Today is a gift from God...

What a long day! It's been such a fun and exciting week so far. With square dancing and carnivals, movies under the starts, and concerts and horseback riding; It has just been a blast. I can't believe tomorrow is our last full day. Today I was especially blessed in my program area. I was assigned to young adults this year and that's really different for me. The young adult is usually ages 18-25ish and that's my age group so at first I didn't think it was going to be that hard but there's only 3 people in there that fit into that age group and the rest are even older and they all have special needs. I've really never worked much with adults with special needs so this is where I knew God was going to stretch me. It has been a completely different experience because I'm usually in the children's program. Starting out yesterday I was really nervous and I was paired with this woman who's 34 and has autism. It was really hard at first because I didn't know her at all and I didn't know what to expect. But today went much better and I was able to manage the time with her really well. There's only two women in that program and the rest are all guys. The guys are so sweet and I've been really blessed to see them all get along and build relationships so well. Today we also played sand volleyball with them and it was a blast! They had such a great time and I've really been getting to know the woman I'm paired with in that program better. I'm so glad God turned my nerves and doubts around. :)

My family is having a really good time and today they gave Daniel and name sign and then decided to change mine. I like mine even better now. And of course Daniel was thrilled to get his. I've been having more and more conversations with the parents and it's been really cool communicating with them. Sometimes I just watch them sign to each other and try to take it all in. Good thing in signing eaves dropping isn't a big deal. I'm really enjoying all the time with the kids too! They're so great. Everyone's really getting into the signing too. People are really enjoying the interpreters and everyone keeps asking me to show them how to sign things. I've been teaching John Sahhar a ton of signs too. He's actually getting really good. I'm really happy that Haley has gotten to spend so much time learning signs and hanging out with the kids too.

I always feel like part of the family after only spending two days with them. That is what I love about this camp, the family atmosphere.

Well, it's late and I really need sleep. Keep praying for a great last 2 days and for God to keep using us all to make a difference in the lives of these families. The talent show is tomorrow and Tuesday we're having a church service! :)

Day 1 Bison Ranch

Goodness! I don't even know where to start. Today was such a wonderful blessing. I had the best time with all of the other STM's this morning and when the families arrived everything just kept getting better and better. I know God is going to stretch me and pull me out of my comfort zone a few ways this week but that's okay and I just have to keep remembering to trust Him with it. I am so excited about my family. They are great. I'm not sure if I mentioned it but they are best friends with the family I had last year and we'll be doing a lot together. Daniel and Haley are the STM's for the family I had last year. I'm really glad we'll all be spending so much time together. I think I already explained that my family consists of a dad, mom, and four kids. The parents are so sweet and I'm really not having a hard time signing with them. I've communicated pretty well with them without any of the interpreters help. So far my prayers have been answered there! The kids are great too! It's three boys and the youngest is a six year old girl. You can tell she's the baby of the family and that she has a hard time growing up with three older brothers. I can already tell I'll be spending a lot of time with her this week. The boys from both families hang out all the time and are constantly playing basketball and doing all sorts of games and sports with Daniel. So perfect for him! Haley's been getting involved in the basketball too and hanging out with the older girl in her family. It's really cool to see my family from last year again. It's like we just picked up right where we left off and nothing has changed. I really love them all. And I need to really make it a priority to visit them and their church because they barley live 45 minutes away from me. I am so tired but so excited for the week ahead! :) I've posted a few pictures to facebook from earlier today with the other STM's so if you can, take a look at those. No pictures of my family yet, but I'll try to get on that soon. The mom loves taking pictures just as much as me! Also, I finally got a name sign! I am thrilled :) For me that's one of the best moments when you're getting to know deaf individuals - when they give you a name sign. I don't know how else to sum up today other than what I told Morgan earlier. I was having a signing overload and I loved it! Yay! Thank you Jesus for today! :)

Joni and Friends Family Retreat 2013

It's my 4th year in a row at Joni and Friends but this year is a little bit different. We've started an Arizona Family Retreat and it's up in Heber-Overgaard at Bison Ranch. It's so beautiful here and the weather is great! :) It's so nice to take a step back from the city and see God's beautiful creations everywhere.

I'm so glad that God turned my attitude around as soon as I arrived here. I was really stressing about this trip and I didn't know how it was going to go. I'm one of those people who doesn't like change. Well since this is the first time we've had an AZ retreat I had no idea what to expect. Turns out everything is different but not in a better or worse way, just different. The people are still great, the food is still great, it's still a beautiful campus with fun things to do and most importantly I'm still here to do God's work. I'm so glad God has reminded me of that. I'm already full of joy for the week ahead.

All my worries were instantly taken care of almost as soon as I got here. My room mates are awesome. I didn't know either of them before today and usually that would really scare me to room with someone I don't know at all. But the two of them are really great girls and I already have enjoyed getting to know them. It's both of their first times to any Joni and Friends Retreat so I'm excited to see what God has in store for them too.

Tomorrow morning we finish up the training and the families arrive around 3pm. I am going to have a family where both parents are deaf and they have four hearing children! I almost thought I wasn't going to get this family but then it got all worked out and I did. I'm so excited to practice my sign language with them. They are friends of the family I had last year so I'll get to spend time with them as well. Since there are 3 deaf individuals there are also 3 interpreters. The interpreters are amazing ladies by the way. I just love them and they've been helping me practice. Please pray for me that I'm not overwhelmed because I will have the whole family of six to myself and no partner STM like usual. And also pray for the communication barrier. I already feel more confident since I've been practicing my signing but I really want to be able to connect with the family without having to worry about understanding each other too much.

I've already been challenged and blessed so much and the families haven't even arrived yet. We sang the song Words by Hawk Nelson tonight and I've hear it before but I never really paid attention to the lyrics. If you have the time look it up and listen to it. The song really challenged me to make better use of my words. I want everything that comes out of my mouth to be pleasing to God. I know there's a verse about that too! But I really want to make it my goal to speak more uplifting and encouraging words. I am so excited to see what else God has in store for me! Goodnight! :)

Words by Hawk Nelson

They've made me feel like a prisoner They've made me feel set free They've made me feel like a criminal Made me feel like a king

They've lifted my heart To places I'd never been And they've dragged me down Back to where I began

Words can build you up Words can break you down Start a fire in your heart or Put it out

Let my words be life Let my words be truth I don't wanna say a word Unless it points the world back to You

You can heal the heartache Speak over the fear (Speak over the fear) God, Your voice is the only thing We need to hear (We need to hear)

Words can build us up Words can break us down Start a fire in our hearts or Put it out

Let my words be life Let my words be truth I don't wanna say a word Unless it points the world back to You (Back to You)

Let the words I say (Let the words I say) Be the sound of Your grace (Sound like Your grace) I don't wanna say a word Unless it points the world back to You

I wanna speak Your love Not just another noise Oh, I wanna be Your light I wanna be Your voice

Let my words be life Let my words be truth I don't wanna say a word Unless it points the world back to You (Back to You)

Let the words I say (Let the words I say) Be the sound of Your grace (Sound like Your grace) I don't wanna say a word Unless it points the world back to You (Back to You)

Words can build us up Words can break us down Start a fire in our hearts Or put it out

I don't wanna say a word Unless it points the world back to You

Just met my family!

Okay so this is only going to be a quick update because I don't have much time before dinner. But I got my family assignment earlier today and then I got to meet my family around 2 today. Usually, the families don't come till 3 but mine surprised me and came early. I actually have the family that Daniel was hoping to get. It's a young couple and 3 kids. The father is deaf and all of the other family members are hearing but they all sign fluently. It's going to be so good to practice my signing with them! And I'm hoping they might give me a name sign! That would be so cool! :) They have two boys that are 9 & 7 and a girl who's 11. The boys have ADHD but you honestly would never know. So far they're all well behaved :) The daughter will be in my group for our children's program too. So I'm really excited!

Daniel got a small family of just two this year. It's a 21 year old boy and his father. I guess the mother might show up Friday but it's not for sure. The 21 year old is deaf and has autism. He's pretty wild and crazy, so Daniel will have his hands full this week. The boy also loves girls so when I came to meet him and sit with them he was really excited.

Noelle got the family I had last year and it's a perfect match. They are an awesome family to have for your first year and they're so cute and so much fun. She's still waiting on them to arrive though.

It is going to be such a fun week! Keep us all in your prayers.

Thanks!

Training Day

I'm sitting in my room right now because I skipped dinner. I'm not feeling too great and I'm not hungry. I was going to try and sleep but I knew I never would so I figured, blog time. Training day is always pretty unpredictable. It can be extremely lengthy and boring sometimes but other times it can be very exciting. Today was interesting. I got at least 7 hours of sleep last night so I started the day with what I hoped was enough energy. After a great breakfast we had a bit of free time and I was able to squeeze in my weekly show that I missed from the night before. Thank goodness for online episodes, right? :) Then it was off to training.

We did a lot of fun activities and more group exercises to keep us all focused. In the first activity I wasn't allowed to use my dominant arm. So I had to write and draw with my left hand. I think I've actually gotten better using it. Others in my group were blind folded or had earplugs couldn't use either arm. Our creation turned out interesting to say the least. Then we had something called the amazing race. During this time we were put in different groups and we had a bunch of different stations to go to. Each station was about a different disability and we were timed for how long it took us to complete various tasks.

In one of the stations we had to paint a picture with a paint brush in our mouth and we couldn't use our hands and that is where we learned about spinal cord disabilities. It was really cool because Joni Erickson Tada (the whole founder or Joni and Friends) paints beautiful pictures like that all the time. Then there was another station where we had to wear gloves and put beads on a bracelet. There, we learned about disabilities regarding feeling in your hands.

Next was almost my least favorite. It was the speech impairment station. We had to play that telephone game with a huge giant marshmallow stuffed in our mouth. I didn't think it would be that difficult (especially because when Daniel passed on the phrase to me I understood perfectly) but when it came to my turn I almost couldn't make any word. All I could do was sound. And I started to gag, my eyes started watering, and marshmallow juice started pouring out of my mouth. It was a pretty bad experience. Somehow I was able to mumble something to the next person to pass on and then I ran into the bathroom and spit it all out. Not the best experience.

The next station we learned about wheelchairs and we got to try them out by having someone push us around an obstacle course with a cup of water on our head. Yes we did get a little wet. It really important learning the do's and don'ts of wheelchairs too, and even though I know them, it's always good to have a refresher. :)

Next was easily my least favorite one. It was about Autism. There was a lot of helpful information and I took it all in because sometimes the children with Autism can be the most difficult to work with. But our task in that station was to take a quiz about the camp rules but with a ton of distractions surrounding us. There was loud music and whistles and clapping and then there was the clam juice....
There was a little squirty bottle filled with clam juice that you were supposed to squirt near someones nose so they could smell the awful smell to distract them. Well you had to becareful not to squeeze it to hard or it would shoot out. When the person did it to me it squirted everywhere. It was in my eye and up my nose and all over my paper and my arm. And if you've never smelled clam juice well let me tell you it smells like a really dirty pet store. It was soooo gross and I was so upset because I had to walk around smelling like that the rest of the day. Seriously, I can't think of anything much worse.

And lastly there was a station about blindness. That was simple, I didn't have to be blind folded but I had to lead someone around who was. Daniel had to be blind folded though. Doing all these things might sound silly, and sometimes I think it's weird but if you take it really seriously and think about what it would be like to be affected by a disability like any of the above it and live with it on a daily basis it really opens your eyes. It gives us a very small taste of what's it's like to deal with some of these things. After regrouping and having an awesome devotional, here I am.

Also, our retreat Pastor is awesome this year. He's new as the Pastor but he's definitely not new to Joni and Friends Family retreat. He has a 13 year old son that has Autism and Muscular Distrophy and I believe he said something else that he was born with too. His wife and the two boys will be joining him tomorrow and while leading the whole camp as a Pastor he will also be attending it with his family. He is really cool and he has a lot of great stories and advice for us. Today one of the main things he said that stuck out to me was: People need to know they are loved. It's so true and that right there is something I am incredibly passionate about. I don't care who you are, what you've done, what you look like, you need to know you're loved. So please keep praying that the Lord uses this Pastor and speaks through him all week. And please keep praying for the families that are coming tomorrow.

Also, if you could pray for my health I would really appreciate it. I've had a little cough and my body (especially my back) has been pretty achy. I'm hoping I'm just adjusting to the elevation or something. I don't want to get sick! I want to be 100% for the rest of training and for when the families come tomorrow!

Hopefully I'll have more pictures later :)

Joni & Friends Family Camp 2012! :)

Just arrived in California and had a lovely chicken fajita dinner :) The food is so good here! Tonight is like a hangout night for the people that are here so far. Tomorrow is when everything starts and we do training. So Noelle and I are chillin in our room as of now and we may go swimming and check out the hot springs later! :) Watch out for my blogs all week. I'll try to do one every night. And keep the camp and all of us in your prayers. Thanks :)

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thanks!