Family Retreat: Made Possible By You

By |Published On: September 27, 2013|Categories: Family Retreats|

Family at RetreatBecause you stand strong for families, a week at Family Retreat leaves parents, kids of every age, and volunteers with one thing to say: It changed my life! Meet one special needs family, and their Short Term Missionary Zach, and find out why…

Dad Steven has discovered that God can use his disabled son and daughter to touch lives.
“My daughter Katie doesn’t even speak. But at Family Retreat we see the tremendous impact she has had in the lives of her STMs each year. We see that God has given Katie a way of turning hearts to Him.” Mom Mary Ann is a caretaker 24/7 for her daughter Katie, 22, and son Nicholas, 26. “Disability never ends. We are on the job day and night. At Family Retreat, someone else looks over our children for a few hours. We can take a breath. We can worship and not listen for our child’s needs or worry. We’re brought closer to God. We’ve met so many amazing people at Family Retreat – I can’t imagine my life without them. In the midst of our disabilities, we’re blessed.” Zachary and Chris are “typical” siblings – they have no disabilities. But Zachary says, “I look forward to coming! It’s a place that helps families get along and learn more about other families who are just like us.” Chris has been coming to Family Retreat since he was 6. Nick and his STM buddy Zach“At home it’s hard to talk to my friends about our family. At Family Retreat, instead of staring, people come right up and immediately love my brother and sister. It makes me so happy to see that.” Zach Forry is a 20-year old mechanic who served for the first time this summer as a Short Term Missionary and wasn’t sure what to expect. “I was trying to prepare myself for a big shock,” he admitted with a laugh. “Then I met Nick and he taught me that I need to slow myself down. Nick has so many challenges and yet he’s beaming all the time. He’s happy, man. Nick’s taught me that if I have a hard day, I can try again tomorrow. I’ve learned so much from this dude!” 26-year old Nick and his STM buddy Zach zipped around Family Retreat in a non-stop frenzy of ‘dude-time’! “I’ve been coming for 12 years and this is one of the best because of Zach,” said Nick, with his trademark grin. “He made it great!”

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