From Heartbreak to Hope: New Life for Vicki’s Wheelchair

Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast

This episode features the stories two beautiful young women, Vicki and Liz. Though they never met, God wove their lives together through a beloved purple wheelchair and the power of his grace.

Vicki lived with profound disabilities. She also exuded joy and made others happy everywhere she went. When she died unexpectedly the day after Mother’s Day at 27 years old, Vicki’s parents were heartbroken beyond belief. They held on to Vicki’s beloved purple wheelchair, too grieved to let it go. But as God brought healing to their hearts, he also brought Vicki’s parents a beautiful idea: to donate their daughter’s wheelchair.

According to the World Health Organization, the majority of people who need assistive technology—such as a wheelchair—have to do without. Through our Wheels for the World program, Joni and Friends changes the lives of individuals and families living with disability by hand-delivering wheelchairs and Bibles to people in need.  

Each year Joni and Friends collects thousands of used wheelchairs, which get restored to like-new condition by incarcerated men and women in prison-based restoration centers. Working on the wheelchairs allows these individuals to make a difference for others and experience redemptive purpose in their own lives. By the time a wheelchair is restored, delivered, and custom-fitted to its new owner, it carries with it more than one story of God’s grace in action.  

You can join Joni and Friends in serving people with disabilities at home and around the world.

Join a Wheels for the World outreach team

Volunteer locally with Wheels for the World

Donate a used manual wheelchair

KEY QUESTION:

Where can you take a step of faith by extending generosity or support to someone you know who is suffering?

KEY SCRIPTURE:

Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

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Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.