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ShareVolunteer and Change a Life at Family Retreat
It’s volunteer Short Term Missionaries (STMs) that make Family Retreat a one-of-a-kind experience for families with special needs. And serving changes our STMs’ lives too! Meet college student and first-time STM Nick. The experience transformed his college plans, his future, and his heart forever. “Serving as a Short Term Missionary at Family Retreat has completely changed me,” Nick told us. “I wanted to learn how...
Urgent: Your Help Needed!
.jpg "Urgent: Your Help Needed at Family Retreat")
The success of any Joni and Friends Family Retreat depends largely on having enough 'helping hands' to serve the special-needs families who attend. This year, most of our Family Retreats filled up very quickly with families – but we do not have enough 'short-term missionaries' (STMs) to help them. In fact, several of our retreats are in serious need of STMs! If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to come and volunteer, consider coming to these retreats that have the greatest need of your help – and thank you for serving Jesus by ministering to these families!
Mission Springs 1: June 10 - June 14, 2013 · Scotts Valley, CA
Kettunen: July 3 - July 7, 2013 · Tustin, MI
Mission Springs 2: July 15 - July 19, 2013 · Scotts Valley, CA
Fort Bluff Camp Dayton: July 21 - July 25, 2013 · Dayton, TN
Bonclarken 2: August 12 - August 16, 2013 · Flat Rock, NC
Twin Rocks: August 12 - August 16, 2013 · Rockaway Beach, OR
Castaway Club: August 15 - August 19, 2013 · Detroit Lakes, MN
A Mother Shares with You
Happy Mother’s Day! On this special day, we’re sharing a letter from Maria, a special needs mother who was able to attend Family Retreat because of your generosity. Thank you for your gifts that have blessed Maria and many mothers like her…
Click to read Maria's letter
Come Home With Us to Family Retreat!
Cathryn is a beautiful 21-year-old with a ready smile and a keen intellect. Her dad often serves as Camp Pastor at Family Retreat – but Cathryn has her own reasons for coming every summer. “I’m surrounded by love at Family Retreat,” she explains. “I can be myself without worrying about looking just right. There’s a side of me that comes out at Retreat that doesn’t come out any other place…. It’s an important part of my year because I can do things here I don’t normally do. It means something special to me to share my thoughts and hang out with people who understand me.” Cathryn’s family understands disability firsthand. “We had no clue...
Wanna Know What Happens at Family Retreat?
FRIENDS! Volunteers are the heart of Family Retreat. What does it take to serve? A willing heart and a loving pair of hands. In one short week, God can use you to lift a disabled child or adult to new awareness of God’s power at work in their weakness. And in the process, you’ll climb higher with Jesus, too, as you see His love reflected back to you through your special new friend.
STRENGTH! Under the banner of God’s great love and surrounded by His people, Joni and Friends builds families that stand strong for a lifetime. As beautiful family memories are made at Family Retreat, moms and dads and kids find wholeness and unity...
Do You Have a Heart to Serve?
Spend a week with us this summer giving and receiving the love of Jesus at Family Retreat! Here are a few ways you can jump into the joy of serving…. You could serve a child or adult with a disability as a Short Term Missionary. Do you have creative skills? Help out with art and recreation programs. Or be a part of our Prayer Team. If you aren’t able to attend, you could even join in by sponsoring a family through a Family Retreat Scholarship. We provide the training you need at all of our Family Retreats nationwide. Click here for our 2013 Family Retreat schedule and volunteer registration information. Join us today! The life you change might just be your own!
Families are Strengthened in Christ
The Boehm family stands out in a crowd. With four children under seven years old, they’ve got their hands full! The two oldest are twins, Seth and Marly. Seth has Down syndrome. Next come two more energetic little boys. At Family Retreat, your prayer is bringing healing and strength to all six hearts. “In the world, kids with disabilities are...
Come "Home" to Family Retreat!
Lorie and Andrew are parents of Ben, with spina bifida, and 3 other siblings. “We were given a Family Retreat DVD,” says Lorie. “My oldest watched and started to cry. ‘Mom, these people are just like us. We’ve got to go!’” Lorie had concerns as they arrived at their first Family Retreat. Who would care for Ben? Would they be competent? “Only God could’ve known our needs so perfectly and filled them so completely! I was most surprised by our STM,” said Lorie. “Stephanie is a pediatric nurse at the children’s hospital where we live. She has been an amazing fit! “At Family Retreat, we’re around people just like us, who have the same struggles. In my Woman-to-Woman group, God has peeled back the layers of hurt as we share. I know these new friends will continue to pray for me, love me, and hold me steadfast even after we all go home.”
Have you signed up to attend Family Retreat? Registration is now open! Apply today!
Family Retreat Registration is Open!
Family Retreat registration for the 2013 season opens today for special needs families and STM volunteers! Visit our Family Retreat page to view the Retreat schedule and learn what it’s like to attend as a family or serve as a Short-Term Missionary. And if you know of a special-needs family who could be blessed by attending, pass on the information! These wonderful Retreats fill up fast so sign up today!
Your Love Brings Hope to Hurting Families
Deanne and Grant are the parents of three children, and Nathan has autism. “Families who deal with disabilities feel so beaten down every day,” explains Deanne. “Life goes from one bill or therapy session to another. We’re consumed by autism.” Because of faithful friends like you, the Nelson family experienced their first Family Retreat. “The thought of five days where Nathan could actually do well …it seemed impossible,” explained Deanne. “But God wrote our names on people’s hearts—we were given a scholarship. Then we knew He was making it possible! Family Retreat is one miracle after another! We have a little boy out there swimming and having the time of his life—not one breakdown, not one problem—he’s just a kid this week...
