Wheels for the World Gives Practical Help and Eternal Hope
How many people in the world live with disabilities?
According to the World Health Organization, 16% of the population—approximately 1.3 billion people—has a significant disability. The WHO also finds that people with disabilities experience a wide range of health inequities…
Beyond the arena of health, people with disabilities—especially those in developing countries—face greater risk of poverty, discrimination, isolation, and lack of access to mobility equipment. That’s why Joni and Friends sends our Wheels for the World™ teams all over the world—delivering practical help and the eternal hope of Jesus.
Meet Larissa and her family in Brazil…
Larissa was born two months prematurely with cerebral palsy and mixed tetraplegia, the inability to voluntarily move the upper and lower parts of her body.
“In the beginning, I didn’t want to accept it. I cried out, ‘Lord! Not my child!’ I thought it was the end of the world. I cried a lot,” says Larissa’s mother Sheila.
Over time Sheila learned to accept Larissa’s disability, but she was unable to provide her daughter with the wheelchair she so desperately needed. Then, when our Wheels for the World team traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Sheila and Larissa’s lives changed dramatically.
“Providing Larissa with a wheelchair is life-giving for her. Now she can move around independently and see the world potentially for the first time—things that are so important for a 21-year-old young woman,” says Katie, a Wheels for the World team member.
Delivering Gospel Hope
Larissa listened intently as we shared the Gospel with her and her family. Her new wheelchair—and her new perspective on life put a huge smile on her face! And her mother, Sheila, overflowed with gratitude.
“This wheelchair will help Larissa at home and at school. And it has a tray so [Larissa] can eat by herself! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m sending kisses to all of you because God is so faithful!”
Larissa wasn’t the only one blessed by the gifts of mobility and dignity during our outreach in Brazil.
During the same visit, 189 children and adults received wheelchairs, 438 people heard the Gospel, and more than one hundred put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
Make a difference!
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
You can be part of the global movement bringing hands-on help and Gospel hope to people living with disabilities around the world! For every family like Larissa’s, who have received the support they need, many more are waiting. Let God use you to send the answer they are looking for…
Donate to Joni and Friends Today!
Your prayers and financial support change lives, now and for eternity.
