Meet Rose: Our Faithful Volunteer Who Has Shared the Gospel Around the World!
You can make an immediate and eternal impact in the lives of people living with disability when you volunteer with Joni and Friends. Just ask Rose! Over the past 13 years, she has volunteered on 35 Wheels for the World™ outreaches—spreading the Gospel and sharing the love of Jesus everywhere she goes!
Let’s hear from Rose…
How did you start volunteering with Joni and Friends?
“I first learned about Joni and Friends from a friend of mine who is an occupational therapist. She had been on Joni and Friends trips in the past and they were getting a team together to go to Kazakhstan. She sent me an e-mail telling me about it, and I thought she was asking me for money.
‘She said I’m not asking for money, I want you to go,’ She convinced me that I should sign up to go, so I did…”
Rose’s first experience on a Wheels for the World outreach opened her eyes to the scope and urgency of needs that people with disabilities face. She also enjoyed the company of the therapists, mechanics, and other volunteers she served with.
“You feel the value of what you’re doing. But also, the people you’re doing it with are just the coolest people. Every team I’ve been on, I’m saying, ‘this is the best team ever!’
When you’re doing something that you believe in and you have other believers alongside you, there is such a camaraderie. No kidding, by the time you leave at the end of the week you’re saying, ‘We’ve got to do this again.’ And that is so rewarding.”
Rose
How have you seen God show up as you serve?
After her first Wheels for the World outreach, Rose soon signed up to serve at a second outreach in Peru. As she recalls:
“That got the ball rolling and it’s like a snowball going downhill… there’s no stopping it after it starts! So I’ve served in Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Uganda, Ghana, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, the Philippines, and Nepal.”
At every outreach, Rose sees God show up in powerful ways. She shared one unforgettable story that took her from El Salvador to Arizona:
“In El Salvador there was a child—I believe she was 11 or 12 years old, but her stature was very small, and her legs were not formed correctly… She was there with a group from an orphanage, a group home of some kind.
I spent the day with her while she was waiting for her wheelchair. And at one point she thanked me for bringing her chair. I told her that I didn’t bring the chair personally—that people had collected these chairs from people who didn’t need them anymore. Then a man fixed it up so it was bright and new.
So she said, ‘Well, when you see that man, would you give him a hug for me?’
I said I would. And you know, that was just kind of a response. Well, later we were able to arrange a visit to the prison workshop in Arizona, where these chairs had come from. And after they introduced us to the guys in the shop… I told that story to the 20 or so men who were standing there looking at us.
And after I told the story, this one man broke away from the crowd. He said, ‘I want to collect that hug from her.’ And then everybody had hugs for everybody at that point, of course… it was very poignant.”
What keeps you motivated to serve?
When it comes to finding the motivation to give and serve, Rose points to the people who we serve at Joni and Friends—and how their lives can be transformed by a hand-delivered wheelchair and the truth of the Gospel.
“This woman was so thrilled to get a wheelchair, as you can see, and she was moving around cheering and blowing kisses. She was having a great time in her wheelchair. You can even see in the photo that she is rejoicing—she has a wheelchair and she’s going to make the most of it!
“…Just the experience of seeing the joy that people get when they, or their family member or their friend, is given a wheelchair—and maybe that person hasn’t walked for years and years, or maybe never. Or it’s a mother who’s carrying her 18-year-old in her arms… A wheelchair does change their life.”
Rose
What would you say to others considering volunteering with Joni and Friends?
“People think they don’t have anything to contribute… but I don’t sew and I don’t do the hand-crafty stuff. So at a wheelchair distribution, I just have to work a little harder at being useful other ways. And I use what talent I have… interpersonal skills…. You use what you have. You don’t have to put yourself in a mold. You can serve wherever you are, with whatever you have.
When I first started, I was 73 years old, and I had just a couple of years before my husband had passed away… And the opportunity just presented itself. I wasn’t looking. I didn’t even know I needed anything. And to be perfectly honest, I think it’s ideal for people who find themselves in the midst of a change… You do it because you’re called to do it. It’s not about you—it’s about serving others, serving the Lord through serving others. And that’s what we’re called to do.”
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45
Apply to Volunteer with Us Today!
“Serving with Joni and Friends, my faith has widened and deepened and increased. So if you’re looking for something to change your life, this is an amazing opportunity.” – Rose
