Arif and His Wheelchair
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a very touching story about Arif.
Arif is a little boy who lives in India and we met him on our Wheels for the World outreach. Arif has the greatest smile you’d ever want to see, and he needs it, because Arif only has stumps for arms, and he has no legs. As was told us, when Arif’s mother learned that she was pregnant, she wanted an abortion. She was given a harsh acid to cause her to abort, but instead, her baby survived, albeit severely damaged from the potion. We were told that when Arif’s mother saw her child, she threw the infant into a trash heap, but his crying all night alerted a neighbor. The next morning, that same neighbor was at the mother’s home insisting, “This baby is alive and you must take care of him.” That was more than eight years ago, and today Arif’s mother is completely devoted to this little boy with his winning personality, dancing bright eyes, and happy smile.
When Arif and his mother arrived at our wheelchair distribution, he quickly became a little ambassador to all the other disabled children waiting to be fitted for a wheelchair. Arif was dragging himself around on the floor with his stumps tucked firmly into a small pair of tennis shoes. As he told us, the shoes helped keep pebbles from becoming imbedded in his stumps. But what he really needed, what he really wanted, was a wheelchair. A wheelchair that would get him off the dirt ground and help him sit up and enjoy a higher eye level with everyone else. But a wheelchair would also enable him to go to school. It was clear that Arif was going to need a very special wheelchair, and thankfully, we had the perfect pediatric wheelchair that met his needs exactly.
The best part is Arif and his mother heard for the first time about Jesus Christ. They were told that Arif’s new wheelchair was a special gift from God, a sign that the God of the Bible truly cared about the needs of this little family. They went away so happy, and they were introduced, for the first time, to a small church in their community. You really must go to my radio page today at joniandfriends.org and see a few photos of Arif and that winning smile of his and take a look at him in his new wheelchair, while you’re at it. You will be blessed.
There’s another reason I’d like you to go to my radio page today. You see,’ Wheels for the World’ has quickly become one of the premiere tools of evangelism for needy disabled people around the world. And the story behind ‘Wheels for the World’ is truly inspiring. From the many people across the U.S. who donate their used but serviceable wheelchairs, to the inmates in over a dozen different prisons who refurbish our wheelchairs to make them like virtually new. Also, the Christian physical therapists who volunteer their time to travel with us to places like India and China and Cuba, Peru, Thailand and others. And I’d like you to see firsthand what it’s all about. Not long ago, Joni and Friends produced a TV program called ‘Wheels for the World’ and I’d love to send you a free DVD of this great episode. It’ll give you the full picture of what goes into a ‘Wheels for the World’ outreach—you’ll be blessed so much, you’ll want to pass the DVD on to your friends and family. It’s yours for the asking on my radio page today at joniandfriends.org. And please pray for children like Arif who’ll be receiving wheelchairs as well as the Gospel of Christ all this season through ‘Wheels for the World’. See you later at joniandfriends.org/radio. Hey, friend, at Joni and Friends we would like to pray for you, so share with us your thoughts and your prayer needs at joniandfriends.org.
© Joni and Friends
