Sharing Jesus’s Love with Families with Disabilities
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5
Your kindness has changed lives in ways words can hardly capture. Whether it is through your gifts of time, prayer, or treasure, we have seen deep and genuine ministry impact.
In 2025, Joni and Friends® Illinois served 149 families at four Family Retreats, welcomed 12 couples to our third annual Marriage Getaway, and brought the hope of Jesus Christ to countless people through our partnerships with churches and like-minded organizations. Plus, we collected a record-breaking 700+ wheelchairs this year that were restored to like-new conditions and then shipped to over two dozen countries around the world!
While we see inclusion and acceptance blossoming within our ministry, many of the families we serve don’t experience that in their local communities. Austin, Melissa, and their three children came to Family Retreat feeling overwhelmed. They were weary in mind, body, and soul and desperate for connection.
Austin and Melissa recall experiencing the hurt of being told their son Wyatt, who has autism, was not a priority in their church community.
“Our church had recently informed us they could not take care of Wyatt during our Sunday service anymore. We felt very alone and hurt,” says Melissa. “Austin was a leader in the church for seven years when we were told there was no spot for Wyatt anymore, but they hoped our girls could still come. The betrayal was devastating. It made us question everything we thought we knew about God.”
Enter Joni and Friends! Austin and Melissa’s longtime friend and Joni and Friends volunteer had been encouraging them to bring their family to Family Retreat. They said yes, and that’s when everything changed for them!
When asked about arriving at Family Retreat, Melissa said, “I can see the memory so clearly. I had Winona on my hip, Willow holding my hand, and Austin holding Wyatt’s hand behind me. Wyatt was smiling from ear to ear, clapping and high fiving everyone. The hug I received was something I had not felt in years. It was a hug that said, ‘We got you.’”
As the week went on, their love just grew. Wyatt was never shushed during the service. In fact, he was welcome in every space. Melissa remembers the way her heart melted watching Wyatt get to be on stage worshipping and dancing while everyone just smiled. He could yell out and no one flinched. He could run in the aisles under the watchful eye of his volunteer buddy and fully participated in the service.
Wyatt’s sisters, Willow and Winona, felt like they were seen as well. They got to experience all the fun of the retreat—having mom and dad all to themselves while Wyatt spent time in the capable hands of his buddy.
At Family Retreat, Wyatt’s whole family found new hope. “This summer we found a wonderful community who showed us our family is not too much to handle,” says Melissa. “This experience has restored our faith in Jesus and in human kindness. I truly believe that without having this experience, Austin and I would be stuck and probably still feeling distant from God. One lunch with like-minded men changed my husband’s relationship with our son forever. He no longer feels he needs to ‘fix’ Wyatt. This experience does not just change one person’s life—it provides support for the whole family. There is no other group out there that compares to the love and acceptance provided by Joni and Friends.”
Melissa sent me this photo taken of their beautiful family at the end of the week and said, “We haven’t smiled like this in a long time.”
Friends, I wish I could say this story is unique, but it is not. Feeling unwelcomed, isolated, unloved, and alone… These are words so many families struggling with disability use when describing their lives. And when they reach the end of the week at Family Retreat, they are often in tears, dreading going back to the harsh reality of not feeling welcome within their local community.
Joni and Friends Illinois is changing this reality. We are not only ministering to these sweet families at our Retreats and Getaways, we are also getting on the ground floor with churches to ensure they are equipped to minister to (and with) families living with disabilities. But we cannot do this without you.
Will you partner with us by giving your best gift, knowing you’re bringing dignity and hope to families like Wyatt’s?
Jesus is bringing renewed hope to those who need it desperately, and He is doing it through your faithful ministry partnership. Thank you for being a true friend of Joni and Friends!
May God’s richest blessings be yours as you invest in families living with disabilities here in our community and around the world.
Support Joni and Friends Illinois
Your gift to Joni and Friends will promote Christ-centered friendships and create spaces of true belonging for people living with disability. Learn more about Joni and Friends Illinois.
