Dreaming God’s Dreams

“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Matthew 13:23

Today as I write to you, the need is greater than ever. Children and adults with disabilities – those who are medically fragile and living in extreme poverty – need practical help and the Good News of Jesus. They are truly the world’s neediest population, not just during a global pandemic, but every day of their lives. They crave real hope in the midst of their unimaginable hardships.

They need the light of Christ shining into their darkness. 

And the great news is that you can change the future and transform the lives of the world’s most marginalized people group through your prayers and generosity today. 

When we follow God’s heart and defend the rights of the poor and needy, God can use our gifts to produce a harvest that’s not just twice as powerful, but thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been given!

Let me tell you Miguel’s story and you will see how your faithful support brings families out of the darkness and gives them a future full of hope. Six-year-old Miguel has spina bifida. He lives in Brazil with his grandparents because his father is in jail and his mother is unable to care for him properly. They live in extreme poverty and hardly have enough money for food, let alone a wheelchair or the continuous medical care that Miguel so desperately needs.

“When he was born, Miguel’s back was open. There was a hole in it,” explains Miguel’s grandmother Maria. Miguel had back surgery as an infant and has lived his young life in need of constant medical attention including foot surgeries. Yet any care that he was able to receive prior to the onset of COVID-19 has been stopped abruptly.  

“Once the pandemic came, he couldn’t go to the doctor anymore.”

Miguel’s grandfather continues, “It is very difficult taking care of him.” When Miguel needs to leave his tiny home, his grandfather transports him in a dirty wheelbarrow. They try to make it comfortable for their grandson, but wheelbarrows were not created to transport children – they’re made to carry dirt. And at 62 years old, it’s close to impossible for Miguel’s grandfather to push him in that wheelbarrow anymore. The hilly, dirt streets of Miguel’s village make pushing a child in a one-wheeled wheelbarrow unstable and outright dangerous.

Yet safety concerns weren’t the only struggle facing Miguel and his grandparents.

Miguel suffered mightily under the strain of rejection, isolation and humiliation. For how can anyone feel valued living life from inside a wheelbarrow? And how do you make friends with children your age from that humiliating vantage point?    

Miguel’s grandmother asked God for a wheelchair, and the Lord used our Wheels for the World team to change his heart, his outlook on life, and his whole future. Although Miguel arrived at our outreach with infected sores on his feet, our team of therapists and medical professionals were able to give him the proper attention he needed. And not only did Miguel receive a beautiful custom-fitted wheelchair, he and his grandparents were given a care package full to the brim with food and necessary hygiene supplies.

Because when a child’s stomach is growling too loud to hear the Gospel, his body must be fed physically before his soul can be fed spiritually.  

Miguel’s grandfather declared that his new wheelchair is a “blessing that Jesus sent us.” And his grandmother explained that now they will use Miguel’s new wheelchair to take him to church!  

“I want to thank Jesus! Jesus himself brought you here. I thank this team that did this wonderful work. You are wonderful people sent by God,” declared Miguel’s grandfather.

Our ministry to Miguel and his grandparents showed them that nothing is impossible with God! 

And you are a vital member of our team! God used the steadfast prayers and sacrificial gifts of our ministry partners to send Miguel and his grandparents food, a wheelchair – and best of all – the Gospel! And these seeds in Miguel’s life will continue to produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, even a hundred times more as he learns more about Jesus and the wonderful plan God has for his life! 

“He leaves here with a different perspective. He leaves here dreaming God’s dreams for his life!” explained a member of our Wheels for the World team. 

“The purpose of all this is for people to be saved,” continued Sandra, another member of our team, as Miguel and his grandparents praised God for his faithfulness and provision. 

You see, your prayers and gifts really do change lives! Ministry is being multiplied in Miguel’s life, and it can happen for countless other children, too, through your generosity and faithfulness today! 

You have my joyful promise that your gift today will introduce thousands of hurting people to Jesus through all the ministry programs at Joni and Friends. We cannot reach more children and families living with disabilities alone—we need you to step out in faith and stand in the gap with us today! Disabled children all over the world need Jesus, and they need you!  

You can send practical help and the Gospel message, and it couldn’t come at a more critical time! Overseas there is extreme poverty, and often no medical help. And while this pandemic will certainly pass, the needs of medically fragile and disabled children won’t cease without your intervention. 

You and I know what their most important need is… the only real hope that will carry them into eternity… they need Jesus!

The Gospel is at the heart of everything we do. This is what you’re giving to and supporting every time you donate to Joni and Friends.  

Your gift will be transforming the lives and hearts of children and adults with disabilities as our power-packed ministry is multiplied thirty, sixty, even a hundred times today – through you! 

Please let me hear from you today! I’m asking God to continue to encourage your heart and fit you for kingdom-service, to keep you healthy and spiritually strong. Let’s keep praying that the kingdom of God will continue to be strengthened, advanced, and enlarged. Thank you for being our prayer warriors, our faithful givers, and partners in times such as these! 

Thank you for giving graciously, faithfully, and sacrificially so the lives of people with disabilities can be filled with the joy, hope, and love of Jesus now…and for all of eternity! 

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel…”

Philippians 1:3-5

Thank you for giving graciously, faithfully, and sacrificially so the lives of people with disabilities can be filled with the joy, hope, and love of Jesus now…and for all of eternity!

–Joni Eareckson Tada