Joni’s Birthday Celebration
I’m so grateful God has given me yet another birthday to celebrate today!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to the party. And it is a party. Now true, last year when I turned 70 it was a big milestone. But this year? It’s an even bigger milestone. Because every year from last year on is huge for me, a quadriplegic. Every year I am shattering the statistics. Not only living longer than my doctors ever expected, I’m living happier. With purpose and meaning, with a mission and a ministry. It’s why I’m blowing the lid on the celebration today.
You see, the longer I live, the more I can invest in and serve people suffering, especially with disabilities that are far more significant than mine. I’m thinking of Sandra in Cameroon who has cerebral palsy. Her disability brought great shame to her mother and father, and so when she was a little girl, they assigned her bed in the chicken coop. That is until Sandra’s grandmother took pity on the child and took her in. And there are countless stories exactly like Sandra’s all over the world. Bless those grandmothers, helping children with disabilities who live in garbage dumps in Egypt or in the Philippines. There are babies with Down syndrome who are abandoned – little Ajid was left out on the street, but his older brother took him in.
Now, I know these are not the typically happy stories you’d expect to hear at a birthday party, but remember, I’m celebrating the life God’s given me – a life that I am spending in service on behalf of children like Sandra and Ajid and thousands like them. Praise the Lord that at Joni and Friends, we can serve children with disabilities around the world, right now, even during coronavirus. It’s because we have strong partnerships with like-hearted Christian leaders; these wonderful in-country partners are the ones that we work with all the time, whether through Wheels for the World, or our International Family Retreats, or other ministry outreach opportunities. These partners have studied with us, they’ve served with us; and now, we’re working more closely together to reach even more hurting people with disabilities, especially during this global pandemic. Now as never before, I am pouring my life into service to Jesus, for I know that he’s got a heart for children, like the ones I just told you about. And Jesus has a heart for our partners overseas who are laboring hard among disabled boys, little girls and adults in back bedrooms, on the streets, the alleys and, yes, even living in garbage dumps.
Yep, I’m celebrating, and I’m so grateful that God has given me health and strength for another year. So today, I am inviting you to join me. I’m donating my birthday to Joni and Friends so that more people with disabilities can be reached for Christ, especially during COVID-19. As you donate to my birthday, you’ll be helping to support all our other outreach programs, such as the personal ministry to special-needs families that we’ve been doing throughout our teams across the US. In Nehemiah 8:10, God tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And together, we can turn up the joy by helping disabled children and adults around the world find their strength in the Lord. So, join the party! Serve alongside me. Birthday gifts are appreciated, so explore my wish list at joniradio.org. Thank you for caring, and thank you for giving to my birthday at Joni and Friends – for as you pray and give, it tells me, that you have a heart for people with disabilities. Thanks so much for celebrating with me!
And one more thing – we here at Joni and Friends would love to pray for you in your troubles. So, share with us your prayer need today at joniradio.org
© Joni and Friends
Donate to Joni’s Birthday Fundraiser!
Joni’s birthday is coming soon—don’t delay! Give a gift in her name. Your gift will send the Gospel to people who live with disability all over the world!
Joni’s Birthday Wish List
I’m honored that you’re interested in my birthday wish list! Want to know what’s on my heart? It’s other disabled people with bigger needs than mine! So, just go to my Birthday Fundraising Page, click on “Donate Now” and your gift will deliver help and hope in the following ways!
Christian Institute on Disability (you’ll be scholarshipping interns)
Family Retreats (needy families dealing with disability appreciate help)
Local Offices (supporting all of our Joni and Friends’ teams)
Wheels for the World™ (your gift will provide much-needed wheelchairs)
May God bless you with the measure used in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
