Reaching The World’s Disabled

We have no idea how hard life is for some people.

Especially if you are a disabled child like Joey in Tanzania, East Africa. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a report I just received from Light in Africa, one of our partners in Tanzania. Joey is a disabled little boy with severe cerebral palsy. He was born into the Maasai tribe, but, oh, what a sad story. His mother, a Maasai woman, was thrown out of her house when she gave birth to a child with cerebral palsy. Her husband took a 12-year-old girl to be his second wife, but this girl refused to have Joey in the home, and she put him with the goats out behind the house. And this is where Joey’s grandmother found him. The Maasai grandmother took great pity on this little boy who grappled in the dirt and who was thrown scraps to eat. She took Joey to the nearest children’s home in Arusha, Tanzania, but they were unable to cope with him as he would become spastic whenever they tried to feed him. And that’s how Joey ended up at Light in Africa, the care center with my friend and fellow servant, Mama Lynn. He was extremely malnourished when he arrived but, oh, what a delightful little boy; the staff at the care center fell in love with this guy and his happy attitude. Unfortunately, Joey was too weak to combat the coronavirus when it swept through Tanzania, and this child – having experienced so much neglect and abuse – finally, he went home to Jesus.

Now, why do I share this? Because little Joey and his plight of poverty and neglect is so typical of children with disabilities in developing nations. It’s why at Joni and Friends, we’re so passionate about raising awareness and mobilizing Christians, yes, even in countries like Tanzania, to share the love of Christ with disabled children and their families. And so, we’re hosting an online conference we’re calling Global Access 2020. It’s to equip Christian leaders who desire to make a difference for Christ in the lives of people like Joey. There are so many pieces to the puzzle surrounding children like Joey, including issues of human dignity – because that little boy was considered sub-human, not even worthy to have a roof over his head, but relegated to the goat pen. There are also issues of justice and equality and sanctity of life. So, if your church’s missionaries are serving among the disabled, please tell them about our 2020 Global Access Conference. Or, perhaps you’d like to learn how to make a difference among the world’s disabled. If so, join us for this important online conference.

Because Psalm 82:3 says, “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” That verse describes Joey and millions like him. So, sign up today for our 2020 Global Access Conference. It’ll be held from the October 14^th through the 17^th, and you’ll hear from some of the world’s top experts in disability ministry. Ask God to show you how you can defend the weak and uphold the cause of people with disabilities, whether in developing nations or even in your own community and in your church.

Find out more information by visiting my radio page today at joniradio.org and spread the word, would you? Let your friends serving overseas know about this 2020 Global Access Conference, or alert co-workers in your church who are serving special-needs families. Get details at joniradio.org. It is a very special way of making certain that Joey’s little life has a lasting impact.

And hey, if you need more inspiration, you just have to go to my blog today at joniradio.org. Again, that’s my blog at joniradio.org.

© Joni and Friends

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