Veggie Tales, LarryBoy & Gavin... relation?

A few months back a story began to unfold. This story was about Gavin's imagination and determination in discovering his life solutions. The source, LarryBoy!! The rest of the story is revealed in my letter to Mr. Mike Nawrocki (the voice of LarryBoy)...
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Dear Mr. Mike Nawrocki,

Greetings!

I am sure that you receive many emails, letters and such, so I will try and keep this brief. I am writing this email because of the interview that I heard on the radio with (I believe) Chris Favry Live on Moody radio. After hearing your testimony as to how Veggie Tales came into existence and how you originally were seeking to become a medical missionary in Africa, I thought I should write you this letter.

My wife and I have two girls (Kali – 10yrs, Ayla – 8yrs) and two boys (Gavin – 4yrs and adopted, Eli – 2yrs and a foster child). Both of our boys have special needs and it is a bit of a story as to how the Lord led us to this point but what I wanted to focus on was Gavin.

Gavin has a condition called arthrogryposis. His joints stiffened in the mother’s womb and consequently has very limited use of his arms and legs. He drives around in a power wheelchair with his mouth and is learning how to function in this world with his capabilities.

What eventually struck me was this; Gavin loves to watch Larryboy. He looks up to LarryBoy as a great hero who can do many things. Of course, I see all of the humor of Larryboy and enjoy watching the show myself (yes, I am a big kid too). Gavin, however, sees it from a different perspective (which of course took me a while to see). He sees a superhero, which he wants to be, that can do great things with no legs or arms. LarryBoy can do many super things without legs and arms. What he often likes to use is (of course you know this) his plunger ears.

So, how I finally pulled this all together was when Gavin kept telling me over and over that he wanted a LARRYBOY HELMET! Yes, he wanted a helmet as well so that he too could be a superhero with great functional ears. It touched my heart after I really understood what was going on inside his mind.

I write this to you because I now know that you have a heart for special needs children as well as medical missions. In a way, this was a great medical mission touched from Veggie Tales to my son Gavin. You have given him hope to be that superhero. My prayer is that he will eventually see that he too can be a great superhero for our Lord Jesus Christ and touch others for his name sake.

God bless and thank you.

Jeromy Scheel


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..reply from Big Idea...

Dear Jeromy,

Thank you for taking the time to write this incredibly touching story of Gavin and his love for LarryBoy. Our staff is moved to hear this story. Your letter has been forwarded to Mike Nawrocki. The inspiration that Mike Nawrocki's Super Hero LarryBoy has obviously given to Gavin is awesome. Hearing this story makes us feel both honored and humbled to know that our VeggieTales have benefited Gavin in such a profoundly meaningful way. It encourages us to continue doing what we do.

As a token of our appreciation, and in celebration of Gavin's courage and bravery as an authentic SuperHero, we would like to send him a LarryBoy costume. May he wear it and continue to be courageous!

I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Big Idea - Makers of VeggieTales