Joni & Friends Family Retreat - Maranatha Week 3

 

    

    Week three. The last retreat at Maranatha. The one that had most of us a little bit worried. Ok, it was more than a little worried. We were scraping by with the number of STMs and it was arranged that most of us would end up working more that one assignment. I'm sure that most of us who had stayed week one and two were all thinking something along the lines of "how is this gonna work?" God told us super loudly how it would. He provided many more STMs. People from week two saw the need stepped up to serving another week and others funded their service. 

Training and Preparation

    I'll be honest. I did not attend most of training for week three. There was so much to help out with so I did just that. With my shoes in my bag, I ran all over campus. Placing t-shirts in the families' gift baskets, running the baskets to housing, replacing signs, and keeping what baskets were on the golf cart actually on the cart. I covered a surprising amount of ground and really wish that I had been tracking how much I was moving on my phone. It would have shown me zipping back and forth all over the place!

    Once again, the empathy exercise was entertaining. I was given the same role after setting up and once again, completed my mission. Wander and disappear. I had a little too much fun since my roommate was actually the leader of my group. I could have made it so much harder on the team, but I played nice. 😜

    The last day of training, STMs are prayed over then they partake in communion. Commissioning is over and then we are dismissed to prepare for the families arrivals (get in to costume).

The Families Arrivals

    The week three welcome was so full of energy and happiness. There was music playing, STMs danced along the sidewalk, and of course we welcomed all our families in style. Unicorns, knights, queens, and Roman centurions lined the sidewalk and cheered for each and every family who arrived. It is such a special thing and easily one of my million favorite parts of retreat.

     A family I love so much (but never been an STM for 😜) got there and we played a song for them that made their two kids smile wide. When I got to give them hugs, I just about cried since I had not seen them since February 2020. I missed them so much and was so excited when I heard their name over the speakers.

    Finally, my family had arrived and I sprinted to pick up my sign and their folder of info. I could barely wait to meet my camper and his family. This was their first time ever at a retreat and maybe weren't quite sure what to expect. Their faces when they heard all the cheering makes me smile even now. Weeks after retreat is over. 

Programming Every Morning

    I'm sure that after three weeks of JAF Family Retreat content, that you are at least somewhat familiar with how camp works. This week, I was in an age group that I had never been in before. Senior high. The group that my roommate led! Three weeks and we were finally in the same group! 😂 She did a fantastic job. 

    Singing was great, Ben's games were fantastic, and so was the teaching. The first day of programming, we were on the golf carts for most of it. But the other days, we stayed with the group for nearly the entirety of programming. 

The Little Moments

    There were a bunch of amazing little moments. Like when my camper, Sammy, was tired and leaned over to rest his head on my shoulder. Or when we couldn't stop giggling when we were in the pool. Talking to his mom and getting to know her. Getting to walk down the beach in the sand with Sammy, his PCA, and his dad. But my favorite one, was actually captured in a picture. 

    We sat on the beach in the sand. Listening to the waves, digging in the sand, feeling the sun on our faces. We sat there for a long time. Long enough that I had noticeably tanned a couple of shades. It was calm, peaceful, and a good moment to sit with my camper. 

 

Family Fun Night

    I was able to sit with Sammy and his mom most of the night. We ate pie and ice cream, talked, and then went on a pretty awesome sunset hay ride. After a while, we decided to go cruising in a golf cart while his dad, brother, and PCA went for a nice long hike. Eventually, we all called it a night (but I absolutely stayed up 😜).

Talent Show & Karaoke

    Oh, the talent show. Something I try to avoid getting on stage for if I can. I was so determined to stay off stage this week. Day one, I was talking to one of my faves (you know who you are 😘) and ended up being drafted into a dance. Almost immediately, I sighed and went "well, that didn't take long." It really didn't. Day of the talent show, the sib ladies, a few other STMs, and I went to practice our dance (for most of us, the first time). We absolutely smashed it due to our amazing leader, Liz. We also came up with a better name for our group.

    

    My family knew that I was in the show, but had no idea what I was going to really do besides dance. They were surprised. During our act, I looked over to see them smiling. It was so fun.

    Now, imagine for me that you are sitting in your pew after watching the most amazing act. Maybe there are a few tears because it was so beautiful. Linda is about to announce the next act when she stops to read the name of the next act. She pauses obviously because it is the best name for a dance act in all history. "Please welcome... JONI'S SWAGTASTIC DANCE MASTERS!!" We rushed out from the wings and took our places and the crowd lost it. Especially when the Church Clap started playing. Yes, footage does exist, but no, I will not just give it to you. If you want it, you'll need to find it. 😂

    After the talent show is of course karaoke. I watched and cheered as people got on the mic. One Direction, Elvis, and so many others were on.  I didn't sing an awful lot, but the moment Defying Gravity came on, I became Elphaba for one of the campers. It was amazing, I belted, I held a baby, and it was a beautiful night.  Sadly, the last night.

    Once I was tired enough to head back to the room (before an epic card game had ended), I packed up pretty much all my stuff. I was not looking forward to the morning at all. Morning meant saying goodbye to my family and friends. Well, at least for now. I eventually went to bed and waited to hear who would reign victorious in the game. 

Farewell For Now

    Before breakfast, my family had packed up all of their stuff into the car. They needed to get home pretty quickly, so they wouldn't be staying for the closing ceremony. A friend tracked down one of the good-bye gifts before they left (just as they were getting in the car) for me and we got Sammy a bear. After a few pictures, hugs, and a few tears, they had to go home.

Campus Clean-Up

    The moment we all said bye, the deluge started. I'm not talking tears, I mean rain from above. It had been raining on and off for a couple days, but this time the sky held nothing back. Anyone who walked outside for a minute or two came back in completely soaked.

    I tramped all over campus helping pack up and clean up. The truck was being filled with all of our decorations and gear to be stored until August. There was one final golf cart ride. There were tears. There was absolute exhaustion. But there was also a sense of satisfaction. And that there was still one more retreat a couple months away.

  Home Again

    I got home late Saturday night and was completely spent. I had spent a number of hours in the car and was exhausted. I slept fairly well but couldn't sleep in because my body was used to getting up and get going after being at three weeks of camp. Now, I have all the pictures that the camp photographer took and I get to share them with my family. When I first got back, I was so tired that I could barely speak coherently. But I'd do all three weeks of retreat again in a heartbeat.

-fin

    Well, that's part three. Part four will be out sometime in mid August since the next retreat isn't until then. I can barely wait and I am out of this world excited for it. Until then, I have my pictures of the first three weeks to tide me over. 

    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