AL: Joni, what I love about your ministry is that you and the team at Joni and Friends are heaven-bent on sharing the Gospel… the message of salvation… to as many disabled people as you can possibly meet. It’d be pretty easy for an organization like yours to get sidetracked into just doing the practical help…
JONI: That’s so true, Al, because when you’re disabled, the practical needs are so great.
AL: And there are plenty of organizations that do that…
JONI: Yes, and that’s important!
AL: … but it’s not everything… it’s not the only thing.
JONI: Well, as I like to say, good works (especially when you physically help someone with a disability… giving a wheelchair, a walker, whatever…), those are things that “adorn” the Gospel, they beautify the Gospel…
AL: I like that thought! I kind of like making the Good News even greater by backing it up with actions and practical ministry…
JONI: Exactly, Al. And we do it all the time at Joni and Friends. For instance, our Joni and Friends team was in India not long ago. When we take wheelchairs and Bibles and give the Gospel in India, we work with other disability ministries onsite. Well, our Christian affiliate in India holds a play-day in the park one Saturday a month. They have a ramp and kind of a merry-go-round thing for kids in wheelchairs. It’s in a Hindu neighborhood and for the longest time, even though we sent out lots of invitations, nobody showed up. Well, that was two years ago. Now, it’s a different story. When that once-a-month play-day is announced, families with disabled children come out of the woodwork and they all join in with us for hours of games, stories, crafts, and a lot of fun on that wheelchair merry-go-round thingy.
AL: So you have a captive audience…
JONI: To share the captivating message of the love of Jesus for each of these families, who, incidentally, only feel trapped in the caste system of their own religion.
AL: No wonder they find the message of Christ so appealing…
JONI: Well, Al, the Bible says that message is a fragrant aroma to those who are being saved. And the neat thing is, two years ago fathers rarely showed up with their families – it was mainly women and their disabled children who came, but all that has changed. At the most recent play-days, even though school is still in session, about 25 families will arrive with the blessing of their teachers from the local schools – that’s kind of amazing.
AL: That is absolutely incredible – and you say it’s a Hindu neighborhood?
JONI: Well, that’s the thing. When you have a disability, there is nothing, there is zilch, in the Hindu religion that sounds hopeful. You, if you are disabled, are on the lowest rung of the religious ladder. You have bad karma if you have spina bifida or cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury…
AL: And your team is able to show these families the way Jesus Christ is constantly showing them His love…
JONI: … and giving that practical help…
AL: … to people with disabilities, on almost every page in the gospels.
JONI: That’s right! So, friend listening, remember when you give the Good News of Jesus this week, adorn your words, beautify the message with something a little practical, something helpful, something tangible and hands-on…
AL: It doesn’t have to be a merry-go-round at a play-day either…
JONI: No, but you can make a hurting heart pretty merry with God's hope and help this week!
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JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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