Wheels for the World Brings Gospel Hope to Romania

By Joni and Friends|Published On: April 11, 2023|Categories: Wheels For The World|

Maria in her new wheelchair with the Joni and Friends wheels for the world team around her.

On a Wheels for the World™ outreach in Romania, a member of the Joni and Friends Georgia team met seven-year-old Maria. Maria has profound disabilities. She doesn’t have control of her limbs, requires a feeding tube and an aspirator, and is non-verbal.

Because of her disabilities, lack of mobility equipment, and the fact that her family lives in a remote area, Maria couldn’t come to the location of the wheelchair distribution.

Instead, our Joni and Friends team traveled to Maria’s house…

Until Joni and Friends came, Maria rarely got out of bed, let alone out of the house. Her parents gave her bed baths and never saw their daughter sitting up. And they were constantly having to use a small, manual nasal aspirator to clear her throat because she had to lay flat most of the time.

During our Wheels for the World visit to Maria’s house, her parents watched closely as their daughter was gently placed and situated in her new wheelchair. When they explained the details of Maria’s need for an aspirator to aid her breathing, our volunteers ordered the proper piece of equipment to meet that need.

After Maria got comfortable sitting up on her own for the first time, her parents asked for prayer over their daughter.

Our in-country pastor translated team members’ prayers into Romanian for Maria’s parents and sibling to hear and understand.

As our team recalls: “When we opened our eyes there were tears of joy and relief in their eyes. Lots of tears and hugs were shared before saying goodbye, but as believers, we knew we would all see each other again someday.”

Now, because of Joni and Friends, Maria and her family have encountered the hands-on loving care of Christ.

And during the same outreach in Romania, our Wheels for the World team distributed nearly 200 wheelchairs, sharing the Gospel with every recipient and their family members.

On every Wheels for the World outreach, Joni and Friends teams carry out the command of Jesus in Luke 14:21, 23: “Go out quickly in the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame…. Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.”