Episode 185. Joni Eareckson Tada
Joni Eareckson Tada, the Founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, is an international advocate for people with disabilities. A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair. After two years of rehabilitation, she emerged with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in similar situations. She founded Joni and Friends in 1979 to provide Christ-centered ministry to special-needs families, as well as training for churches. Joni and Friends serves thousands of special-needs families through Family Retreats, and has delivered over 170,000 wheelchairs and Bibles to needy individuals with disabilities in developing nations. Joni survived stage III breast cancer in 2010, yet keeps a very active schedule. Her newest book, A Spectacle of Glory, won best devotional book in the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s 2017 Christian Book Awards – it contains fresh biblical insights from her battle with chronic pain. Joni is General Editor of Tyndale’s Beyond Suffering Bible, a special edition published for those who suffer chronic conditions, and their caregivers. She and her husband Ken were married in 1982 and reside in Calabasas, California. You can learn more about Joni’s ministry at www.joniandfriends.org or can write her at response@joniandfriends.org.
