Joni and Friends 2011

This summer I had the honor to serve at a Joni and Friends Family Retreat (JAF). This is a retreat where families who have a member that has a disability such as Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome etc. can come and have a camping experience the whole family can enjoy. The family member with a disability has a Short Term Missionary (STM) assigned to them for the week. This STM does everything with that disabled family member including eating meals together, doing camp activities etc. This gives the parents some much needed time to relax, knowing that their child is in capable hands. This was my second year serving at JAF.

I was a STM to a 9 year old autistic boy. He was verbal and a very sweet boy. I had a great time with him. The Lord taught me many things as I worked with him. For example, I had to learn to be patient and flexible when working with my little guy. He enjoyed doing most of the camp activities but he was also easily frustrated.

He was upset when he was unable catch a fish. If he couldn't get his craft just perfect he would tear it apart and throw it. After lunch he would start to become overwhelmed with all the activity, the people and all the newness he was experiencing and we would have to go to a quiet room and watch a movie for about an hour. We missed several activities everyday and I had to be okay with that. 

A couple of times he would become upset and try to find his mother. As he searched for her, he did not want me nearby or following him. He wanted to be alone! I had to learn to talk in a gentle and quiet voice and find creative ways to distract him to do other activities. These are just a few lessons I learned in working with my camper.

Throughout the week God placed a question in my heart to ponder over as I worked with my camper and watched other campers at JAF. I realized that every single one of these kids/adults that had a disability were made in God's image. That made me realized that God made them as they are because they could most glorify God as they are. So my question that I pondered over was...How do these people glorify God in ways that I, as a "normal" person, could not? I began looking for answers to that question throughout the week and I found several ways.

One way is how they enjoy the simple things in life. One camper with Cerebral Palsy was absolutely overjoyed when his STM sprayed someone with a water gun. He was unable do it himself yet he loved it when his STM did. We "normal" folks must do it ourselves if we are to have fun. 

Another way were the smiles of the campers. They were beautiful. But think of it, what would you do if you could not talk? And you couldn’t control your hands very well to do sign language? How do you communicate? Lots of them do it through smiles. And they are the most beautiful smiles that you will ever see. Their faces just glow! I sometimes get a picture in my mind of one of the campers smiling and I get chills. It’s just so precious!! 

Now that I am at home back to my "normal" life I want to continue to hunt for ways that people with disabilities glorify God in ways I cannot. I challenge you to do the same. Do not look at people who are different with eyes of scorn. Look at them the way God does: human beings made in His image and likeness. People who are made to glorify God. Find the ways they glorify God in ways you cannot. You will be surprised at what you find. 

Here is a slideshow I made of the pictures I took at JAF to show at my church. It gives you a taste of  JAF.

For God's Gory!

Carissa