17h 44min, apr 25, 2004 y - Idea for IFR

Description:

After 15 years of US Family Retreats, Joni and Friends saw the amazing impact it had on families. Churches that became involved and how they influenced the local disability community was completely transformative. At the same time, Joni and Friends had given away tens of thousands of wheelchairs in over 40 countries through Wheels for the World. Families who had received a wheelchair had little opportunity to connect with each other or learn about more about Jesus. They needed a safe place, a place where they could build community and learn more about the Lord and how to cope with disability. It needed to be a place where they could encourage one another and support one another. There is no better place to do this than at a Family Retreat.

But what was not clear was how to implement a Family Retreat that would be accepted in other cultures. Similar to US Family Retreats, we needed partners, missionaries or nationals that understood the potential of Family Retreats to change lives and impact churches. We found our first potential partner with a flourishing ministry in Ukraine at one of the Joni and Friends Summits in 2004. Joni and Friends partnered with this ministry and began to dream of how to put together the first International Family Retreat in the Ukraine.