March is Wheelchair Collection Month at Joni and Friends! When you donate a used wheelchair, an inmate in one of 15 prisons across the country will refurbish it to like-new condition. Then your chair will travel overseas to bless a child or adult with a disability.
Visit our website to see how you can participate in Wheelchair Collection Month!
Prisoners really relate to the bolts and bars of my wheelchair.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I hear from inmates all across the country who tune into Joni and Friends every day. A man named Matthew wrote me recently to say that, when he was incarcerated, my daily words of encouragement right here on Joni and Friends were to him a lifeline. He so identified with my struggle at being confined, at not being free to do the things other people are free to do. When Matthew was in prison, he felt he could trust – wow! – whatever I had to say about the sufficiency of God’s grace to meet every need. The way Matthew saw it, if God could keep me persevering and smiling sitting in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic, then God could help him smile behind his own bolts and bars until his sentence was paid. So this former inmate became a faithful listener to Joni and Friends when he was in prison. And when he was released, he could not wait to tell me all about it.
Listen to what he said, okay; here’s his email; he says, “Joni, thank you for the many times you quoted Romans 15:13 which teaches that God is the source of all perseverance and endurance. My cellmate and I listened to Joni and Friends religiously! Your voice lowered my blood pressure! I sensed that over the years of listening that you really do lean into the sovereignty of God. And I just want you to know that a lot of believers listen to Joni and Friends inside the walls. You wouldn’t believe the impact your ministry is having to the incarcerated! So hang tough for Jesus!” Signed, Matthew. And then he adds Romans 15:13.
You know, I do really do have a heart for prisoners like Matthew. Inmates who realize the wrong they’ve done, the error of their ways. And many of these prisoners work in our Wheels for the World restoration shops. That’s right. Our ministry, Joni and Friends, partners with more than 15 correctional facilities across the country where prisoners who qualify are invited to restore used but serviceable wheelchairs. It is an amazing outreach, and I’ve posted a brief but extremely powerful video that goes inside the prison to show you how our Wheels for the World shops operate. You’ll hear from men like Matthew who have a love for Christ and who are now serving time making a difference in the life of kids and adults with disabilities.
So take a moment, would you, and visit joniradio.org where I have posted this wonderful video. And please share it with your Facebook friends. Tell them March is Wheelchair Collection Month at Joni and Friends. Because we need to get the word out that used but serviceable wheelchairs can be donated – chairs which we send to prison to be restored and refurbished so that kids and adults with disabilities overseas can experience the gift of mobility, along with the Gospel of Jesus and a Bible in their language. Hear firsthand from inmates like Matthew who are “doing time” by working overtime with our Wheels for the World outreach. Again, I posted this amazing video today at joniradio.org, so please share it with your friends. Oh, and if you have a used but serviceable wheelchair to give us, I’ve also provided a link on my radio page where you can donate your wheelchair. And thanks for helping us celebrate Wheelchair Collection Month at joniradio.org. Again, that’s joniradio.org. See you next time on Joni and Friends.
And one more thing – we here at Joni and Friends would love to pray for you in your troubles. So share with us your prayer need today at joniradio.org. Again, that’s joniradio.org.
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