Adults with Disabilities Deliver Hope on “Love Your Neighbor Day”

By Joni and Friends|Published On: February 15, 2023|Categories: Ministry, Stories|

A picture of two women, one younger and one older who appear to have down-syndrome, smiling at the camera and shopping at the grocery store.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:30–31

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ.

And for people with disabilities to experience full dignity, inclusion, and hope, they need opportunities to serve others.

For years Joni and Friends Mississippi has served residents from the Mustard Seed, a Christian community for adults with developmental disabilities. But recently the relationship took on a new facet as Mustard Seed partnered with Joni and Friends to serve the broader disability community through a “Love Your Neighbor Day.”

On “Love Your Neighbor Day” each participant from Mustard Seed received information from Joni and Friends about a family living with disability in the community. Participants then went out and shopped for gifts for each individual family.

These gifts included items for individuals with a disability as well as their siblings.

The shopping was a fun and engaging learning activity for each of the participants. The day concluded with a time for the participants to pray over each family as they wrapped the gifts.

Through this project, Mustard Seed residents delivered gifts to sixteen families in their own community also living with disability. These families varied in ages and types of disability. Many of the families were struck by the intentionality of the gifts they received. Through this outreach, the adults from the Mustard Seed enjoyed serving and loving their neighbors!

Take a moment to hear from the participants from Mustard Seed:

“People are kind to us and giving back is the Lord’s way because he gives back and shows us how to help each other through his Son Jesus.”

“Doing this project is giving back to them because God and Jesus showed us how to help each other because we love one another.”

“I like going shopping for other people to be kind to one another.”

At Joni and Friends Mississippi, “Love Your Neighbor Day” was just one special instance of our year-round delivery ministry, including home and hospital deliveries to people with disabilities. Spending time in the hospital or rehabilitation facilities can come with loneliness and isolation, especially for people living with disability.

Our teams of dedicated volunteers regularly bring deliveries to these people to offer encouragement, connection, and a tangible reminder of the love of Jesus.

You can be part of delivering hands-on help and Gospel hope to people with disabilities, here in Mississippi and around the world.