up and down, and getting up speed. The horizon had suddenly opened up and it was clear to him this chair would enable him to get back to school. Next came the offer of a Bible -- never did we expect that Ovidio who arrived with such a sour disposition would actually want to take a Romanian Bible and read it. But it was clear God had softened his heart; you could see that he understood that the true source of this incredible gift of a sporty new wheelchair... it was the God of the Bible and he was quick to acknowledge it. Ovidio and his mother left that day with the hope of Christ in their hearts and we are celebrating that this young man is now pursuing the completion of his degree.
And I have to take this opportunity to thank you, many of you, who have cheered us on at Joni and Friends as we’ve taken our Wheels for the World programs to new nations. You have prayed for us, supported the work, and some of you have even donated wheelchairs; or donated your time to serve on a Wheels for the World team. Thank you for that! And please be praying because right now, this week, we have a Wheels for the World team distributing Bibles and wheelchairs to people like Ovidio in Ghana, West Africa. I really need you to pray, because if all we end up doing is giving a wheelchair, we’ve failed! We want to see people like Ovidio come to Jesus Christ to have their hearts and attitudes changed.
And speaking of remarkable attitudes, I want to remind you to drop by our radio page today at joniandfriends.org and view this wonderful video clip of a woman I have been talking about -- Dadina, a Romanian gypsy, who although bedridden for 30 years, received one of our wheelchairs with a happy heart. Three decades in bed, this woman was… but her attitude? Well, you have to see it to believe it. Again, that’s joniandfriends.org. Don’t miss it! Finally, thanks for praying for our outreach in Ghana, West Africa this week… the Bible says “Proclaim his name among the nations,” and that’s exactly what we’re doing through Wheels for the World.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
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Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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