Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and it’s time to welcome you to Joni and Friends! You’ve often heard me talk about the way we take wheelchairs and Bibles around the world; and it is so fun, it’s so cool, it’s so neat… to make a difference in somebody else’s life. It’s why a young man named Steve from Texas decided to try it out with us at Wheels for the World. Now, Steve wasn’t a physical therapist. He wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t good with tools, so he really couldn’t serve as a seating mechanic… but Steve did play the guitar.
So he packed up his guitar and signed up to serve as one of three rookies on our recent wheelchair outreach team to Cuba. Now, his role was somewhat vague, but he thought he might be able to minister through his music. I tell you, little did he or the rest of us know that God would use his guitar in such a mighty way to bring such joy and life to the multitude of disabled people who had arrived each day to receive wheelchairs; and not just life, but fun, celebration. I mean, it was a party. And it was needed!
It all started in a small, unassuming way that first morning of our wheelchair distribution. Let me tell you what happened… we set the wheelchairs up, the families started arriving, carrying their disabled family members on their backs or dragging them in on blankets, you know, or even bringing them in on wooden chairs. And as the place filled up, there was Steve, just strolling around and singing some worship songs. At first, I mean, this American, got such funny looks from all the Cubans. They weren’t expecting this. But gradually as Steve stopped at each station (we set up little stations where the physical therapists can work on the people and the wheelchairs), as Steve paused to play his guitar for each person… well, I tell you what, the music began to take over. People started joining in… mothers who were nervous began to smile and relax… toes started tapping, hands started clapping… anxious children relaxed… and before you know it, the joy of the Lord filled that place.
There were across the room, other little children with disabilities, most of them sitting on the floor or lying on blankets – and they gazed at Steve playing his guitar, waiting for him to come to serenade them. That day, that man became the Pied Piper of Bayamo, Cuba!From John Denver’s “Country Roads, Take Me Home” to “Amazing Grace” to “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and, of course, “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” Our work that day was transformed into a celebration. And to me, it was nothing short of wonderful to see how the guitar music and the singing of this one young man (who had never worked with disabled people before)… it was amazing to watch God use his music to minister to all these families. Hey, Psalm 18 says, “I will praise you among the nations, O Lord; I will sing praises to your name.” Just take that word nations out of there, and insert the word Cubans, and you’ve got Steve’s ministry.
Each day in Cuba as we concluded our outreach, as each day drew to a close, it became a ritual… people who had received chairs, they returned to join in the celebration. They just had to keep coming back for all the singing and all the fun. There were even men who delivered freshly picked coconuts for everybody – even they stayed and watched and sang. And what was most touching, were the Cuban government officials – they arrived expecting an official, bureaucratic, no-nonsense distribution of wheelchairs from America, but they ended up smiling and clapping along with all the praise songs.
Sound like fun? Sure it is. And if you’re someone like Steve looking for an unusual way to share the love of Jesus among disabled people, check it out. Join the conversation at joniandfriendsradio.org and find out how you can use your gifts to make a big difference for Jesus.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends