Finding Hope and Purpose in Life with Disability 

Looking back on nearly 40 years of marriage, Earle and Betty have seen God work in their family in powerful ways. For decades, Joni and Friends has supported this family, helping them find hope through hardship and discover God’s purposes for their lives. Here’s their story… 

After getting married, Earle and Betty had difficulty conceiving a child. Betty recalls spending time in concentrated prayer at a women’s retreat, asking God to give them children. Soon afterward, she became pregnant with their daughter, Janelle.  

When Janelle was 15 months old, God blessed Earle and Betty with twin boys, Nick and Kendall. The boys faced medical difficulties from the start. Because of their twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, Kendall received too much blood in utero while Nick didn’t receive enough. Nick also had the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around his neck. 

When Disability Enters the Family 

Because of medical complications, Nick and Kendall were born two months early. From the time the boys were babies, Earle and Betty could see that there was something atypical about Nick’s condition and development. At first doctors thought Nick was blind because his eyes had trouble tracking. While it turned out that Nick can see, he received a diagnosis of cerebral palsy around six months old. 

Nick’s diagnosis hit each of his parents hard. Earle felt pained and saddened while Betty struggled with disappointment and grief. Both parents had deep concerns for Nick but also worried for their other two children: 

“Because our greatest focus needed to be on Nick, Kendall and Janelle were affected. We tried to give them what they needed too, but both to some extent — especially Kendall —were negatively affected by the situation.”  

A Personal Invitation from Joni 

Adapting to life with disability, Earle and Betty resolved to lean into their faith and provide Nick with all the tools he needed to thrive. As Betty says: 

“Having to deal with disability has caused us to turn toward God, rather than away from him in anger or bitterness. We didn’t give up; we started looking for things and people who might help Nick. We saw Nick was a fighter. Nicholas means ‘victorious,’ and he has lived up to his name!” 

When the twins were four years old, Betty attended a children’s pastors conference in Denver where Joni was the keynote speaker. Betty had an emotional conversation with Joni about their challenges with Nick’s disability. Joni gave her an autographed cassette of children’s music and invited Betty and her family to a Joni and Friends Family Retreat!  

Finding Deeper Faith 

Taking Joni up on her invitation, Earle and Betty brought their family to their first Family Retreat in Wisconsin—and Joni and Ken came too! Earle, Betty, and their children all loved Family Retreat, enjoying respite and accessible activities in an accepting, Chris-centered environment. 

Over the years, Earle, Betty, and their family have attended 14 Family Retreats. Now 33 years old, Nick always looks forward to Family Retreat. Last summer he got to scale the rock-climbing wall all the way to the top, thanks to the adaptive climbing equipment supplied by our Missouri volunteers. Nick also got to share his musical talent, playing percussion with the worship team. 

“Family Retreats give us something to look forward to every year. We keep coming back because Nick likes what he does there, and so do we. We like being around people who have situations somewhat like ours.”   

Betty

A Step into Service 

After experiencing a “little slice of heaven” at Family Retreat, Earle and Betty learned about the Joni and Friends Wheels for the World™ ministry. Feeling called to participate, Earle signed up to join an outreach team as a wheelchair mechanic. He also spoke at churches during the trip, sharing Nick’s story.  

In addition to serving internationally with Wheels for the World, Earle serves as a wheelchair collection volunteer in his community. He recently collected his 200^th used manual wheelchair, which will be restored by inmates in prison-based workshops and hand-delivered to people in need around the world!