A recent Joni and Friends survey identified respite care as the top unmet need among families living with disability. Many parents and caregivers who lack respite care options have to just keep going despite exhaustion, isolation, and discouragement. Disability advocate Jennifer Evans joins the podcast to talk about the gift of respite—how providing this type of rest can enable families to experience the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

How to Help Relieve Exhaustion and Isolation for Families Living with Disability – Jennifer Evans

Joni and Friends shares encouraging conversations about finding hope through your hardships, along with practical ways to include people with disabilities in your church and community.

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Tune in for this first installment of Joni Eareckson Tada’s “Heart of the Founder” series, focused on the subject of disability. Hear straight from Joni as she shares a biblical understanding of disability, along with her own personal experience.  

When Joni Eareckson Tada first broke her neck and became paralyzed at age 17, she fell into despair and self-pity. She couldn’t imagine that God had a good plan for her life. She wanted physical healing, to be free from her disability. Instead, God worked through Joni’s disability to bring about his glorious purposes.

Joni Eareckson Tada on Disability | Heart of the Founder

The Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast launches its sixth season with Joni herself, and host Crystal Keating, introducing Stephanie Daniels, who will team up with Crystal behind the microphone to share hope through hardship. As a member of the Joni and Friends team, Stephanie loves sharing encouragement and Gospel hope with each person who connects with the ministry on our social media channels.

Joni Eareckson Tada and Crystal Keating Welcome Stephanie Daniels to the Podcast

In our final episode of season 5, we hear from Joni and Friends team member Wilame Leal Silva. He and his wife Erica Leal were overjoyed to hear they were pregnant with their second child. Then doctors gave a diagnosis that sent them reeling. Their son, they were told, had trisomy 13, a condition likely to end the baby’s life soon after birth. Even if Daniel survived, doctors said, he would be severely disabled and not live long. Grieved facing the loss of their son—and pressured to terminate the pregnancy—Wilame and Erica experienced disability in a new way. And while their son—to doctors’ amazement—was born without a disability, Wilame and Erica live with lasting deep empathy for families living with disability. Wilame joins the podcast to tell his family’s story, and share how God led him into disability ministry.

Growing a Heart for Disability Ministry – Wilame Leal Silva

Across the United States nearly 53 million people serve as caregivers to family members, friends, and others in need of care. On call around the clock, often without pay, caregivers can experience discouragement and burnout. Rebekah Dowhy knows the rigors of caregiving. After years of caring for her mother with multiple sclerosis (MS) Rebekah founded the Caregiving Support Network to provide caregivers with Christ-centered respite, community, and encouragement. She joins the podcast to offer help and hope to caregivers, and the communities called to support them.

Care for Caregivers – Rebekah Dowhy

Cami Lundt didn’t expect any surprises with her fourth pregnancy… until the doctor broke the shocking news. Baby Grace was diagnosed with trisomy 13 and a Dandy-Walker brain malformation—conditions that doctors considered “incompatible with life.” The baby, they said, had a 99.9% chance of dying just minutes after her birth. But God had a different plan. For almost five years, Cami and her family got to love and care for Grace, walking her home to heaven. Tune in to hear Cami’s story, and learn how God can meet you with his peace and strength, even in the most devastating circumstances.

Walking Her Home: Learning to Say “Your Will, Not Mine” – Cami Lundt

Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast

How to Help Relieve Exhaustion and Isolation for Families Living with Disability – Jennifer Evans

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