Family Retreat is a Life-Line for Special Needs Families

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

While some people feel called to start a family, Matt and Christy Sellers felt called to expand their family in remarkable ways. In addition to their three biological children, Matt and Christy have four more adopted children – all with Down syndrome. And these beautiful children were hand-picked by God for Matt and Christy’s family from all over the world. Their son Endale (pronounced En-dah-lay) came from Ethiopia, Lilly and Levi came from the same orphanage in China, and little Glory is from Bulgaria.

While they know that adopting these four little ones is all part of God’s plans for their lives, Matt and Christy still struggle with overwhelming feelings of exhaustion.

Although their home had grown in love, challenges accompanied the family as it expanded.

Christy began feeling overwhelmed and underprepared, especially as she tried to do manage the multiple and complicated demands of her family in her own strength. And to compound their very real feelings of isolation and rejection, Christy couldn’t seem to find a place where she and her new children felt like they belonged. Even the most familiar places like school and church didn’t seem very welcoming.

The emotional strain and caregiving demands of parenting four children with special needs became relentless, bringing Matt and Christy to the brink of exhaustion. But at Family Retreat, they receive the physical and spiritual rest they need.

“Joni and Friends exemplifies inclusion and service in love.”

Christy

And the combination of feeling welcomed, loved, accepted and valued – all while receiving some much-needed rest in the Lord – helps Matt and Christy experience the truth found in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

With seven children constantly needing something from her, Family Retreat offers Christy a place of rest that just can’t be found anywhere else. Being able to trust those caring for her children made all the difference.

“I could rest because I knew that the people they were with loved them.”

Our dedicated team at Joni and Friends New Mexico ensures that each Family Retreat volunteer goes through disability ministry training before any families arrive on site so that every child and adult remains safe and happy throughout their time at Family Retreat.

Knowing that Matt and Christy could trust their children’s volunteer buddies is what freed them up to experience everything Jesus had for them as a couple during Family Retreat – making Family Retreat a lifeline for each member of their family.

Joni and Friends New Mexico also helped Matt and Christy reach the heart of their church, Paragon Church in Rio Rancho. Our team partnered with Paragon Church to train Family Retreat style buddies in serving special needs families within the church.

These buddies offer support for caregivers like Christy, giving them respite and relief from their daily caregiving routines. This has not only helped Matt and Christy as they juggle the non-stop demands of being special needs parents; it has also helped their whole family feel a new sense of belonging within the body of Christ.

“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”

1 Corinthians 12:27

Matt recalls that when he first saw Glory’s photo he said to Christy, “We’re supposed to go get her.” He knew then that God had called him to be Glory’s father and to make a difference in her life. And our Joni and Friends teams feel exactly the same way.

Based on the authority of God’s Word, we know that we’re supposed to “go out quickly… and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame… so that God’s house will be full.” (Luke 14:21-23)

We know that we’re supposed to go get families living with disability and make an eternal difference in their lives through the love of Jesus.

That’s what we do through every Family Retreat, every church training, and through all of our other programs. And that same call that God has put on our lives has been put on yours, too. Won’t you join us in fulfilling God’s call from Luke 14 today?