Joni and Friends Retreat

I am so blessed! My family and I were able to attend Joni and Friends (JAF) retreat last week in Michigan. It is a retreat for families with special needs. My friend, Mary has been wanting us to go for so long and we finally felt that were able to go. I am so glad we went!
I wasn't sure what to expect at all. Mary had given me an idea, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it.
When we got to camp, (at the beautiful Marantha Bible Camp) we were greeted by a group of people who just gave us hugs and welcomed us to retreat. Then we walked into the main lodge where we were welcomed by two lines of people who clapped and "whooped" as we walked through. I was overwhelmed. I consider myself a people person, but there were so many people there who just wanted to love on us. I got pretty emotional.
We then met our STM (short term missionary) who is there to be a helper for Drew throughout the week. Joey was great. He was laid back and fit right in with our family. Joey ate with us at every meal and if the boys got squirmy, Joey would take them to the playground and let Eric and I finish our meal. How cool is that!?
After all the people, I was ready to find our room and just relax. When we found out that we had a two bedroom/two bath apartment, I was thrilled. I am not sure how we ended up with such a great place! On our table in the apartment, was a bag with gifts for all of us. How they knew what we all liked was just a God thing. Jarod was exited that he got his room for the week!
In the evening, we enjoyed seeing all the other families gather for worship and fun. I was overwhelmed knowing that Andrew could just be himself there. He could stand on the pew, sway back and forth, giggle and worship in his way. And, no one stared. I didn't feel pressured to have to make him sit. It was OKAY! This was the way church should be.
After worship was an icecream social. The boys were so excited to see a miniature golf course on the property. They had a ball.
The next three mronings were filled with worship, teaching and small group time for the parents. The woman in my group were perfectly placed for the week. We all have children on the autism spectrum. We laughed, cried, shared and prayed together. What a blessing they are! We are now facebook friends and can continue to encourage each other.
During the parents tme, the kids went to their own "class time". It was more like a cool VBS program. Joey went with Andrew and Jarod was with other kids his age.
In the afternoon, we had family time. Andrew went ot the pool everyday! It was heated and most times, he had it to himself! It was a little chilly most of the week. Jarod tried rock climbing, the zip line and swimming. Those were his favorite things!
Tuesday evening we had a western night. JAF brought in farm animals for the families to pet and just have fun with. Then we had a square dance! The boys weren't too into it, but that was OKAY! Andrew was impressed with the fiddle player, however!
Wednesday night the parents had a date night! We had a wonderful dinner of prime rib! The kids went to a carnval while we dined and walked along the beach.
THursday night was talent night. There were so many people that participated. Kids and adults with down syndrome, CP, autism and non-disabilities all had great gifts to share. Jarod even shared some magic tricks. We were very proud of our usually very anxious and shy 9 year old!
Eric summed up the trip well by saying, "We can go to Pokagon or camp ground and do the same kind of things, but we won't get our needs met as parents and as a family." I think we might want to go again next year!
Here are some pics: