International Family Retreat Supports Missionary Families in Thailand!

Joni and Friends New England came alongside our Thailand International Partners as they hosted our very first Missionary Family Retreat in Chiang Mai. As a result, missionary families living with disability in Thailand are overflowing with praise for the goodness of God!

Joseph and Ana are from Mexico but moved to Thailand in 2008 to help provide foster care, housing, and education to Thai children from broken families. Joseph and Ana have three sons of their own: Samuel, Daniel and 2-year-old David, who has Down syndrome. They were abundantly blessed by our International Family Retreat in Thailand!

“We met other parents raising children with disabilities for the first time. One couple we met had an older son with Down syndrome. They have walked the same road that we are now on. Our God is amazing. I wanted to talk about David with them and learn from their experience. They understood like no one else,”

–Joseph

Early in her pregnancy with David, Ana discovered her baby would be born with Down syndrome. In addition to having Down syndrome, little David was born with a congenital heart defect and developmental delays. David’s neck cartilage structure caused severe feeding issues and his weight dropped significantly. They made the difficult decision to perform a tracheostomy as well as heart surgery in hopes of saving David.

Joseph and Ana were utterly heartbroken as they watched their baby struggle to survive.

Joseph remembers, “David’s challenges are so deep. He was in an intensive care unit, and we did not know if he would live. We had to learn how to care and feed him, taking turns through the night. This was all new to us, and it was exhausting. God took care of us. Yes, God is marvelous. He provides for everything.”

They learned about the Missionary Family Retreat from David’s speech and language pathologist and arrived depleted and exhausted. However, they were soon rejuvenated by the refreshing love of Christ!

“We had never heard of anything like this. Joni and Friends knew exactly what our family needed. We arrived at Family Retreat anxious and concerned about medical needs for David and received such a warm welcome. The many personal touches that first day made us more comfortable. We connected right away,”

–Ana

For missionary families living with disability, living in Thailand is incredibly isolating. Some ultimately give up and return home from the mission field due to the lack of practical support and understanding. That’s why we are so dedicated to supporting special needs missionary families like Joseph and Ana’s. In so doing, we are partnering with them in fulfilling God’s great commission.

Families like Joseph and Ana’s are greatly encouraged by International Family Retreat and see their special needs child become a “door opener,” bringing the Gospel to life in a country where people with disabilities are marginalized and forgotten.

International Family Retreat in Thailand provides the necessary support missionary families need so they don’t have to abandon God’s call on their lives.

And as these special needs families are strengthened and encouraged, they return to the mission field refueled, with a new support network, and ready to reach more people living with disability across Thailand with the good news of Jesus!

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:15

For Joseph and Ana, International Family Retreat has made an eternal difference. When asked how others could pray for their family, Joseph answered, “I want to be wise. My eyes have changed. I notice Thai families with disabilities in our rural village, and then I think about my boy and say to myself… maybe God is planning for us to do more for people with disabilities here.”