A Good Day

We had a beautiful day yesterday. We traveled a little over three hours to visit Maranatha family vacation/conference center in Muskegon, it is right between Lake Michigan and a small lake named Mono Lake. Even though it was rainy at times it was also lovely with the fall colors and falling leaves and what beautiful facilities they have!! We were there to check out the site for the summer Joni and Friends Family Retreat. It will be able to hold approximately 95 families. (truly amazing!!) I wrote about our summer experience this past August in upper MI, in an earlier post. It is such a necessary break for many families who have who have loved ones with special needs. This facility has condos, hotel rooms, apartments and houses, they have a beautiful pool, tennis courts, a climbing wall and a zip line. There will be horseback riding, a gorgeous beach and trails to wander as well as fishing and boating. There is an amazing gym with a workout room and a fully staffed cafeteria (believe it or not, the food was very good!) There are also plenty of meeting rooms and a huge chapel for services. The people who plan this event were so excited and can't wait!!

Now comes the hard part...we have to find Short Term Missionaries or STM's for short. We are going to have start recruiting area churches to look for people who want to serve. It is a great way to experience a mission trip without having to pay so much and travel out of the country. Everyone who serves love the experience and want to go back, our problem is we always need to find more people because there are so many new families each year.

We need to pray and ask God to lead us to the right place and the right people.

Contentment

The last weekend in August Kevin, Lance and I went to the Joni and Friends Family Retreat in upper Michigan. This was our fourth retreat and just like always, it was amazing. I believe it is possibly the only place where families with disabilities can go and totally relax, renew, and recreate. In the normal world we walk in everyday, we are always conscious of the way our loved one is viewed, at the retreats we are the norm and everyone is accepted no matter what. It feels a little of what I expect heaven to be like. We are whole in God's eyes. Each person with a disabilty is paired up with a volunteer short term missionary who spends the entire time one on one with that person doing things such as going to services, making crafts, hiking, paddle boating, singing, swimming, horseback riding, eating, etc... Jon, Lance's STM is an amazing man. He has two daughters with disabilities himself, which gave him incredible insight with Lance. They got along wonderfully!

I was asked to facilitate a small group composed of women with adult children with special needs. This was so humbling. When each woman told her story I became so grateful for the small inconveniences that I experience with Lance. One mother's daughter has juvenile arthritis who is confined to a wheelchair and unable to do anything for herself. This women is in her 70's and is still bathing, dressing, feeding and moving her forty something daughter (who, by the way, is an incredible woman in her own right). She also is caring for another daughter who has recently escaped a horrible abusive marriage and was diagnosed with stage three cancer.

Another woman's youngest son (of five boys!!) is severe/profoundly disabled and in a wheelchair. She takes care of his needs without complaining...she is also taking care of her mother who has Alzheimer's and is a wheelchair as well. Do you know what she was so excited to do while there that weekend? Walk down stairs and hold hands with her husband.

The stories go on... The common thread spoken throughout the camp was "and I thought I had it rough". You see, when confronted with what others go through, our own struggles don't seem so bad. We also see the amazing Grace that God gives to each of us to carry the burdens we have. "...I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me and my faith will help you." Romans 1:12, New Century Version.

I came away from Family Retreat once again with the feeling of contentment. Yes, I struggle everyday, but knowing that God is there and is lifting me up, helps me get through the tough times.

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