Hi, I'm Joni and this week we’re having our first Family Retreat in Africa!
That’s right. You know how you always hear me talking about the retreats we hold for disabled children and adults and their family members, well… now we’re doing it around the world. People often ask me how the idea for Family Retreats got started… well, it was back in 1988. I had just been appointed by President Reagan to the National Council on Disability and one of the first things our Council wanted to do was hold a national Family Conference. So we got started with the plans. Believe me, no expense was spared in bringing in the finest speakers from the government, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. We even settled on a first-class resort down in San Diego. Everything was set for the families. This was going to be a topnotch conference!
Well, on the first day, I watched from the back of a classroom as parents sat listening to a lecture about government services. After about 15 minutes of this lecture, I noticed some moms and dads fidgeting, looking around, others yawning. It was the same in other workshops. Here we were offering all kinds of useful information and resources for these moms and dads, but by day’s end, I remember thinking, Something’s not right here. Something is wrong. And it was true. That was because something – or I should say, Someone – was missing. As hard as our government Council worked on making it a meaningful and helpful conference for families, these parents and children didn’t need information seminars, they did not need another manual or sitting there listening to position papers to take home and read… They needed respite; they needed inspiration -- not to mention a lot more fun and relaxation. So when I got home from the conference, I said to our Joni and Friends team, “You know what, gang? We can do a family conference and we can do it a whole lot better and at far less expense!”
That was back in 1989. So over the next year or so, our staff fervently prayed and planned. We asked God to fulfill our dream of a unique five-day retreat packed with Spirit-blessed inspiration, chart-topping fun, soul-stirring devotional times, and electrifying activities (with a little information and networking thrown in). The result was our first Family Retreat in 1991. Believe me, nobody who came to that retreat yawned; none of them twiddled their thumbs or sat around reading position papers or manuals. No, it was – in the words of every family there – “the highlight of our year!”
And now, I can hardly believe we will soon be celebrating two decades of holding these kinds of retreats for disabled children and adults and their family members. When Ken and I were at our Family Retreats the past two months, we had such a blast. One night after the evening plenary session around God's Word, we all wheeled into the gymnasium and enjoyed doing line dancing. Can you imagine me in my wheelchair, line dancing? All of us in chairs were like a bunch of Dodg’em cars out there on the floor… and I have to confess, our lines weren’t too straight when we did the electric slide. Think they’ll enjoy doing the electric slide over in Ghana this month at our Family Retreat there? I don’t know, but I'm praying they will! And I'm praying for the four other Family Retreats we are going to be holding overseas in the Ukraine, Romania and El Salvador.
So please be interceding that many more families will come into the kingdom of Christ this week in Ghana in Africa at our Family Retreat. God bless you friend, and that you so much for praying for the families affected by disability that they might come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. And by the way, if you would like to know more about our Family Retreats you can always do so by coming and visiting us at our website at joniandfriendsradio.org. See you later friend. Until next time on Joni and Friends.
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JONI AND FRIENDS
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