I am so excited because our favorite time of year is almost here!! We are just a 6 weeks away from going to our annual Joni & Friends Family Retreat! If you know us, then you know this is Christmas in July for our family.
This place is our little slice of Heaven on Earth. For 5 days, these sweet STMs (Short Term Missionaries, aka- volunteers) love on our kiddos from 9-3 each day so moms and dads can have some much needed respite. We are free to engage in planned activities such as skeet shooting, horseback riding, swimming, etc.. OR we can just go back our rooms and nap!
What is so unique about Joni & Friends Family Retreat is that they have STMs for kids like Gideon. I know that Gideon will be cared for and loved well by the sweetest person on the planet- Sophie. She’s been his STM for the past 6 years now. Outside of family, I don’t know anyone that loves Gideon like she does. The relationship they’ve developed is a special one for sure. Meanwhile our other kiddos get to do fun activities with other kids who understand what it’s like to live the life they do. There’s a unique bond among friends who “get it.”
So the reason I share all this is because there’s been a new development in our family retreat plan this year. My 13 year old daughter decided that she doesn’t want to be served at camp this year. Instead she’s decided she wants to serve others. 💜ðŸ˜
So this means she will be going as a volunteer (STM) so she can make a difference in the lives of others. And if that’s not cool enough my niece Addison is going to join her as an STM too!!! 💜😠I’m just overwhelmed that these girls want to serve in this capacity because it’s not easy. But ask any STM, and they’ll tell you it’s worth it.
So here’s the last part of my post. This year Laynie and Addison decided they wanted to raise the money for their ticket to camp. So that’s what I want to help them do. Each person that goes to camp pays $475. Whether you’re going to family retreat as a camper or an STM, everyone pays the same amount. So below I have some links- one for Laynie and one for Addison. If you’d like to pray for them or make a donation on their behalf, we’d be extremely grateful either way!!
http://form.joniandfriends.org/goto/LaynieJolicoeur
http://form.joniandfriends.org/goto/AddisonJolicoeur
***Update- After 2020 we stopped doing public fundraising for our whole family to go to camp. Just felt weird given hard times. However, a sweet friend encouraged me to post it anyways. So here’s the link to our family fundraising page.