Joni’s House is Becoming Home for Special Needs Families

By Joni and Friends|Published On: February 1, 2022|Categories: Joni's House|

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it’s not accompanied by action, is dead.”
James 2:15-17

Esmerelda’s husband abused her while she was pregnant, which she believes caused her sons to be born with significant disabilities. After Kevin and Jairo were born, he coldly told her, “You all are dead to me. I asked God for a normal kid, not a disabled kid, so I’m leaving you.”

Heartbroken and alone, Esmerelda felt the relentless sting of being the single mom of two boys with cerebral palsy.

Her community saw her circumstances as shameful and ignored her. From time to time, strangers would stop her on the street and tell her they pitied her, but no one offered any help.

But when Esmerelda learned that Joni Eareckson Tada would be speaking in El Salvador, she gathered what little hope she had left and went to listen to Joni’s powerful words of encouragement.

Esmerelda heard the Gospel and received her own Bible that day.

She and her two sons, Kevin and Jairo, were also invited to attend our International Family Retreat in El Salvador, and that’s when her entire life changed.

“After Family Retreat, life began to change because I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. Kevin and Jairo felt like they had real friends for the first time, and we finally had a family after being forsaken for so long.”
–Esmerelda

At Family Retreat, Esmerelda, Kevin and Jairo accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and their lives have never been the same since.

Family Retreat was just the beginning of this family’s relationship with Joni and Friends. Kevin and Jairo received custom-fitted wheelchairs through our Wheels for the World outreach in El Salvador, necessities that Esmerelda would have never been able to afford on her own. And now, this beautiful family is being blessed by Joni’s House El Salvador, as well!

“At Joni’s House, everyone makes us feel like family. The treatment Kevin and Jairo get at Joni’s House is something we can’t get anywhere else because it’s specialized to their needs. Everything at Joni’s House reflects Christ – people’s actions and how they deal with us. That’s what makes Joni’s House different than everywhere else,” Esmerelda shares with a smile.

“Joni and Friends gives us support emotionally, spiritually, physically and economically throughout the year. Joni and Friends gives us the strength to face each day,” says Esmerelda.

No wonder Esmerelda says, “Joni’s House is MY house!”

And while Kevin and Jairo get the physical therapy they so desperately need at Joni’s House, Esmerelda meets with a Christian counselor. “God speaks to me through her. He shows me that he knows my burden,” Esmerelda explains.

“Joni and Friends empowers me and taught me that I can do anything – and I have a support system to back me up!” declares Esmerelda, her heart bursting with joy.

Joni’s House is supporting struggling parents and children with disabilities all over the world. It’s a beacon of hope transforming lives through faith and action!