Email
Print
SharePeople Who Inspire Joni: Kristyn Getty
Kristyn Getty and her husband Keith have been at the forefront of the modern hymn movement over the past decade demonstrating the ability to successfully bridge the gap between the traditional and contemporary. Ken and I first met the Gettys at a National Religious Broadcaster’s Convention when, on the spur-of-the-moment, we gathered to sing hymns at a reception – before long, scores of broadcasters joined in to harmonize. After that, the four of us became fast friends. Keith and Kristyn have visited the Joni and Friends International Disability Center and performed (with their band) for our staff – during their visit, Kristyn and I visited the IDC chapel to share a few songs together. My favorite album of theirs? “Awaken the Dawn”!
This Week in El Salvador!
Right now, a team from our Joni and Friends’ Christian Institute on Disability is in El Salvador, teaching at the Evangelical University of El Salvador – they are leading a class of 90 pastors and 120 students in our Beyond Suffering course which covers a theology of suffering and practical models of disability ministry. We are ‘setting the stage’ for more...
Joni's E-Devotionals: A Heartwarming Story!
Mandy, a subscriber to Joni's e-devotional, wrote, “My husband and I read the devotions sent from this site as part of our morning ritual. He was deployed for a year to Afghanistan, and being able to read those devotions each day together made us feel not so far away from each other… We are so very thankful for your service to the Lord, that has heaped encouragement upon encouragement not only to us, but to all the lives your ministry has encountered. Thank you, Mandy.” Joni’s three award-winning devotional books inspire readers around the world– Diamonds in the Dust, More Precious than Silver, and Pearls of Great Price. You can enjoy the same rich insights from God's Word with Joni’s free e-devotionals – it’s the same great content, only in electronic form sent every morning to your computer, phone, or iPad. Christ-centered encouragement is yours for the asking – sign up today!
Family Retreats go Canadian!
Our neighbor-nation recently held its first Family Retreat –one family arrived with three children with Down syndrome, but experienced a fresh touch from the Savior, along with all the other families. Even the residents of a nearby mobile-home park...
Finding the Father's Love… In Thailand!
Orapin and her 10-year-old daughter, Dear who has cerebral palsy, live in the mountains of Thailand. Orapin looked everywhere for help until at a tiny village hospital in northern Thailand, they told her about our Wheels for the World team. “Go there,” they said, “they will show you love.” So Orapin packed up Dear and traveled through the night to reach our Wheels team. As a wheelchair was fitted for Dear, the Gospel and a Thai Bible was shared with her mother. It was the first time Orapin and her daughter heard about a loving Heavenly Father (in her culture, “fatherhood” is a harsh concept...
Our Wheels for the World Warden's Conference
Wardens from our partner prisons came to the IDC last week for a special conference – these are the wardens who have chosen Wheels for the World as an educational/ works program for their inmates. They told us the men love working on our wheelchairs. Last weekend we finished up our conference covering best practices, safety, team building, and our new ‘universal foot pedal’ for the wheelchairs. We were especially blessed when the supervisor for the Wheels shop at Angola Prison in Louisiana presented a check for our outreach (the inmates all chipped in). Doug Mazza, president of Joni and Friends...
People Who Inspire Joni: Ron DiCianni
Ron DiCianni is a Christian artist who has illustrated not only several of my children’s books, but has provided art for scores of other Christian books by other authors – he’s an amazing oil painter whose Christian themes are easily recognized by many believers. Ron’s paintings are prized by thousands of art collectors throughout the world. An illustrator for twenty-five years, has dedicated his talents solely to the task of proclaiming the Good News. His passion is to renew visual arts in the church – he recently completed a 40’ long mural of Christ’s resurrection for the Museum of Biblical Arts in Dallas (my friends and I had a chance to visit his studio and see the huge painting before it was shipped to Dallas). Ron is a wonderful friend and a dear brother in Christ – if your travels ever bring you to Dallas, visit the museum and enjoy a close-up look at this widely acclaimed oil painting of the resurrection of our Savior. In this picture, Ron is presenting me with a gift of his painting “Divine Healing” which now hangs in the International Disability Center.
A Visit from 'Sue Thomas: FB Eye!'
You may recall this popular television series that followed the true story of Sue Thomas at the FBI in Washington, DC. A longtime friend of Joni's, Sue is profoundly deaf and has an astounding ability to read lips (yes, she really did help crack crimes and bag the bad guys in places FBI listening devices couldn't penetrate). A few days ago, Sue with her hearing-ear dog, Katie, and friend Deborah, came to the International Disability Center for a visit – our staff was treated to a pizza lunch and a chance to...
Cause 4 Life in the Heart of Africa
See these smiling faces of students at the Gaba Bible Institute in Uganda? Having just completed our one-week intensive on disability ministry, these men and women are ready to “Go out, find the disabled, and bring them in so that the Father’s house will be full!” Lots is happening in Uganda – Wheels for the World outreaches, medical clinics, the construction of ramps, and many special needs families coming to Christ for the first time! And the future?...
Alzheimer's Update
Over the weekend, while with our Joni and Friends Ohio team for a Bioethics conference tackling end-of-life issues, I had a chance to take a break from the activity and read your posts about Alzheimer’s on the Joni and Friends Blog (the photo is of two conference participants: Ty and his wife Pat who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s). I was deeply touched by some of your posts drawing parallels between the way Christ comforts us, and the way we, in turn, comfort others in their limitations. Thank you for your thoughtful observations, all of you...
