Blog / A New Kind of “Fellowship:” Each Member Created On and For a Purpose
A New Kind of “Fellowship:” Each Member Created On and For a Purpose
written by Karen Feaver, parent of PJ Feaver, Class of 2023
As the flight from Sao Paulo took off, I could tell that I wasn’t feeling well. We were headed home after serving with the maiden-mission International Family Retreat (IFR) partnering Joni and Friends and Shepherds College, a Wisconsin-based post-secondary school for young adults with disabilities. It had been an exhilarating but exhausting time of ministry.
Once home, I was sure I wasn’t feeling well, so my son PJ and I decided we would rest for a few days and watch yet again the masterful Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies.
The series begins with the “Fellowship of the Ring,” telling the story of how nine uniquely gifted characters form a band united in a single mission: to destroy the “one ring to rule them all” in Mordor. The writer Tolkien brought together in resolute partnership a wise Wizard, a mighty dwarf, a ranger who-would-be-King, a keen Elven archer, a prince from Gondor, and three hobbits all in support of a single “ring-bearer,” Frodo.
They were intrepid, united in holy purpose. The quest was epic, historic, one-of-a-kind.
As the captivating first film unfolded to bring this “fellowship” providentially together, it occurred to me that our small mission of Shepherds College graduates and alums – the first team of young adults with disabilities to serve internationally on an IFR -- were a similarly “bonded” mighty fellowship in the Lord of eight brothers and sisters, also united in allegiance to the unseen King among us. Our Shepherds College “fellowship” did not face physical enemies, but there were plenty of individual and collective fears that threatened to derail them. And yet they prevailed as a team that blended together each individual, so innately gifted to serve in ways that could neither have been foreseen nor mimicked – and of which the older adults among us often stood in awe. The humble giftings of each of the Shepherds College students and alums combined with beautiful love for Jesus to become a powerful force, both individually and magnified corporately, a team only the Lord God Himself could bring together.
I’d love to introduce them to you, the extraordinary ones who made up our own holy “Fellowship:” Libbie, Jessica, P.J., Brett, Matthew, Amber, Sarah, and Andrea.
Precious Libbie is small in stature but great in faith, with long brown hair. She is a missionary daughter who spent considerable time in Laos while growing up. Not unlike the others, she called upon deep reserves in the Lord and pressed through numerous fears to serve. She arrested my attention and my heart one morning during devotions by quietly referring to the famous Rio statue, Christ the Redeemer, as “Christ MY Redeemer.” A slip-of-the-tongue that was a window into her heart. All the world knows that stunningly majestic statue overlooking Rio as a wonder-of-the-world called “Christ the Redeemer,” Christo Redentor. Libbie knows Him as HER Redeemer.
From the mouths of babes.
Meet sweet Jessica, who bravely volunteered to lead morning devotions from the tough last passage of Romans 12 about leaving vengeance to God, the call to return good for evil. One morning our Joni internship leader Kimi Archer asked the group for favorite Bible verses. Jessica said that she loved the creation story where God made everything and called it “good,” but when He made us He said we were “very good.” The message of Shepherds College had clearly sunk down deep for her: “You, just as you are, were created ON and FOR a purpose.” She got it, in the very depths of her soul, and radiated the lovely truth of Her belovedness to each of us daily. She and I made some of our favorite memories while pushing our “buddies” around together in their wheelchairs, singing “Jesus Loves Me” -- “Jesus Te Ama” in Portuguese – listening with joy and laughter as our little Brazlian friends sang and voiced the words as they were able, side-by-side.
My own son P.J., adopted from Thailand at three years old, was returning to Brazil a second time with Joni and Friends, this time as a mentor of the team. PJ has a heart and a smile the size of Texas, and looks like he could be Brazilian – in-likeness a “brother” to Pastor Mello who leads a ministry to 500 disabled in the Curitiba church that hosted us. PJ felt keenly the God-given gift of both of his trips to Brazil, and he daily encouraged the team out of that enthusiasm and in sensitivity for his teammate-friends’ unique needs. He also won the award for having the most active wheelchair-bound “buddy” at family retreat, giving his considerable energy to young Davi to the point that Davi’s Mom told us in Portuguese that Davi ran PJ’s battery out!
Brett came along as one of the older Shepherds’ graduates, and brought wisdom beyond his years. Brett works in the deli at Walmart, and his kind, stately presence must bless all who meet him. He is such a deep lover of the Lord and His Word. When I privately found out mid-mission that his birthday fell on the first day our team would be serving on family retreat, he made me promise NOT to share that information, telling me so earnestly that it was a day designed for Jesus to be glorified through our service. Not for honoring himself. What a gem he is. And one of the more honorable men in the faith I’ve ever met. One of my favorite photos from the trip captures Brett coming down a slide at the trampoline park, with his small, disabled “buddy” on his lap!
Next meet Matthew, a tall, reserved Korean-American, who seeks to honor the Lord – and his Mom – in every way possible. Having lost both a stepfather and father tragically, he touched us all deeply on Father’s Day by saying that he had prayed that morning, wishing our Heavenly Father – who created us and all things – “Happy Father’s Day.” And then he added: “I also told Him that if He saw my dad(s), to please tell them 'Happy Father’s Day' for him."
Amber has the most brilliant curly red hair and an impish, huge smile that shields a lion’s heart. She was adopted from foster care at 8 years old and I overheard one of the Shepherds’ leaders quoting her Mom: “They said she wouldn’t walk, and she’s going to Brazil!!” That girl has the preacher in her and led our morning devotions by moving into the center of our circle to stand before us, knee braces over her jeans. If her disability slowed her, it surely didn’t stop that Spirit-empowered young woman. I watched in amazement at Joni’s House in Curitiba as she sat beside an adult with profound needs named Max, giving him the gift of her gentle presence. She instinctively knew how to come alongside him in coloring and lacing up a shoe on a board for occupational therapy, communicating effortlessly and without words, step-by-step how to color the next section or lace the next hole. We called a translator over for her to tell Max at the end of our afternoon: “I’ll always remember you.” And in another unforgettable moment, she quietly took her own headphones – which help regulate outside stress and decibel levels – and put them onto my young buddy Renato’s ears during a family retreat worship service that became too noisy and emotional for him. She just intuitively knew how he felt.
Sarah is a Chinese-American adoptee who served so beautifully as the second “returning” mentor for the team. Sarah became so dear to me last year when she and PJ came to Sao Paulo to serve as the first Shepherds College students on a Joni and Friends wheelchair distribution mission in Sao Paulo. She melted our hearts when she sang “Good, Good Father” with all her soul on the bus one morning. This year she repeatedly quoted Psalm 139 and told us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Andrea is a recent Shepherds graduate who lost her Mom about ten years ago. She loves children and hopes to work with kids occupationally upon her return. She bravely worked through not feeling well early in the trip, continuing to serve and was always the first to raise her hand when Kimi asked for insights from Scripture or prayer requests or thanksgivings from our day. She touched us all during the devotional from the closing verses of Romans 12 when she shared about learning to pray for the boys who made fun of her at school while growing up.
Each of these extraordinary young adults had to overcome so many personal challenges daily just to be in a position to serve others who were similarly challenged. Some of the Shepherds students and alums are autistic and had to overcome tremendous social anxieties to reach beyond themselves. Some of them have been through unique wounds and trauma. Some of them get overwhelmed easily when things get too crowded or too boisterous – so our high-decibel weekend of serving Brazilian families with disabled children all around was particularly hard. Some of them just didn’t feel well during various portions of our trip. Traveling internationally without their families was a deeply audacious feat for them.
But I saw in each a persistence to continue caring for one another and the disabled in Brazil whom the Lord brought to us. I also saw a fearlessness. As our Joni shirts we wore for service spelled across our backs: “COROJOSES” (n English: FEARLESS).
While central casting wouldn’t find an exact Tolkien character’s match for each in our merry band, I could see the keen insight and wisdom of Gandolf in a few of the taller members of our fellowship, the ruddy courage of the dwarf Gimli in another, and the large-hearted faithfulness of Samwise Gamgee in yet another.
Joni loves to say that it’s not a disabilities ministry until the disabled are ministering.
These young adults with IDD loved and supported each other in such beautiful ways that my husband and I have seen displayed repeatedly while visiting Shepherds College, so compassionately and naturally. They intuitively understood some of the needs of our guests far better than we supposedly abled adults could. They sacrificed by resisting the temptation to be glued to their phones because they understood the high privilege of being chosen. They didn’t complain and didn’t need to have their preferred Starbucks drink to start their day for mission. Just those qualities alone put many of the rest of us elders in the faith to shame.
They taught us – and will continue to teach us – about how to serve in the ways and the love of Christ. They accomplished their epic quest, brightening and changing the lives of many disabled children in Brazil. And they also paved the way for more like-minded, like-hearted partnerships between Joni and Friends and Shepherds College teams to come because of the way they served and the high standard they set.
Their unseen Captain had chosen them individually to serve together. What Jesus already knew – but the rest of us on the team were privileged to discover – was how their combined gifts would shine in Brazil. They were truly His lights to the world, and it was the high privilege of every leader – Brazilian and American -- to watch them in action.
It is really easy to imagine Christ the Redeemer smiling over this “fellowship” as He symbolically watched them serve from His great height over Rio, saying so proudly over each one: “Libbie, Jessica, PJ, Sarah, Amber, Andrea, Matthew, and Brett: WELL DONE, my beloved children, so very WELL DONE.”
Karen Feaver is a writer in Durham, NC.