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SharePraying for Children at Risk
First Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually”, and that is what we want to do here at the Kids’ Corner! And what better time to think about this than this coming weekend, June 2-3. Why? Because it is World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk. This is a special weekend people have set aside to pray for kids who have a really hard time in life. A child at risk may be a kid who has to take care of her three younger siblings because both her parents died. Or maybe it’s a child who has to quit school and work so his family can eat. And, of course, you can bet that there are many kids with disabilities who are “at risk”. To help you pray for children like this, make a list of the things you might need if your parents weren’t able to keep you safe and healthy. And then pray for those things for children around the world! Here are a few ideas to get you started: a safe place to sleep, food to eat, a hug, a Bible, clean water to drink, shoes, a friend…
Joni's Joy Ride
Hey kids, this is Joni and I want you to see how my friend Angela and her neighbor ‘welcomed’ me to their home – they used sidewalk chalk to color a ‘path’ all the way to the door! It was so much fun wheeling over all their artwork. How would you welcome a wheelchair user into your home? I’d love to hear your ideas on this week’s blog!
Continue to Full Post →Xièxiè
Joni and Friends has been fitting wheelchairs for people with disabilities in China for more than ten years. The best part about this? We’ve been able to see growth!
For instance, one year, Joni and Friends gave a wheelchair to a twelve year old girl named Qiaoling. But you already know we don’t only give wheelchairs. We also gave Qiaoling a Bible. Eight years later we were back in her town to give her a new wheelchair because she had outgrown the other one. But that’s not the kind of growth we want to talk to you about. In those eight years Qiaoling had started a Bible study and not only was she growing in her relationship with God, but she was teaching others about God, too!
We’ve also seen a lot of churches and Chinese Christians grow in their desire to minister to people with disabilities. As our Wheels for the World team is in China again right now, would you pray that more growth like this would happen?
Thank you… or as our friends in China would tell you xièxiè! (Say: Sheh-Sheh)
Continue to Full Post →Mikayla: Strong in Jesus
Do you like climbing? If you’ve ever climbed a rock wall, you know that you have to be strong… otherwise you might get stuck or fall!
At Family Retreats, you might be surprised at who you will find climbing the rock wall. Mikayla was surprised to see who was there climbing… she was!
Mikayla is 13 years old and uses prosthetic (say “praws-thet-ik”) legs made of metal and plastic to walk. Even the best man made legs won’t work like the legs God created. So it takes her a lot of work to keep up with her friends.
But at Family Retreat, things are different. She says “Family Retreat gives me more confidence to go back out in the world and be strong in Jesus!”
And that’s the kind of strength that helps her climb the rock wall, too.
Continue to Full Post →God’s Plans in Brazil
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever.
God is a master planner.
I bet you knew that already. After all, isn’t that what Psalm 33:11 says?
What he wants to do will last for all time.
Today is the start of our Wheels for the World outreach in Brazil. The fitting of wheelchairs is just getting started, but we are already seeing how good God’s plans are!
You see, about seven years ago, someone gave our team leader Jill a pediatric walker. (A pediatric walker is something that gives kids some extra balance and support when they need help walking.) Usually all of the donations of wheelchairs and walkers are sent to a prison where prisoners volunteer their time to make sure they are in the best possible working order. After they are cleaned and fixed, they are loaded in big trucks at the prison and shipped directly to the country we are going to.
But this pediatric walker didn’t need fixing so Jill hung on to it, waiting for a time when she could take it to someone who needed it. And you know what? Just before the Wheels for the World team ...
Continue to Full Post →Thirty Years of Radio
When someone first came to talk to Joni about having a radio program, she was in bed. A lot of times, people who use wheelchairs can get painful sores from sitting too long, and she had this type of sore. So here she was, stuck in bed, and two leaders of a radio agency visited her. They told her they thought she had something special to say, and would she consider a radio program?
Can you imagine what Joni thought? She couldn’t even get out of bed!
That was 30 years ago. Since then she has recorded 7,800 programs. If you had all of the programs in front of you, it would take you more than an hour just to count them all! And not only do people hear her radio program all around the United States, but people in other countries can listen to her broadcasts, too.
From a little conversation in Joni’s bedroom to talking to hundreds of thousands of people… only God could do that!
Take a moment to watch this video which celebrates this special anniversary.
Continue to Full Post →National Asthma Awareness Month
Did you know May is National Asthma Awareness month? Asthma is a disability that affects how people breathe. Sometimes when a kid exercises or is around something they are allergic to, they will have a ‘flare up’. When someone with asthma has a ‘flare up’, their airway tightens and it makes it more difficult for them to breathe. Many times kids will take medicine through inhalers to help their airway come back to normal. Do you know someone with asthma? Talk to them today about what it’s like to live with this condition and remember to pray for them! The Bible tells us in the book of James “to pray for one another”…And if you have asthma, tell us about it on the Kids’ Corner so we can cover you with prayer.
Mother's Day
.jpg "Joni and her mom, Lindy")
Have you ever stopped to list everything your mom does for you? It is a long list, isn’t it? (If it isn’t, ask your mom for ideas… I bet she could help you fill that page!)
Remembering all your mom does for you is a great way to be thankful, and thanking her for how she loves you is a wonderful way of honoring her!
Maybe you’ve memorized the Ten Commandments. Remember the one that says “Honor your father and mother”? It doesn’t stop there, does it. It says “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 5:16). God promises to bless you for obeying this command. That’s pretty cool, right?
So get started on that list, and let your mom know you are glad she is your mom!
Continue to Full Post →Jordani in the Dominican Republic
Jordani is a boy who lives in the Dominican Republic. When he was little, he had an accident that injured his brain. Because of this, part of his body doesn’t work. As you can imagine, his mom was very sad about this. When she came to get a wheelchair for him from one of our Wheels for the World teams, she wondered whether anyone could tell her if her son might be able to walk some day. Joni and Friends Wheels for the World teams include physical therapists, people who know how to help others get the best use of their body when it isn’t working right. So one of the physical therapists on the team worked with Jordani and gave him a walker to practice walking. With more practice and the right exercises, Jordani will be able to walk some and not need his wheelchair all of the time! This was...
Communication Challenge
If you couldn’t talk, how would you let your mom know you were hungry? Or how would you let your dad know you wanted to go outside? Your parents would probably be very discouraged trying to guess what you wanted!
Do you remember praying for our outreach in the Dominican Republic? Well, at that outreach, there were 58 kids who faced that exact problem! They couldn’t tell their parents they needed help getting to the bathroom. They couldn’t say if their shoes were too tight or if they just wanted a hug. Their disabilities kept them from letting their parents know what they needed! But when those 58 kids came to get a wheelchair from Joni and Friends, not only did they get a wheelchair, but they received the ability to communicate! ...
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