In Latin America, many young people look forward to the opportunity to meet with friends and dance the night away on Fridays and Saturdays. Others live for Sundays, when they can go to church and serve.
Julia used to enjoy all of these activities.
Her daughter, Yamileth, describes her as a “very spirited person” who used to love dancing with friends and serving at her church, but at her advanced age– Julia is 100 years old, though you’d never tell by her quick wit and her vibrant personality–she had become too weak to walk on her own. Her days were spent lying in bed, reminiscing about things many of us take for granted, with Yamileth taking care of her.
Thankfully, the story doesn’t end here.
Grupo Do It, one of our distribution partners in Costa Rica, brought a wheelchair to Julia, making sure that it fit properly and suited her needs. Julia and her daughter seemed giddy at the prospect of Julia being mobile again. “We’re excited because I will be able to take her to church again. She misses it,” says Yamileth, who now has more time to run errands and pursue income-generating opportunities, thanks to the freedom that the gift of a wheelchair has given them both.
A grinning Julia adds, “I should be taken dancing now, on my wheelchair! I want to thank you for the beautiful and precious gift that you’ve given me today.”
Julia may not be able to dance like she did when she was 16, but the grin on her face, as well as on Yamileth’s, expresses a renewed sense of hope and joy.
On behalf of Julia and Yamileth, I thank you for your part in helping to transform their lives.
Blessings,
Don Schoendorfer
