Joao’s Journey in The USA began on Tuesday, Jan 16, 2024
Look who we spent the day with yesterday. We started at 2:30 am at the Cleveland airport (-13 degrees) and headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to collect Joao and his mom. We rented a minivan and drove to West Palm Beach. They speak Portuguese, and we don’t. Joao is super smart and well-mannered. I love him. Mom is amazing, resilient, and attentive to her son. That chair that was collectively bought by some of you is a blessing!!! To see him independent and securely moving about would have been enough of a gift. I have so much to report about our first day later. Today is the big day we see the team at Paley. He has little strength and can not bear weight. Moving him is next to impossible. We have an entire day of trying our best to share with you later. The family needs an adaptive van that he can drive on. We are in it to win it and keep him included.
Wednesday January 18th, 2024
We are processing our day. This is one special pair! A love story of hard! Joao is so sweet, sensitive, kind, witty, and compliant. His Mommy is loving, dedicated, hard-working, selfless, and beautiful. She resonates from the inside out. She eats his leftovers and saves the best for him. Today was Not what we were hoping. A Mother never wants to learn the things we learned or hear the words we heard. She is processing and keeping herself more together than I did. I don’t like life-threatening words to describe my children, and neither does she. His legs are the least of his problems. Joao may be in a life-threatening situation, according to his X-rays. We need an MRI to see more of the story. Things are very serious for this treasure on so many levels. Depending on what his MRI reveals will decide what happens and how fast. We are praying! I hope his MRI tells a better story than his X-rays. Getting these X-rays took 4 to 5 of us, and he ended up on the floor( intentionally!) This family spent many years with no hope. And then- but God
While waiting for the MRI appointment, we had fun and made memories. We went shopping, to the Turtle Rescue, and to see the Ocean!
And then he and his mom found themselves at a Christian conference praising God in their native language! Some Pastors had come in from Brazil at the same time they arrived. Tickets were donated for them to attend. The Pastor made a call for anyone who wanted to accept Christ into their life, and this brave small boy sitting in a wheelchair at the back raised his hand and said, “I.” God is faithful and full of mercy.
