Joni and Friends: Family Retreat - Restful Weekend
Joni and Friends runs two separate Family Retreats at the Maranatha location back to back. I knew I wouldn't be able to only do one week. So I signed up for both weeks. After the end of week one, that empty Saturday was very welcome. I am NOT ashamed to say that my roommate and I stayed up extremely late Friday night with Eva and Sam (my partner and her sister) and my roommate and I slept in until around noon as a result, the only reason for getting up being to go get coffee downstairs. With coffee finally in our systems, we sat on our beds and I was a sad zombie.
I was told a bit later that we needed to go out. I would have been a sad zombie all day if I didn't. So a group of us got in the car and drove to the movie theater. We went to see Men in Black: International. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson play off each other very well. The movie had a good balance of humor, action, and intrigue. If you liked the first three MIB movies, you will enjoy this one.
It was definitely a nice rest day. It was also a bit strange not to have a strict schedule. No devotions at 7:40 am, no scheduled mealtime, no programming, no activities, and not having a camper. The day was one giant break. I found myself constantly checking the time to see if the "one hour was up." I constantly laughed at myself. We hung out most of the afternoon in the room, venturing out for coffee (that was about it). Once again, we stayed up late because there was no schedule. We woke up the next morning, and headed over to orientation.
There were not many who had stayed for both weeks, so a majority of the week two STMs were new. It was super nice to have a group of friends that I knew though. Training was just a refresher for me because I had gone through training before. Of course we all practiced the welcome song which I knew quite well. The week two welcome ran an awful lot smoother because some of us knew the song already, and we were able to learn from the logistical mistakes (like where to stand, make sure you keep moving) and improve the week two welcome. It is so fun to see new STMs be introduced to a JAF welcome. They are usually uncomfortable at first because no one expects to be on stage the first day of camp. I love seeing people step out of their comfort zones by it. How else are we supposed to grow?
Of course after we finished running over the welcome song a few times, it was time to start making our signs! I was paired with a twenty year old young lady. As soon as I read a bit about her I had fallen in love! She loves music, dancing, and different rhythms. She like my camper from week one was non-verbal. I could barely contain my excitement! I was once again working with a partner (which was nice because she had been with our camper the year before) and she was telling me all about her. So we went to work on the signs and just chatted.
This week was nice because the STM bonfire had been cancelled for week one and we had it for week two. I was able to walk pretty far down the beach with my roommate, climbed the dunes with Eva, played with some weird sand I found, and played a few mind games with newer STMs. Sure I was sad that week one was over, but week two would be starting the next day.
I hope you have been enjoying my retelling of my experiences as a Joni and Friends Family Retreat STM! There is still more to tell because so much that happened. I was there for two weeks after all. Thank you so much for reading! Consider following my blog so you stay up to date! Comment below if you have any questions about Joni and Friends! I am always trying to get people to serve at a retreat because it quite literally changed my life!
I was told a bit later that we needed to go out. I would have been a sad zombie all day if I didn't. So a group of us got in the car and drove to the movie theater. We went to see Men in Black: International. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson play off each other very well. The movie had a good balance of humor, action, and intrigue. If you liked the first three MIB movies, you will enjoy this one.
It was definitely a nice rest day. It was also a bit strange not to have a strict schedule. No devotions at 7:40 am, no scheduled mealtime, no programming, no activities, and not having a camper. The day was one giant break. I found myself constantly checking the time to see if the "one hour was up." I constantly laughed at myself. We hung out most of the afternoon in the room, venturing out for coffee (that was about it). Once again, we stayed up late because there was no schedule. We woke up the next morning, and headed over to orientation.
There were not many who had stayed for both weeks, so a majority of the week two STMs were new. It was super nice to have a group of friends that I knew though. Training was just a refresher for me because I had gone through training before. Of course we all practiced the welcome song which I knew quite well. The week two welcome ran an awful lot smoother because some of us knew the song already, and we were able to learn from the logistical mistakes (like where to stand, make sure you keep moving) and improve the week two welcome. It is so fun to see new STMs be introduced to a JAF welcome. They are usually uncomfortable at first because no one expects to be on stage the first day of camp. I love seeing people step out of their comfort zones by it. How else are we supposed to grow?
This week was nice because the STM bonfire had been cancelled for week one and we had it for week two. I was able to walk pretty far down the beach with my roommate, climbed the dunes with Eva, played with some weird sand I found, and played a few mind games with newer STMs. Sure I was sad that week one was over, but week two would be starting the next day.
I hope you have been enjoying my retelling of my experiences as a Joni and Friends Family Retreat STM! There is still more to tell because so much that happened. I was there for two weeks after all. Thank you so much for reading! Consider following my blog so you stay up to date! Comment below if you have any questions about Joni and Friends! I am always trying to get people to serve at a retreat because it quite literally changed my life!
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