The Most Perfect Gift of All

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

Romans 10:13-15

The perfect gift this Christmas isn’t anything that can be wrapped and displayed under the tree. The perfect gift – the most perfect gift of all – is the good news that God sent to us that night he placed baby Jesus in the manger. It’s the declaration that one day every tear will be wiped away, every broken heart will be mended, and every downcast and lonely soul will be welcomed into the family of God. 

Salvation in Christ. Now that’s the most perfect gift of all. 

But there are still so many weary men, women and children who haven’t heard of God’s great love. No one has dared enter their dark and dismal circumstances in order to shine the light of Christ on their poverty and disability. No one has cared.

That is, until now. Our Joni and Friends teams are determined to share the Gospel with families impacted by disability no matter where they might be found. 

Like Modesta and her 22-year-old daughter, Elva, who spend their entire lives in the tiny back room of a dilapidated building in Lima, Peru.

Modesta gave birth to Elva while all the doctors in her community were on strike. Her labor was wrought with unimaginable complications and as a result, Elva was born with severe disabilities. “I didn’t think my girl would have this condition forever,” remembers Modesta, but healing Elva’s body was not part of God’s plan. 

Modesta has been fighting for her daughter for 22 years; solely responsible for all of her financial and caregiving needs. Yet Modesta cannot get a job and go to work. She needs to be there for Elva 24 hours a day. This single mother and her severely disabled daughter are true widows and orphans of society – rejected, isolated, and for all outward appearances, hopeless. 

That is, until we visited them and brought them the gifts of a custom fitted wheelchair for Elva, food and essential hygiene supplies, the Joni book and a Bible in their own language. As Jesus himself so often did, our Joni and Friends team made sure Modesta and Elva’s physical needs were met first. Once the door to their home and their hearts was opened, we were able to minister to their spiritual needs, as well.

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And as Modesta watched as her daughter’s frail body was tenderly placed into a seat of dignity in her new wheelchair, she was overcome by the most perfect gift of all… the love of Jesus. Modesta accepted Christ and now has a seat at his heavenly banquet table, and she and Elva have a future full of hope in the Lord.

“What I’m living through serves a purpose for my life,” declared Modesta with her new-found faith. She realizes now that healing her broken heart and saving her lost soul was God’s plan for her life all along. “You love me with all my flaws,” prayed Modesta who now sees that both she and her daughter were created in God’s image. 

Modesta heard the good news of Christ’s salvation and called on the name of the Lord. Her future is secured for all eternity, and her days are now full of God’s love for her and for her daughter. 

But there are so many more families suffering under the strain of disability and poverty – too many widows and orphans just waiting for someone to care about their desperate circumstances and shine the light into their darkness. They, too, need the hope of Jesus. They need to call on the name of the Lord. But how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? Who is willing to go tell them about our Savior? Who can we send? 

Today, you can be the one the Lord uses to bring the good news of Jesus to children and families hiding in the darkness of back bedrooms.

And how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! 

Your gift of $220 to send a pediatric wheelchair, $345 to add medical care, food and essential hygiene supplies for a month, or $1,500 to support a family impacted by disability and poverty for an entire year will transform lives now and for all of eternity… letting others like Modesta and Elva know that Jesus loves them, and so do we.

You can give the most perfect gift of all this Christmas – the perfect gift of Jesus.

Give the Perfect Gift

$220 sends a wheelchair to a child with disabilities like Elva, $345 adds food and essential hygiene supplies for a month, and $1,500 supports a whole family impacted by disability and poverty for an entire year. Every gift brings the Gospel with it!