We are where we are today because God has been bringing to us many godly servants whose help empowers our services for the listeners. Joni & Friends organization is one of them. Their insightful audio programs enable listeners to see handicapped people the way God sees them. Besides offering free wheelchairs and organizing annual camps for the handicapped, Joni & Friends produces audio programs since 2010, sharing the struggles, faith, life stories, and services provided by the handicapped. We have more than three hundred radio programs from them; twenty-eight came in this month, with more to come. These resources enable us to connect with listeners who are handicapped and their families and friends.
Mrs. Joni Eareckson Tada, the head of Joni & Friends, is a godly writer whose writings are full of Spirit-led insights into the world of the handicapped. In one recent series, for example, Mrs. Tada said, “I just want to have a healthy baby!”, a common answer of a pregnant women when asked about what is Mom’s wish for the baby, yet it could be hurtful to the parent of a handicapped child if she or he is at the presence of the scene. A better way to reply is, “we are praying for a healthy baby, but we will still love the baby if God choose to give us a special and handicapped baby.” Because every child is created by God, inherited in God’s image, value, and mission. Therefore, a handicapped person can live a fulfilled and meaningful life just as everyone else does. Such insight equips listeners to be respectful and sensitive.
Handicapped people are no different from us in God’s eyes. They deserve our respect as having the same possibilities and values in life. We thank God that Brother Gayle Crowe and Edward Short visited Joni & Friends many years ago, as in that visit permission for us to use their programs was granted. When Edward Short retired in 2018, Mrs. Yaling Wang, the Chinese voice for Joni & Friends, visited us in Nashville. She not only assisted us with an interview, she and I also developed a mutual appreciation and trust as we move into future cooperation. We thank God for sending us Joni & Friends who enriches our capability to serve our listeners.
The highlight of April programming was the Easter program. Many listeners were drawn to our daily program during the Easter weekend and to the feature stories on our website. We first introduced peace as a basic human need reflected clearly during the pandemic, with the song “Peace in Christ,” which is widely shared on social media. Then, we introduced peace as a difficult blessing secured by the Son of God, our redeemer Jesus Christ. Research writing by Dr. Frederick T. Zugibe, M.D., Ph.D., the chief medical officer of Rockwood County, New York, disclosed the physical pains Jesus suffered from caning, wearing a crown of thrones, to crucifixion through the forensic pathologist’s diagnostic explanation. The passion of Christ causes listeners to think why it was that Jesus would willingly suffer.
The last feature story presented peace as God’s new creation, in which Jesus’ death has crushed the power of sins and the Devil. Our lives are continuously renewed by Jesus’ death and the Spirit of truth; guilt and fear are replaced with healing due to the sufferings of Jesus; and even death no longer has the power to subdue us because of the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Special thanks to Dr. Leonard Allen who sheds light on this new life we can have by faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Talking about new life in Christ, we interviewed brother Pete Long from Viet Nan. He shared the story of his life as a refugee and his new life in Christ. The change could occur because of the selfless help he received from Christians so that his family members were able to get situated, receive an education, found jobs, and settled down in their new home in California. A Christian man invited Pete to a Bible study at church. Since then, he began to see God’s hand in his life. He also understands the cruelty of war and the hopelessness of humanity. After Pete puts his trust in Jesus, he now sees God everywhere—in lives, in nature, and in the Bible. Pete could be an uncertain and fearful refugee for the rest of his life, but because of Jesus he now has the anchor of life, a new life full of peace and hope before him.
There are a few more life changing stories in our April broadcasts. Listeners get to hear how a gambler became a church minister due to the power of Jesus. How a piano became a tool of change pulling neighbors together during the dragging pandemic, singing praises to God and fellowship in love. How Jesus helps wives to understand their husbands’ silence after work and enables their marriage to endure through challenges. How in a God moment a daughter made a unilateral decision, like the one Christ made, to accept her father again who had hurt her repeatedly. All these programs in the month of Easter aim to help listeners to see new life as a real possibility if they put their trust in Christ Jesus.
Please pray that God’s Spirit works through our programs to turn listeners’ hearts toward God through Jesus. I thank my co-workers, Shumei and Salina, for their tireless devotion. We thank you for your prayers for us and your continuous interest in our service. May God use us together as servants of Christ Jesus for the Chinese people.
