Joni & Friends Family Retreat 2021 - Maranatha Week 1

  

    I'm back! As of me writing this, I just got back home last night. I should be back to posting regularly now until a much shorter break in August. I'll really decide what I will be doing as things get closer. Until then, welcome back!

    After three weeks of Family Retreat, I am home. As I sit and type, I find it hard to put everything I want to say into words. I am absolutely exhausted but I would do it again in a heartbeat. There are so many many little moments I could tell you about that I couldn't get them all out in a single day. I could talk about the drool soaked pant leg, the smacks to the face, the sand that got everywhere, or the dance I did. Those are only a few of the moments. Because I know I can't tell every story in a day, this post will be the first in a kind of mini series about my time at retreat. There will be four posts in all with a gap in between #3 and #4. Not every story will be told online, but many will. It is so hard to pick which ones, but I guess we will have to wait and see which ones I end up putting out there.

  Maranatha Bound

    I left Olivet Nazarene University after a conference before the sun was even up. Already tired, I had a four hour ride I didn't have to be awake for thanks to my dad. He woke up even earlier to come and pick me up and take me all the way to Norton Shores in Michigan. We passed by Gary, Michigan City, Holland, and many more interesting places. Most of which I didn't see because I slept. I didn't get an awful lot of sleep in overnight because I was so worried that I was gonna sleep through my alarm and be late in getting to camp. In the end, I got there before check in was open. 🤣 I was able to show my dad a few places on campus before I had to unload and head to my housing. Once I had gotten all my things into my room in the Lodge (was very glad to be housed there again), I found things to help out to hopefully make things run at least a little bit smoother.

    It was so amazing to see so many familiar faces after two years of not seeing them. Speaking of familiar faces, my roommate was someone I had roomed with previously and got along with. It was a very welcome surprise!

Training and Preparation

    The training Joni & Friends provides before the families arrive is something so important. It is well thought out, biblically based, and includes several perspectives on disability. Training normally takes about a day and a half. We watch videos, get some reactionary and prevention training, and so much more. By the end of it, I feel well equipped and ready to face just about anything.

    Along with receiving training, all the Short Term Missionaries (STMs) are given their assignment for the week. In the past, I have been working with sibs or been a buddy/helper to campers. We normally got our assignments at around two in the afternoon. This week was different. I received my assignment strangely earlier than I normally would. Because I was a leader. I was put in charge of the 5-9 year old's group "The Dukes and Duchesses." I would be leading them through morning programming (which included small group), being a friend to them, and keeping track of them during Kids' Night. The most amazing folder was given to me and I was very reassured that I could do it.

    I also ended up finding out what my assignment for week two was. Finding out on Sunday what your assignment for the next week is, is something unusual. But I am so glad I did. I was able to find out more about what I should be doing from someone who had done it before. I don't want to spoil what my job for week two is so I'll stop there. The week two post is already in the works and should be posted soon!

    Once all the training was done, we were prayed over, commissioned, and sent to change into our welcome costumes. The families were on their way.

The Families Arrivals

    The Joni & Friends Family Retreat welcome is really like no other. We cheer, yell, hoot, holler, clap, dance, wave, and smile so big our faces hurt by the end of it. Since I didn't have a specific camper I was working with, I was able to welcome every family in style and as loud as they wanted it to be.

    The welcome is a favorite of mine. It kicks of the week, is upbeat and joyful, and of course I get to meet some of the families. This year, I had to fight off tears more than I normally do. Not just because the welcome is one of the most beautiful things I've been blessed to experience, but because we haven't done one in two years due to COVID cancellations last year. The amount of happy tears I did see absolutely made my heart sing. One of the dads said that the welcome is his favorite part even though it only lasts maybe fifteen seconds for every family. It's hard to explain, but it is one of the most beautiful thing in the world.

    After the welcome, is dinner. Then the welcome ceremony. Then, at long last, the Ice Cream Social. I was able to connect with one of the Dukes and Duchesses and connect with his family. I was able to laugh, mill about, and enjoy the evening. While keeping an eye out for any abandoned ice cream bowls.

Programming Every Morning

    Every year, we have Bible verse to focus on and a theme to go with it.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."     1 Peter 2:9

     This year was a ton of fun. We leaned heavily into the royal part and completely decked out Maranatha in medieval glory. It was fantastic. "Lady" Kathryn led us through her story time in the "King's Courtyard," built our own castles, made some banners, played games, and learned a song that we would sing in the talent show before the week ended.

    In the afternoons and evenings though, I was able to help out with just about anything leadership needed me to do. Like setting up for evening activities, doing odd jobs, cleaning up after morning programming, or really anything else that I could find to do.

Family Fun Night

    Carnival games, hay rides, and more. For a little while, I sat in the sun and manned the giant inflatable slide. Basically making sure that no more than one kid was up top so there was no chance of collisions. I only had to pull one kid off when his turn was up. 🤣 Oh, and Ashley only laughed at me once because I only went down the slide once. 🤣 That night, I had the best ever apple pie a la mode too. I have no idea where the pie was bought, but it was so good.

Adult/Kids' Night

    Wednesday night. Depending on your job at camp, the mentioning of this night makes you excited or a little scared. For me, it was a little bit of both. My job was to watch over not one camper, but all my Dukes and Duchesses. From five until nine. Through a meal in the dining hall, a show in the Tab (Tabernacle which is just the church building), a petting zoo full of chaos, games, ice cream, bingo, movies, all until their parents picked them up at the end of the night.

    The night is for the parents and caregivers to have a fancy dinner all to themselves without having to worry about their child. They can sit down at a meal and have a full conversation with other adults. They can go down to the beach or get a boat ride without hearing "MOM" or "DAD". We even have parents who get to go on date nights for the first time in a while.

    The show in the Tab was absolutely amazing. It was an object lesson that made all my kids smile super big. It was well received by all the kids and there were only a couple times where they started getting a little restless. If you ask me though, the only reason they were a little squirmy was because they could hear the petting zoo.

    The only problem I had the whole night, was one of my girls trying to pick up a bunny even after she was told a few times that she wasn't allowed to. Then there was trying to keep track of my crew at a petting zoo. Everyone scattered in different directions to see the ducks, sheep, goats, bunnies, or chickens. Did a few scans every minute, and then eventually we headed to where we would be parked a while until parents pick up.

Talent Show & Karaoke

    Thursday. The last full day we have with the families. It is one I would describe as bittersweet. Sweet because of all of the fun things that we do, but bitter because we know we have to say goodbye the next day.

  

    It starts out as a pretty normal breakfast. But then, another one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced. Accessible Worship. Anyone, disability or no disability, is welcome to join people on stage to help lead worship. People tend to cry a bit (I know I do), we sing a ton, and it always feels as though it is over far to soon. Then, I took my Dukes and Duchesses to morning programming.

    Once evening comes, so does the talent show. The kids opened up the show by singing (yes, singing) our verse. Then many wonderful acts which vary from music and art, to skills and so much more continue until it is over. You may have guessed, but this is yet another thing at camp that brings tears to my eyes. There is a song we sing as a tradition and then we all head to the Sweet Shoppe and karaoke.

    Now, the question that must be burning in your minds. Did the "broods in the corner at parties Katie get on the mic and sing something at karaoke?" The answer is yes. I did it three times in one night. A couple TS songs and I got dragged into a good old High School Musical number. By the end of it all I had been singing a good long while on and off the mic.

Farewell For Now

    Friday. The day when most STMs pack up and the families of that week head home. But first, closing ceremony. A little bit of singing, the camp pastor speaks, and then the families get a chance to share. It is a really special time. The tissues are brought out again and then the highlight reel and slideshow, Soon it is time to say good-bye.

    For me, week one was interesting. Goodbye was not too hard because I didn't have a camper all my own. It was still a little bit of a hard "see you later" since we had not had a retreat in a couple of years. I think the only reason I did not cry more is that I  was still going to be serving for two more weeks. 

    That afternoon after STM debrief my roommate and I meant to take a quick twenty minute nap, but ended up napping for two whole hours. Just shows how tired we apparently were. The only thing that woke us up was a text. A simple one. "Do you guys want to go get ice cream?"

-fin

    And that was week one. It flew by amazingly quickly and I was so glad I did not have to leave at the end of week one. This week did have some AMAZING stories that I  did not write down though. Many of them are so much better to tell in person. 😉 I miss my Dukes and Duchesses crew so much and would not trade my time with them for anything in the world.

    This assignment was something very different for me. It was strange not to have a specified job in the afternoons or evenings. I honestly had a little trouble with that. Sometimes, it was hard to find something to do. But later on, I found a little blessing in not being busy the entire time. I got to see other STMs working with their campers. I got to see some first time STMs really "get it." I got to see the light in their eyes as they made the connection of "this is why we do this" or "this is why so and so talks about this so much." That was easily a huge highlight of the week. 

    Thank you SO much for reading. It means so much to me that you do! Keep an eye out for a post on this site eight days from now (a super easy way to be notified is to follow or subscribe 😉), or for a post four days from now on She Be Fierce 2! If you want to see what I'm up to, you can follow me on  Instagram. I am trying to post more consistently on my Instagram, and am actually ok with posting to my stories. So go check it out!

Until Next Time,

KS

-what song should I sing at the next karaoke?