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First Day at Joni and Friends Family Retreat
Family Retreat is just one of the ministries this organization does. When I arrived at the retreat center, I was given a folder that had more information than I thought I would need. As I started reading the information and itinerary, I started to get nervous. I was going to be working with people who have disabilities. That was something completely new to me. (Change, Exploration) -
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The beginning
This is my first time volunteering at Joni and Friends' Family Retreat. Joni and Friends is an international disability ministry that was started by Joni Eareckson Tada. Whe I first arrived at the retreat, I had no idea what to expect. When the families affected by disabilitlies arrived, I could not help but cry. There was so much joy and love surroudning me, I was completely overwhelmed with emotion. This week at retreat changed my life. -
Short Term Missionary (STM) Training
I had to go through an entire day of training. I learned about how to and how not to interact with those in a wheelchair. Also, I learned how not to act towards a person who has a disability. I pretty much took a day long class on disability culture. There were so many rules and things to consider. I felt like I was going to fail miserably during the retreat week. It was hard changing what I thought to be the way to live to life and opening my mind to this new culture. (Ethnocentrism, Culture) -
Families Arrive
All the families affected by disability arrived at the retreat center. This was a huge day for me, I completely broke down and cried. My heart started to open for those affected by disability.There was so much happiness and joy in this community, I had trouble comprehending. Everyone showed love for one another. Everyone was happy to share. Everyone worked together to make it through life because they knew the other was valuable enough to deserve it. -
Family Retreat 1- Last Day
a. This was the saddest day of the week. I had no idea I could love people I met 4 days before so much. These beautiful people changed my life and my perspective on life. It was by the end of this retreat, I decided I wanted to be more involved in the disability world and take what I learned and apply it to my life. My life has never been the same since. -
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Planning Retreat 1
I had the opportunity to participate in Joni and Friends Family Retreat Planning Weekend. I had been the youngest person to ever be invited to Planning Weekend. The weekend allowed my creativity in a new way and taught me a lot about responsibility. My team partner ended up becoming ill while we are there leaving me to speak on our teams behalf. For an 18 year old, that is a lot of responsiblity. If anything, this experience, being new, helped me grow professionally and mature. -
Family Retreat 2011
a. This was the last day of my second year of Family Retreat. For 2011, I chose to volunteer at both of the identical Family Retreats that take place. Those two exhausting weeks were worth it. Leaving this retreat rekindled my passion to work with those who have disabilities. I was still uncertain with how I was going to use my passion. When I went to SOAR for UNCC I heard of a program called the Dual Program. During this time, I struggled with whether or not that was what I wanted to do. -
Accepted
a. This is the day I received my email saying I was accepted into the Dual Program. I started a very new journey where I could combine my passions to teach students and to work with those who have disabilities. Since then, I have changed from a volunteer and simply a student to future education professional. This journey has been tough and has been the cause of many sleepless nights, but it is worth it. This journey has been and still is shaping me into the person I am today and becoming.
