New Hope for a Bright Future

“I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”

Jeremiah 31:13

God has given you the power to change the world for the better right now. That’s why today I’m inviting you to let God use you to transform lives and deliver Christ-honoring hope through hardships all over the world. Through you, Jesus can do modern-day miracles!

Let me tell you the story of how one little boy’s life has been changed forever…

10-year-old Jesús in Peru was brought to our Wheels for the World outreach swaddled like a baby and cradled in his weary mother’s arms. Jesús has never been able to walk. His mother was forced to carry him everywhere. She confessed her total desperation and explained that her son had become too big to carry. Without a properly fitted wheelchair, little Jesús was forced to lay flat on his back, alone.

After a decade of neglect and atrophy, Jesús was so stiff he couldn’t move his muscles. He couldn’t even hold his head up. He had received the gift of a wheelchair when he was 3 years old, but as our physical therapist explained, that wheelchair had become obsolete.

“Ten-year-olds don’t fit in a three-year-old’s wheelchair.”

When Jesús arrived at our distribution site, our therapists got right to work, tenderly stretching his stiff muscles and giving him the therapy he so desperately needed. He was so weak he couldn’t even turn his head to look around.                        

But all that changed once Jesús got his new wheelchair!

Our therapist explained, “Once we got him in the chair, he was a completely different child from the one who first got carried in. He was laughing and squealing with happiness!”

There are so many children in developing nations in dire need of a pediatric wheelchair, and there were so many children at our Wheels for the World outreach that day that at first, we weren’t even sure if we would have a wheelchair for Jesús. But our team never lost hope.

They worked tirelessly to find the perfect wheelchair for Jesús, and when they found it, our physical therapist cried tears of joy and declared, “It’s a miracle! There’s no such thing as coincidence! It’s from God!”

With tears in her eyes and great joy in her heart, Jesús’s mother shared, “Thank you so much! This is such a great help. I feel so happy and so content. Thank you for helping my little angel!”

Practical help and the Gospel were sent to Peru that day, refreshing a mother’s weary soul and changing the lives of many. Through Wheels for the World, they learned that God is our ever-present help in trouble.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:1

There are so many heartbreaking stories of families struggling under the strain of disability and poverty. That’s why our Joni and Friends teams will stop at nothing to serve children like Jesús, providing wheelchairs and therapies – and training local therapists and mechanics, as well.

The need is greater than ever, but praise God, his love endures forever!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”

Psalm 136:1

Little Jesús and his mother were forever changed because of what happened that day. His mother doesn’t need to carry Jesús every time they leave their little home anymore. And Jesús’s new wheelchair can grow with him. No longer will he spend his whole life looking down.

His new seat of dignity has given him a whole new perspective on life!

“He didn’t have words, but it was like he was seeing the world for the first time. Now, in his chair, he can see it all the time!” explained our therapist. Jesús and his mother were given new hope for a brighter future – through his wheelchair and through the Gospel!

And now you have the miraculous opportunity to give other children with disabilities and their families a brighter future. Because now more than ever before, thousands of weary families living on the edge of despair are waiting for you to reach out to them through your prayers and gifts.

God can use you right where you are to change lives and indeed, change the world for Jesus by sending wheelchairs and Bibles all around the world! Your gift of any amount will make an eternal difference in the lives of countless families needy for hope in their hardships.

–Joni Eareckson Tada