Family Retreat 2017

We had such an amazing time at Joni and Friends Retreat! It was so relaxing, refreshing & rejuvenating compared to our everyday crazy busy life. We enjoyed being up in the cooler mountains of Arizona. We made some awesome connections with people from all over Arizona, as well some came from California, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and even Canada. God spoke to our hearts in so many ways at Retreat; having a fresh outlook on our life by stepping outside our daily routine, how to slow down in life & take time for the things that are important, live life with a purpose, making the necessary changes we need, and a great reminder to pray about everything & have faith that God will provide all of our needs. He is always with us, we are never alone, no matter what we’re going through.

The main focus of Family Retreat is to provide to the families faced with disability a week where their family is loved on, caregivers and family members get a little break with help from others, lots of fun activities & meals together, and just a time for the whole family to be rejuvenated! We were blown away by the love we received by so many. The love people had for others there was indescribable. It is definitely a place that makes everyone feel wanted, welcome & loved.

Family Retreat gets so many people involved, not only with the families, but all of the leaders & volunteers that come to serve. We were so impacted by the families there; like one family came all the way from Missouri for the retreat, other families with children with autism where some parents were only getting 2 hours of sleep at night. Also a family having one hearing & one deaf parent shared with us the challenges they face yet all the love & joy they have in their family. They all really touched our hearts.

Another main part of the Retreat is that a volunteer is paired up with each family. They are hand-picked months prior to best fit the needs of the families. Our volunteer, that we had never met before, shared that him & his wife chose to use their week vacation this year to come serve us at Family Retreat. Some of the volunteers came all the way from different states. We felt so honored to have so many people come around us to love & serve us.

The whole Retreat was focused on God from early morning until late at night;  whether sharing a meal together, out fishing, down at the horse stables, connecting with new people & hearing all their stories, or praising God for who He is & all He provides for us. We had wonderful discussion groups on Prayer where we had separate girls & guys groups each day. The girls had some amazing girl time together to share their hearts with each other, ending with a fun Girls Pampering Day! As well, the guys had some intimate intense moments sharing their lives with each other. At times, after seeing some of the things people and families were going through, Kelly said he was so humbled & felt he didn’t have a care in the world!…Which was a huge testimony & spoke to many hearts coming from Kelly living with quadriplegia for 20 years.

We almost weren’t able to attend, but it appeared God wanted us there & provided all that was necessary for us to go and be a part of this wonderful Retreat. Not only did we get a much needed break from our normal routine, physically & mentally, but we were so spiritually filled up!

Joni and Friends has these amazing Family Retreats in 25 different locations around the country as well in many other countries. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of, whether you are a family with special needs, or want to volunteer or support the retreats in any capacity. We have been blessed to be a part of it & encourage others to as well!

Kelly & Corina

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