Joni and Friends
Jackson had their Family Retreat this past week. About half of the STMs
(short-term missionaries) were from my church-group, and we had such an amazing
time.
Every year, each STM
is paired with a prayer-partner for the week. I will go ahead and tell you
this: those relationships last. They don’t just last the week out. (I am still
very close friends with the girl whom was my partner last year, even though I haven't
seen her in over a year.) My partner
this year was Claire. She just happened to be the cousin of one of my
guy-friends from our church, so we had already met/had a connection. Claire was
paired with another STM, Ashlyn, and together, they worked with a girl named
Gracie, who was neither a camper nor a sibling, but I wont go into details on
that.
Most of my friends
were paired with campers (kids/adults with special needs) or a sibling of a
child with special needs. My sister was a buddy to a sweet, sweet girl named
Caroline, and through her, I became friends with Caroline's sister, Emily.
Caroline was a sibling; Emily was a camper. Their sweet parents (which I won't name for privacy reasons) were
amazing as well. Their dad was a laugh a minute, as were his daughters, and their sweet, sweet momma was just an angel. Leaving them was devastating for us girls,
for sure.
I didn't have a
"camper". I was paired with Meg, who jumped on this
crazy circus just two weeks ago--the week before camp was due to start. Meg is
an intern at Camp McDowell, which is where our retreat was, so she already knew
her way around the place. (So she was just as much my helper as I was hers!) She has an identical twin sister (who
wasn't there).
Meg was diagnosed
with CP (cerebral palsy) when she was a baby, and is now in a wheelchair, but
she is extremely independent (especially with her motor chair) so basically, my
job was to show her how our retreats work, to be a friend, and basically to tell
her about Joni and Friends and answer her questions about the ministry. We had
an amazing time together, even though we were really only together for the
first and second days. [Starting on day two, Meg and I basically only saw each
other at meals. She followed a different group each day to get the feel for
things, and I became a "floater", which I will explain momentarily.]
There were four
groups: Kids (which were basically 2-11), and then Youth and Young Adults sort
of varied. Youth
was originally teens in Jr. and Sr. Highschool/ that age, and Young Adult was college-age. However, last
year, those two groups were really uneven, so this year the names of the groups
stayed the same, but they were largely mixed in ages. And then there was the Adult group. ---The
youth, young-adult, and adult groups I am referring to here were for those with
special needs. The kids' group included both those with special needs and those
that were siblings of someone with special needs. '
The
parents/caretaker of the campers had each morning to themselves. We had
speakers that came to talk to them, and then there were activities in which
they could participate afterward, or they could just take the morning to be
with each other. That's the beauty of these camps; they are so flexible. The parents had freedom to do
whatever they needed to do to relax and rest without the worry of making sure
the kids were taken care of.
On that note, it was
the STMs' jobs to see to the kiddos! This is what makes the week so totally
worth all the exhaustion. It's not an easy week, but it is so completely worth
it. Most of my friends had campers. A few (including my sister, which I mentioned
earlier) had siblings, but most of my friends who were there were buddied up
with campers. The STMs eat breakfast with the families, then take the kids for
the day. There is VBS in the morning, and then after lunch, there are
recreational activities available for the kids. Swimming, hiking, boating,
Frisbee, basketball, fishing, shooting, slip-n-sliding, and just chilling out
were all available. That lasts from 1:00-3:00 pm. Then, at 3:00, the STMs get a
[much needed] time to just rest for a bit. The campers are all returned to
their families until dinner at 5:00 so the STMs can get together and hang out,
or just take a nap. The STMs are free for the two hours.
Every evening held a
new activity. The first evening we had an ice-cream social. The STMs and the
Camper families all hung out together and just had time to fellowship and get
to know each other. The second night, we had a square dance. We danced the night
away…until bedtime at 10:00… *laughs*. It was a lot of fun to learn. The third
evening (Wednesday) was a date-night for the parents. The kids/campers watched
a movie/drew pictures/played outside while the parent(s) had a date-night. (Or,
in the case of the single parents, had time to fellowship with each other.)
Our Theme for the week was "All Things
Possible" based off the verse that says "With man, this is
impossible, but with God, all things are possible." The last night, which
was Thursday, we had a talent-show. That verse rings so true with some of the
talent shown that night. (I am in the process of getting together some clips
from this, and will [hopefully] be able to post some of them at a later
time). Each STM worked with their camper
to come up with something to show. Some danced, some drew a picture, some
quoted scripture, some sang. Every single thing was unique, just like each
individual that came to camp. That's another beautiful thing about camp; there
is no stereotyping going on. Often times, we tend to label disabilities as
something terrible and we don’t take the time to see the individual. We see the
broken parts, but we never even look at the person beneath them. The talent
show is designed to break through that way of thinking. Their disability is
pushed aside and they walk [or roll :-) ] out on stage. It's their time to
shine. They have a chance to stand up and be who they are. They are known for
their ability, not their disability.
There was not a
single dry eye the night of the talent show. Not one.
JAF Family Retreat
at Camp McDowell (known to many as Family Camp) is an amazing week. Though it
is exhausting in (almost) every way possible: Mentally, physically,
emotionally, it is absolutely spiritually
rejuvenating. Leaning only on your own strength throughout the week is not an
option. There is absolutely no possible way to make it through that week
without prayer on your own part, and on the parts of others.
While some might say
it's too hard, it isn't. If it IS too hard, then you aren't leaning on God's
strength to make it through. These families do this all day long, every single
day. Most of us can barely take a week of it. Something becomes evident when you
are thrown into the worlds that these people live in. They are strong. We may
see them as people who only do it because they have to, but I have witnessed
this week sacrificial love.
These families didn't "have to".
They love their children and they want
to. I met families this week who chose
this life. I met a grandmother whose grandchildren--from two different
families--were left with her, and she doesn't know when--or if--their parents
will return. She could hand those kids over into foster care, but she choses
not to. I met a couple who recently adopted a little girl with autism. I met a
mother who was told she should have an abortion because her daughter would
never be able to communicate, and now, that girl can laugh, she can play, she
can talk. The only thing that she can't do is walk, and she gets along
perfectly well in her hot-pink chair. I know a family who has a son with (I
think) CP who is also blind. He loves to laugh. He smiles. He loves water, and
loves being in the pool. He loves music. He loves hearing his grandfather whistle,
and I'm telling you, that in itself…that beautiful relationship, will make you
cry.
There were so many
times throughout the week where I just had to stop for a moment, step back, and
just breathe a moment. I can't even begin to elaborate. The smiles, the
laughter, the joy that filled the whole camp is just something that unless you
are literally there, and unless you can
literally experience for yourself, you will just never even begin to
understand. The Love that goes around in that camp is phenomenal. The love and
friendship that is shared and passed on is abundant and overflowing.
God is just so, so,
so good, and I simply cannot even begin to elaborate on that. I know that I
left home on Sunday expecting to serve. I left on Friday, knowing that I was
served far more than I served. Those families taught me so much, and though I
am exhausted and still processing everything that happened this week, if I were
asked to do it again next week, I would [wash all my laundry and sleep for the
rest of the weekend] gladly jump right back in the car and absolutely do it
again.
When I turn eighteen
in a year and a quarter, I plan to do an internship with Joni and Friends. They
have such an amazing ministry, and I so want to be able to be a part of it. My
motives are partly self-centered, I am sure, but I do love the ministry, and,
come on… No one does anything without a partially selfish motive. Those
families touch my lives just as much--if not more--that I do theirs. I'm going
to leave you guys on that note and go relax a bet…and maybe watch a Doctor Who
with my sis...
