This past June, a JE group from Jacksonville, Florida traveled to Costa Rica to serve on one of our
Mission Trips. There, they met a young girl who had outgrown her wheelchair that she had been in since she was two. Read on, to find out about how this group was spurred to action, and how an overflowing of generosity was able to help this young Costa Rican girl’s situation.
“The Costa Rican pastor told us of a young girl in his neighborhood who suffers from severe Cerebral Palsy. The child has been crippled all of her life and has been using the same wheelchair since she was two years old. The child is now eight or nine years old. The family has not replaced the wheelchair due to financial struggles. Since the wheelchair was designed for a much younger child, the chair was starting to create a curve in the child’s spine. The pastor asked if a few of our team members would like to meet the child and pray with her family. Three of our team members got the opportunity to meet this precious child and pray with her family at the child’s house. Our team members were very moved by the child’s situation. The mission team (comprised mostly of students) took up a donation of about $100 and gave it to the pastor to go towards the purchase of a new wheelchair for the child. The pastor added our $100 to the fund he already had set aside for a new wheelchair.
When our team returned to the United States, the students who attended the mission trip were giving a summary of the trip to the members of a local church. During one of the testimonies, the story of the child and the wheelchair situation was briefly mentioned. At the end of the church service, the pastor of the church asked if the church would like to take up a donation to help with the purchase of the wheelchair. The pastor in Costa Rica needed about $1,200 to purchase the new wheelchair. The congregation ended up donating over $1,300 for the purchase of the wheelchair. All of the members of the mission team were very touched by the church’s generosity towards a child they had never met. The money has since been sent to Costa Rica, and the new wheelchair has been purchased for the sweet child. It is a blessing and an honor to have been a part of the Costa Rica mission trip, and helping to make a child’s life a little easier for her and her parents.”
What a terrific testament to faith and stewardship. Thank you to Dawn and Crystal for sending us this wonderful story.
