Carrying the Gospel from Ohio to El Salvador

“I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.”

Psalm 118:21

Isaac wasn’t born with a disability, but when he was only six-months-old he spiked a high fever, went into convulsions, and was left with permanent brain damage and symptoms similar to cerebral palsy.

After Isaac’s illness, his parents soon realized that he would struggle with having a disability for the rest of his life. And that meant they would struggle, too. His mother, Rosa, spends her entire day caring for Isaac’s needs, while also doing her best to take care of the rest of her family.

Isaac must be carried anywhere Rosa needs to go. Without a wheelchair, that was becoming increasingly difficult as day by day Isaac was growing and becoming heavier. But the luxury of a wheelchair was out of the question. In Isaac’s village in El Salvador, it was just too expensive for his family to afford.

The hardships Rosa had to deal with became almost unbearable.

When Isaac became sick, the trajectory of her life – and her young son’s life – had changed in an instant.

But the hardships they would face would last a lifetime. And without a wheelchair, those hardships were only magnified. Rosa started to wonder if God cared about her son and her family. She wondered, “Does anyone care about us at all?”

Rosa began to lose faith. She couldn’t understand why God would allow all this to happen to her son, her family, and to her. But just as her circumstances seemed beyond hope, our Joni and Friends Ohio team answered Rosa’s broken-hearted cries when God sent us into her village.

2020 ended up being a year of new beginnings for Isaac and Rosa!

At four-years-old, Isaac had waited his whole life for the pediatric wheelchair he so desperately needed in order to fully participate in day-to-day living with his family. And when Rosa brought little Isaac to our Wheels for the World outreach in El Salvador, he was all smiles knowing he was about to receive his own wheelchair. Then, as our Joni and Friends Ohio team custom fit Isaac into his perfectly sized wheelchair, his beautiful face shined even more brightly!

On that day when Isaac received the gifts of mobility and dignity through his very own wheelchair, Rosa received her own life-changing gifts, as well.

Our Ohio team shared the Gospel with Rosa. We gave her a Bible and the Joni book in her own language, and Rosa gladly accepted new faith in Christ!

Now, Rosa’s faith is growing stronger each day. Her faith has increased exponentially, and it all started when a small pediatric wheelchair traveled from Ohio to El Salvador and opened the door of her heart!