God Is Safe To Follow
Trusting God only when things are going well or when we think we can understand his ways sets us up for a life filled with doubts and crippling anxiety, and it will prevent us from following the plans he has for us in the future. In times like these, when we don’t know what tomorrow may bring, we can still be sure that God is trustworthy and good. The Lord knows everything about all our tomorrows, and he has our best interests in mind.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts”
Isaiah 55:9
Even after all the unrest and hardships we’ve been facing, God is still safe to follow. We are following his lead by continuing to serve the most vulnerable people group amongst us – families impacted by disability. We have adopted new precautions that will safeguard the health of the families we serve as well as our priceless volunteers. And we are overjoyed to report that our Family Retreats will open up again in just a few short weeks. That’s an answer to many prayers right there!
During COVID-19, while retreats were impossible, God made it possible to continue ministering to special needs families through our brand-new online program: Family Retreat at Home. It’s just one of many creative ways we’re serving families during this season of sheltering in place. Similar to our traditional in-person events, Family Retreat at Home includes worship songs, Bible lessons, devotionals from pastors, crafts and fun! And while we can’t wait to resume our Family Retreat season in July, we are delighted that God made a way for this stay-at-home version to transform lives until then.
And Family Retreat is truly needed this year more than ever before. Families affected by disability exist on the edge of exhaustion, and coronavirus restrictions have only magnified their already distressing situations. The added isolation and weariness caused by being forced to stay home – without educational or therapy opportunities – has brought previous hardships to an unimaginable level for these special needs families. Speaking plainly, children and adults impacted by disability have been pushed even further back into the margins of society. They are absolutely desperate for the community and respite that only Family Retreat provides.
It’s a reality that Brad and Colleen Mortensen know firsthand. Brad and Colleen adopted four out of their five children, and two of them have disabilities. Five-year-old Arvi has Down syndrome and six-year-old Mario has both Down syndrome and autism. Prior to adopting their children, Brad and Collen volunteered at Family Retreat where they became familiar with the rejection felt by special needs families. Now that they are a family affected by disability themselves, they long for the welcoming, safe place that Family Retreat provides.
“Family Retreat fills important needs in our family,” explains Brad. “Over the years, it was a place where we had the opportunity to serve others. Now, it’s developed as our place where we can take our kids, feel safe, and get rest.”
When the rest of the world gets on the other side of this coronavirus pandemic, families living with disability will still have to deal with intense struggles, never-ending burdens, and relentless exhaustion. Brad and Colleen can now grasp the truly critical need for fellowship, community and respite that families find at Family Retreat. This past year alone, their boys endured four hospitalizations due to pneumonia, and as Colleen explains, raising children with disabilities is definitely hard and involves letting go of dreams…
But the hardships associated with their boys’ day-to-day needs have made the hope of Family Retreat a much needed answer to many prayers. Colleen explains the powerful renewal she felt at Family Retreat, “The bonding experience with other special needs families who know Jesus and who are walking the same road as you is a great experience. There’s nothing like Family Retreat on this earth… the spiritual impact for my kids at Family Retreat is they get to see how big God is.”
Isn’t that what we all need? To know and see that no matter how big our problems are, God is bigger?
At Family Retreat, families like Brad and Colleen’s enjoy a safe and confidential environment in which they can open their hearts to others and share the pain and fears that disability brings daily from deep within. Worship, Bible teaching and rich Christian fellowship provide the hope of the Gospel and guide each family member into a deeper, trusting relationship with our dear Savior and Friend – Jesus. Family Retreat shows these heartbroken and discouraged families that God is bigger than their biggest trials and because of that truth, there is always hope.
“Family Retreat is a unique environment that we don’t find anywhere else in the year,” says Brad. “Without Family Retreat, our lives would not be as rich or connected with families who have special needs kids like us. One of the things that Family Retreat reminds me of is how in control God is.”
When our lives look and feel out of control – due to disability or COVID-19 restrictions – Family Retreat reminds us that God is always in control, and God is safe to follow… anywhere!
“Joni and Friends has been instrumental in our decision to adopt our two boys with Down syndrome,” said Colleen. “We are so thankful for your ministry!”
But there are other families who have never experienced the hope of Family Retreat; other families languishing without hope even now.
Plain and simple, they need you.
They need your prayers and they desperately need your generous support. Thousands of families like Brad and Colleen’s will need a Family Retreat scholarship, and God can use you to deliver hope through hardship to worn out and weary families living on the edge of despair.
Won’t you consider providing a scholarship today to send a child or adult with disabilities to Family Retreat so they can experience the love of Christ in the midst of their unbearable circumstances? Your gift of any amount is needed now more than ever.
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to help them”
Proverbs 3:27
Give a Scholarship!
Send the hope of Christ and practical help to individuals and families impacted by disability.
