At Family Retreat, God’s Presence, Power, and Love Shine Brightly
Sylas has an extremely rare and fatal metabolic disorder called GABA-T. Cassi and Randy, Sylas’s parents, will never forget the day he was diagnosed at eighteen months old: December 12, 2014.
The doctors said, “Take him home and make memories.”
Most children with GABA-T don’t live to see their second birthdays.
In the wake of Sylas’s devastating diagnosis, Cassi and Randy struggled. They didn’t have a church family and knew only a few families living with disability—none facing the terminal diagnosis of a child.
“There is nothing that will define your faith more precisely and profoundly than facing the death of your child.”
Cassi
Another mom of a child with a disability introduced Cassi to Joni and Friends.
The next year Cassi, Randy, and Sylas attended their first Joni and Friends Texas Family Retreat.
Cassi recalls having questions and concerns about allowing people we didn’t know to care for Sylas. But all worries quickly faded as the volunteer paired with Sylas became like family.
Sylas blossomed at Family Retreat as our Joni and Friends staff and volunteers loved both Sylas and new addition, brother Ezra, instantly and deeply.
“To know that Sylas was taken care of and loved on so intensely allowed Randy and me time to reconnect with each other and with the Lord. For families like ours, Family Retreat is the closest place to heaven on earth,”
Cassi
Randy and Cassi shared their family motto: “God is bigger than any diagnosis.”
“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
Psalm 147:5
At Family Retreat, this truth is clearer and more palpable than ever.
At Family Retreat, God’s presence, power, and love shine brightly, bringing healing and joy to families carrying heavy burdens.
After their first experience at Family Retreat, Sylas’s family kept coming back. Every member of the family loves Family Retreat.
By God’s grace, Sylas has lived longer than doctors ever expected. He has a bright mind and a good sense of humor. He, Ezra, and his parents are now a steady and treasured part of the Joni and Friends community, eager to invite others into the life-giving experience they discovered at Family Retreat.
Joni and Friends Texas loves to serve families like Sylas’s.
We want to welcome families living with disability at future Family Retreats and connect them to local churches where they will encounter Jesus and flourish within loving communities.
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You can bless more families by helping us keep ministries like Joni and Friends Family Retreat going!
