Joni: Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to “Joni and Friends.”
Ken: And I am Ken Tada and, Joni, you know what? I am so excited today because it is my privilege to introduce our friend Peg Campbell!
Joni: Here at the microphone…
Ken: And you know who Peg is, don’t you? She is one of ones that makes this program go. She is one of the leaders of the Ambassador Agency. She is one of the people who distribute this program.
Joni: That’s right and Peggy thank you for coming today.
Peg: My pleasure, Joni.
Joni: Peg, not long ago you and I and Ken were out at Azusa Pacific University for a very special occasion, and before we tell our friends what that occasion was all about, you’ve got to quick explain your connection with APU.
Peg: Well, about 6 years ago after my husband, John, passed away, the leadership at APU, President John Wallace and a couple of other folks came to speak to me about possibly taking John’s place on the board and that began an extraordinary change of life immersing me in APU in a number of ways… most particularly and joyfully related to students.
Joni: And Peggy, not only do you have a love for students, you have a love for me.
Peg: I do, Joni.
Joni: I know and the Family Institute is something pretty special at Azusa Pacific, Peg.
Peg: Well, I’m all about legacy, maybe in part because of losing my husband fairly early in life, but the thought of passing the baton or letting the light be carried from one person to the next is really significant in my mind. We recently celebrated a milestone birthday for you and I thought the best gift that I might be able to facilitate would be a passing of the baton through a scholarship established in your name at Azusa Pacific.
Joni: I am so honored, so privileged that there is a Joni Eareckson Tada scholarship award at APU.
Ken: And you know at the ministry we are so focused on wanting to provide an education for the next generation in fact we have what is called a CID at the office.
Joni: …The Christian Institute on Disability and we have been working hard with Azusa Pacific in formulating a class of study that we call Theology in Disability Ministry. You know I am so happy that part of the guidelines for the award are connected to students who take that particular class in Disability Ministry training.
Peg: Seems kind of appropriate, doesn’t it?
Joni: It does and you have a real heart for people with disabilities.
Peg: I do and actually I would say a lot of that, Joni, is because of your lifetime of service and the privilege of being up close to what you do with your whole life focus. To see a young person, as we did at the luncheon, who is also focused on giving her life to serving the disability community, that’s powerful.
Ken: You know Joni, being around Peg, she really has a heart for young people.
Joni: Well, I think all three of us understand the importance of transferring the torch to a new generation and establishing a legacy of learning, especially a legacy for a heart for Christ and people with disabilities in years to come.
Peg: One thing that is especially important and significant with the scholarship is that these are young men and women who are being grounded in the truth of Scripture. APU is a place where they speak to fact that God is first and that all truth comes from Scripture. That is the thrilling part of equipping in the work of disability.
Joni: And if there are some young people who are listening and you are wondering and scratching your head where to attend college, think about Azusa Pacific and maybe even taking this course of study on Theology in Disability Ministry.
Ken: It says in First Timothy 4:12, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
Joni: I think that’s what is happening at APU, right, Peg?
Peg: Right, Joni.
Joni: Thanks for being here.
Peg: Oh, thank you, Joni.
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