Mission-Minded Travel
I’m not gonna lie. One of the reasons I signed up to volunteer at a Joni and Friends Family Retreat this summer is because I looked at pictures of the location where it was going to be held: the YMCA Trout Lodge in Potosi, MO. Now Potosi wasn’t exactly on my Top 10 Travel Destination List, but I was immediately drawn to the atmosphere of the camp as depicted on their website. Of course there were other [more important] reasons that I opted to go. Namely, my parents have been long-time supporters of Joni and Friends, so I grew up with an appreciation for the ministry; a number of other people from our church were planning to go; it was something Claire and I could do together; and, most of all, it seemed like something Jesus would do because He was always showing love to those whom the rest of society overlooked or rejected.
So it was that on a hot July day Claire and our friend, Clara, and I loaded into our car and traversed the flatlands of Kansas into the hills of Missouri for our week as “Short Term Missionaries.”
After a too-brief family visit and an always-necessary ice cream stop (we give Scoops in Camdenton, MO a 4 out of 5 for friendliness, variety, and flavor), we arrived at the camp and began our training.
The camp was every bit as beautiful and serene as I had hoped!
What followed was a full and rewarding week of sharing life with other Christians as we loved and took care of our buddies and made every effort to help them have the time of their lives!
Whether they were blind, in a wheelchair, on the Autism spectrum, or any number of other disabilities, we wanted them to enjoy the full camp experience. And in the process perhaps it was we who received the greater blessing.
Mornings sitting on our balcony, watching the sun rise over the lake and chase away the mist, were blissful. Days were full of activity and opportunity. Evenings were lively with campfire singing, barn dancing, and talent show-ing!
We arrived home exhausted…with a travel experience that we will not soon forget.
