At Family Retreat, Special Needs Families are Accepted and Celebrated
Roger and Merry have nine children. Their youngest, Colleen, is 18 years old and has Down syndrome. Merry shared what it was like to have disability come into the family.
“When Colleen was born, I was angry. I was homeschooling eight kids, I was still heartbroken over three prior miscarriages, and I was exhausted. Honestly, I wanted to die. But God told me that Colleen was a special blessing.
‘She’s a special lot of work! I told the Lord.’
We got kicked out of churches because Colleen wanted to dance during worship. There never seemed to be a place for Colleen or for our family.”
A Place to Belong
But all that changed when Roger and Merry brought their family to Family Retreat. As Merry says:
“Here I can be honest about my fears and failings. Our family is accepted at Joni and Friends. Colleen can worship, and we’re not kicked out. Quite the opposite, she’s celebrated! In fact, our whole family has been changed through Family Retreat. Five of our children have attended—two as volunteer buddies.
And Family Retreat also made Roger aware of his own struggles with autism and multiple traumatic brain injuries—the first one the result of a car accident when he was just three years old. It was here at Family Retreat that Roger first felt accepted. As a result, our marriage has been strengthened.”
Support in Challenging Seasons
Roger and Merry rely on Joni and Friends for ongoing support, especially recently as Colleen has suffered some setbacks.
“Colleen always had a bubbly personality. She was full of laughter, loved to joke around, and was very empathetic. But two years ago, she got very sick. I could tell right away that something was dreadfully wrong.”
Merry
Colleen went downhill fast. Her physical symptoms were many, including extreme weight loss. Developmentally, Colleen lost many of her abilities. Her personality became flat. She had difficulty sleeping and lost a lot of her language.
After multiple visits to doctors and specialists, Colleen was diagnosed with Down syndrome regression disorder—a serious neurological condition characterized by the sudden loss of previously learned skills.
“Things are tough. Colleen is unpredictable, but she has started intense medical treatment, and we’re already seeing improvement. After Colleen’s first treatment session, she said her first full sentences in over ten months: ‘I feel much better now. I am quite starving.’”
When you give to Joni and Friends, you make programs like Family Retreat possible. And through every donation, you contribute to the Joni and Friends vision: a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ.
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