The following article was posted by Alexander Lee on August 2, 2017 at TruthNetMedia.com.
World renowned painter and author Joni Eareckson Tada graciously opened the doors to her facility in Agoura Hills, California. The Haitian amputee soccer team were welcomed in for a special presentation by the founder herself. The team were first exposed to a video that highlighted her Wheels for the World program. Since it’s foundation in 1994, Joni and Friends has delivered over 100,000 wheel chairs all across the world in countries such as Ghana, Uganda, Romania and Thailand.
During her speech, Joni was shown the highlights of the USA vs. Haiti amputee soccer championship that took place on Saturday. The Haitians won the game 5 – 0. Operation Go Quickly President and acting Secretary General of the World Amputee Soccer Federation translated and shared all the testimonies of the soccer players. Most of the players lost their limbs during the devastating earthquake back in 2010 while others were victims of police violence and congenial birth defects.
The Haitians presented Joni with wonderful artwork that one of their team members Francillion Cherri made. Francillion traces any design out of old tin lids and paints them over after they are cut out. He also does incredible paintwork on acrylic paper. Afterwards, the team sang songs of praise to Joni and then prayed over her and her ministry.
Joni lost mobility below her shoulders at the age of 17 after misjudging the shallowness of the water in the Chesapeake Bay. As a quadriplegic she suffered through severe depression, anger, religious doubts and suicidal thoughts. However, she learned to paint with the tip of her teeth and became known world wide for her incredible art work and testimony. Her first book Joni was released in 1976 and since then she has written over forty books, starred in an autobiographical film, recorded several studio albums and was appointed to the National Council Committee on Disability by President Ronald Reagan. Through faith Joni has been a huge advocate for the disabled throughout the decades and has assisted hundreds of thousands of people suffering with disabilities around the world through her Wheels for the World foundation.