About me
I'm Joni Huopana, a man (31 y) from Finland. I live in Tampere with my beloved wife. Tampere is the biggest inland city in the Nordic countries with a population of over 210 000. Check out the My hometown Tampere page for more information and photos.
Over the years I've done some part-time work with graphic design, websites and translation tasks. I have also written articles about disability and accessibility issues in many papers and magazines and as a columnist. My latest project is psychology studies at the university.
I have a rare disease called Nemaline myopathy which is a neuromuscular condition that causes some weakness of muscle strength.
In my case NM, as we call it, means that I drive a powerchair and use a ventilator (about 22-23 hours a day). I like to say that these devices are not a limit – on the contrary they enable me to live a happy and normal life. Using ventilators and wheelchairs have been a part of my life for a long time, over 20 years.
I believe in Jesus, which is a fundamental in my life. I got saved when I was 18. I consider myself a Pentecostal Christian who is not afraid of barriers between churches. I think of myself also especially as a friend of missionary work because I grew up in a Pentecostal church which has the most missionary workers relative to the number of members in Finland.
The Christian faith gives great depth to life. The meaning of life is not about family-work-friends-hobbies – it's deeper than that. In the normal daily life faith is knowing and being thankful for God's love. My motto is that every good thing comes from God. It's also important to go to the church.
I have some hobbies that I like to tell about – they bring joy to the daily life. Music is the most important of them as not a day passes without some good music. Another meaningful one is traveling, especially with the Baltic ferries. I have been to a few countries and also lived in France for a short time.