Joni and Friends Blog
When I was leading services for junior high students, I had one girl who would come to youth group, sit down, pick a spot on the wall, and stare at that point until she had to go. Questions directed to her got one-word responses at best. I encouraged other girls to reach out and engage her, and while they did their best,…
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“The Lord does not need our strength. He just needs our availability. As soon as we are available for him, he gives us his strength” —Dr. Daniel Kyungu When we think about people with disability in missions, our minds immediately go to the seemingly insurmountable challenges that they might face in the role as missionary…
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Back in February, Joni and Friends published an article on “Supporting Families Living with Disability.” That article wound up being more prescient and relevant for the coming months than any of us could have anticipated. One quote in particular is worth revisiting: “When people are in a season of illness, or stress, or grief, the…
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“You may feel alone, like you shouldn’t talk about what is going on, but the worst thing you can do it isolate yourself… When you’re honest and vulnerable, it’s incredible how many places it will take you.” Last week on the podcast, Kimberli West talked about her unexpected battle with invisible chronic illness and how…
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Walking down Main Street in downtown Memphis praying, painting, drawing, acting, and writing are all challenging for me. Travel is always taxing on my differently abled body. At 39 sometimes it feels like I’m 50. So, why do I choose to put my body through this? It’s because I firmly believe that when Jesus gave…
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Life is extremely hard for people impacted by disabilities in Uganda. The general belief is that they are bewitched or cursed by God, and as a result, children and adults with disabilities and their families are outcasts in every sense of the word. In most cases, they are completely excluded from society and are denied basic…
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Wadha and her 7-year-old daughter Duaa needed a miracle when they arrived at our Wheels for the World outreach in Jordan. Duaa cannot walk due to extremely weak muscle tone. Her weary mother is forced to carry Duaa’s growing body everywhere on her back. Exhausted and hopeless – and knowing it would improve the quality of…
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“I used to say to God, ‘Why me? Why did this happen to me?’ as most people do, but now I have changed that to ‘Why did he choose this for my life to live out his purpose? Why am I special?’” Kimberli West was young and always on the go until unexpected illness completely…
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Depending which verse you read, God might be described as a mighty fortress, a hen, a shepherd, or a judge (just to name a few). Does God have an identity crisis? Of course not! Each verse is revealing something different about God’s character. To those under attack he is a fortress; to those who are…
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If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God… so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11 Sharing hope through hardship. It’s been the message of my life ever since Christ rescued me with his heart-transforming hope after I broke my neck.…
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