You're listening to the Family Discipleship podcast, a podcast of Training the Church.

This is Adam Griffin, and before I introduce you to our truly wonderful guests, let me first

introduce my lovely co-host. You guys know her. She's Mrs. Cassie, Bryant. How you doing today, Cassie?

Oh, well, I'm holding back tears from meeting a hero of our faith right now. I'm so excited about our guest today. Well, who's that? Why don't you introduce our guest today, Cassie? Really? Oh, well, it is a pleasure to introduce Johnny, Eric Santata. Well, you're so sweet to say that I am honored to be on

with you and Adam and of course all of our friends tuning in all your subscribers. What a joy to be with you.

It is a joy. On the scale of meeting Billy Graham and presidents and now finally for you,

the Family Disapplicit podcast hosts, I'm sure this is right there at the top of the list, but I'll tell you for us, for Cassie, this really is for getting to meet one of her heroes. Cassie, isn't that right? Yeah, yeah, I've just, I've followed your story for a long time and someone that's been in children's ministry for a long time. We've partnered with Johnny and friends. We've gone to trainings and yeah it's just amazing what God has done in and through you and you're just a gift

to the church and well Cassie i've gone to trainings and yeah, it's just amazing what God has done in and through you. And you're just a gift to the church. Well, Cassie, I've got to ask you, when did you read the Johnny book? How old were you? Oh, oh gosh. I don't even know. I don't know. A little kid, probably. Yes, it must have been. I grew up in the church. So it's, and then I heard you.C. at the Evangelicals for Life conference a couple years ago. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I can hardly believe that this year, the 45th anniversary edition of the Johnny book is being released. And I know we're not talking about that, but I look back and I think of all the many people who have been blessed by that book. And I'm humbled, honored, blessed, flattened by God's mercy and goodness. Well, Johnny, since, you know, Cassie and I have gotten to hear from you before, we've gotten to see you before, we know your ministry. But for those who are listening who maybe don't know you, would you mind introducing yourself just a little bit and telling us a little about you and about your ministry?

Well, our listeners can't see this, but Adam, I'm sitting in a wheelchair.

I don't have use of my hands, nor do I have use of my legs.

I have lived as a quadriplegic for 55 years in a wheelchair.

When I was 17 years old, I took a reckless dive in shallow water and hit the bottom that snapped my head back. It crushed my vertebrae in my neck,

and that severed my spinal cord. And what can I say? I was plummeted into depression when doctors

told me I'd never walk again or have use of my hands or legs. All this came on the heels of me

praying a prayer that very year just months before my accident. Jesus, I need to get closer to you.

I'm heading off to college and I know I'm going to screw things up. So Jesus, please grip my life, grip my heart, do something to make me

not wander away from you when I go off to college. Well, I prayed that I think in April or May

of 1967 and then I broke my neck on July could not not, for the life of me, understand what in the world was God thinking when he took that prayer seriously?

I just could not believe that a broken neck would be God's way of answering a prayer to be drawn closer to him.

It just seems so unlike the Lord.

But now, many decades later, I see the strange, odd, mysterious, wise ways of our Lord.

Yeah.

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