Crossed Paths: The Story of a Girl from Volyn and a Girl from America

– “Lord, this wheelchair brought me so much pain, but I am so grateful to You for it. It has helped me get to know You more and draw closer to You. You have done so much through my life. Now take it and throw it into hell!” American Joni Eareckson Tada dreams to say such words to Jesus Christ when she enters eternity and brings her wheelchair to Him. This is exactly what she shared while speaking at the Global Access Conference in 2015.

Joni turned 70 years old on October 15, 2019. When one learns that she has spent 53 years of her life in a wheelchair, one begin to understand all the pain of her words. However, for more than five decades she has not only been able to overcome her trauma, and this is not referring to physical healing, but also to use it improve the lives of people with disabilities both in the USA and all over the world.

Playing a role in this was her service on the Disability Advisory Committee of the U.S. State Department and the National Council on Disability, the founding of her organization “Joni and Friends” and the support of her beloved husband Ken. By the way, they celebrated their 37th anniversary this year.

Joni has a special connection with Ukraine, particularly the Volyn region. In October of 1992, 15-year-old Natalia Semeniuk from Lutsk attended a Billy

Graham crusade. It took place in Moscow, the heart of the atheistic, recently dissolved USSR. It was actually the first year of freedom after the fall of the Iron Curtain. After more than 70 years of spiritual famine, people from 15 republics came to search for God. Christians from various denominations struggled to believe it was not a dream. They were not persecuted for going to church on

weekdays and holidays, for bringing their children to the temple, or for speaking freely about God. During that crusade Natalia was extremely touched by the inspiring speech of a beautiful 43-year-old lady in a wheelchair from the United States of America, Joni Eareckson Tada. At that moment, Natalia could not begin to imagine that in less than 10 years a car

accident would also put her, a happily married woman and mother of a small son, in a wheelchair. Or that in exactly 16 years she would personally meet Joni and that they would work together to make life easier for many people with disabilities.

In August 2019, Natalia Semeniuk, now Bolchuk, and her husband Sergiy had the opportunity to meet Joni again, to converse with her, and to ask her several questions:

As a 17-year-old athlete, what was the most difficult thing for you after you dove into the Chesapeake Bay in 1967?

“As a teenager, I was very involved with sports, and enjoyed hiking, camping, and running. After I broke my neck, all these ‘pleasures’ were suddenly taken away from me, and I struggled with ‘what to do next?’ My identity was so wrapped up in athletics, that I lost a sense of ‘who I was.’ Once I became severely paralyzed, who was I supposed to be?! I felt lonely, afraid, and totally disconnected from God.”

What was life like for people with disabilities in the US in the 1970s?

“Before the ‘Rehabilitation Act of 1973’ was passed in the US Congress, there was virtually no funding for spinal cord injury rehab programs. That’s why, when I became injured, I remained on the geriatric ward of a state institution for nearly a year. Most churches did not know what to do to help families like mine. In the mid-70s, however, the ‘independent living movement’ began to gain steam, laying the foundation for the ‘Americans with Disabilities Act’ which passed Congress in 1990. This law removed barriers for Americans with disabilities in the areas of employment, transportation, and public accommodations.”

At that time were churches actively ministering to people with disabilities?

“In the 1970s, not many churches were involved in disability ministry. If they were, those ministries were ‘separated’ from the mainstream of church life. When the ADA was passed and concepts such as ‘inclusion’ and ‘mainstreaming’ became understood and grasped, churches began to include more special needs families. However, even those concepts have evolved, and churches now are beginning to realize that people with disabilities don't want to simply ‘be included or mainstreamed.’ People with disabilities and their families want to ‘belong.’ They want to embraced as part of the family of God. Thus, disability ministry now centers more on building healthy, mutually-dependent relationships rather than designing an isolated, segregated ‘department’ that addresses peoples' special-needs.”

What are the main principles of Joni and Friends?

“Joni and Friends is dedicated to communicating the gospel of Christ, which is the salvation message of Jesus' work on the cross for sinners, adorned by acts of mercy and practical service. We implement this through Family Retreats, Wheels for the World, Marriage Getaways, and Warrior Getaways. Joni and Friends extends this mission by training churches on evangelizing and discipling people affected by disability.”

How did you develop the strategy of ministry and work in the USA and in other countries?

“The organization is called Joni and Friends for a reason. Our strategic objectives are carried out through staff, joining with like-hearted friends who share the same vision. Those friends are comprised of our volunteers in the US, and healthy partnerships with like-minded ministries overseas.”

What is your strategy for influencing churches to become more involved in disability ministry?

“Joni and Friends encourages churches to participate in our Family Retreats and other programs. This gives congregational members a vision of outreach possibilities within their own church. We also make ‘an example’ of thriving disability-friendly churches, so that other congregations gain a clear picture of what is possible. We provide resources and training for churches.”

You were appointed to the Disability Advisory Committee of the U.S. State Department at the age of 56. What battles were won while you served on that committee?

“The role of our Disability Advisory Committee was to advise the US Secretary of State on sensitive disability concerns in other countries so she might have a clear understanding of the plight/problems that special needs families were facing in the international arena. It was also our responsibility to advise USAID on whether or not disability-related applications for US funds were truly being used for the genuine well-being of persons with disabilities. Regarding a certain battle, our committee was shown a sensitive, covert film revealing the abuse of institutionalized young people with CP in a particular Eastern European nation. I shared this news/confidential film with Steve Bundy and our team at Joni and Friends. It gave us the impetus to invest in an International Family Retreat in that particular nation, encouraging Christian volunteers to serve in that institution.”

You served on The National Council on Disability under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. How did the tasks regarding the protection of rights for people with disabilities in the USA change between 1988 and 2005?

“This is a complex question which is difficult to answer in a paragraph! For various reasons, government resources for implementing disability programs have become more limited, thus making it more challenging for people with disabilities, young and old, to thrive in our society. Also, people disabilities who are despairing of their condition are beginning to support efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide in their states. Safeguards surrounding the right-to-life of medically fragile people, young and old, are being dismantled. Our country is in desperate need of a biblical worldview on disability; a worldview that extols the sacredness of life, and the human dignity of all persons, no matter how medically-fragile their condition.”

What was your contribution to the process of drafting and signing the Manhattan Declaration and why is it important for American society?

“I did not participate in the drafting of The Manhattan Declaration, but I served as one of its founding co-signers. In an ancillary way, I believe that Joni and Friends' biblical view on disability contributed to formulating discussions. The Declaration is important to all societies and cultures, not only the US, given that it brings clarity to biblical principles on religious freedoms, the institution of marriage, and the sanctity of life.”

What goals do you want to see Joni and Friends reach in the next 10-20 years?

“I am very excited about our Cause 4 Life internship program as we impart our vision to a new generation of young people who long for authenticity in their Christian faith. I would love to see an expansion in our global internships. I would love to see Joni and Friends better resource our international partners. I would love to see an expansion of our four major programs which include Family Retreats, Wheels for the World, International Family Retreats, Marriage Getaways, and Warrior Getaways. It will mean many more people with disabilities and their families will hear the salvation message of Jesus Christ, and have an opportunity to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

In your opinion, what is the biggest success that God has allowed you to achieve?

“It's hard to really define success until that day I hear my Savior say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been trustworthy in a few things, now enter into the happiness of your Master.’ And so, I strive to be found trustworthy in God's eyes. I strive to be faithful to that which he has called me. Every day, I strive to be actively engaged in my own sanctification so that I might daily be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. I strive to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel; that is, I strive to not do anything that would shame Christ, or stain his holy reputation in the eyes of others.”

And in conclusion, may we ask you a personal question? On one hand, you are a successful and happily married woman. On the other hand, in addition to the pain and suffering you have to endure and overcome each day as a result of your injury, you were diagnosed with cancer in 2010. As a result, you underwent medical treatment…and not just one time. Where do you find the strength to fight on?

(Joni pauses, her eyes filling with tears)

“I’m not sure how to answer that question. Because if I look at the totality of my life, I’d be overwhelmed by how hard it is. Just yesterday I was answering a letter from a young man who broke his neck diving into the ocean. He needed some advice, he said. So I began writing him about some of the things he should expect as he starts his rehabilitation.

And I just burst into tears. I don’t know how he’s going to do it. It just seems so impossible for him. And I look at my life 52 years later and it still feels impossible. But…one day at a time. Every day you wake up and say, ‘I cannot do this disability. It’s too much. It’s overwhelming. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So Jesus, you be the good quadriplegic today because I can’t do it.’

And I think that is a great illustration of the verse in Galatians which says, ‘I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.’ We quote that verse and it rolls off our tongues, but to actually live it, and to live it every day, to crucify, to die to…your wants and wishes and fears and hopes and dreams and anxieties, worries… to die to all that and say, ‘Jesus, I can’t do it, but you can.’

So every day is its own little victory. And then they all get added up. I don’t know how they get added up. They all get added up so fast. And you look back and you think, ‘Wasn’t I just the girl crying in rehab like that young man who broke his neck?’ And you don’t know where the time has gone. It’s really a very biblical way to live. It’s a Christian way to live. To boast in your afflictions and delight in the limitations, for then you know Christ’s power rests on you. And that’s what really keeps my smile. I can cry so easily because of the pain, but I can be so happy with a snap-of-the-finger seeing the transformation that Jesus has made. It’s just amazing!”