Perimeter Church 6th Grade Retreat

Thank goodness this all happened relatively quickly, or I probably would've lost my nerve, but God had big plans and he didn't let ME get in the way. We'd been hearing about the upcoming 6th grade retreat, but I didn't bring it up. To my surprise, Matthew asked to go, and ultimately he even spoke with Joy (one of the leaders) and asked her to speak with us about it. God really worked through Joy and Greg and His perfect timing to show me this was GOOD. I had emailed Greg asking his thoughts on the matter and was planning to email Joy as well, but before I emailed her, I received an email FROM HER - talking about Matthew and the retreat. That confirmed it for me. It was time to let go. Matthew was SOOOO ready to go – he was excited and not at all nervous. Greg texted me Saturday morning saying that Matthew was doing GREAT. Matthew said “wonderfully!”. I'd mentioned to Greg in one of my texts that I wish I could be a fly on the wall, and he said I would enjoy being a fly on the wall. ☺ Saturday night of the retreat, we exchanged some texts, and then he said to call him because it would be easier to update me on the phone than by text. What an amazing conversation! He said Matthew had a great day. Once, when Greg asked him how was doing, Matthew said, “Ummm. Good. This is probably the best day of my life so far.” WOW. Greg said the sessions have been amazing, and during the free activity time, Matthew canoed, shot baskets for an hour, did the zipline four times and then did the bungee trampoline. Really?! I asked how the social piece was going, and he said well. He said he hasn’t seen or heard anything rude or mean toward Matthew, nothing more than some quizzical glances from time to time. In fact, they were so minor Greg said he wouldn’t have even picked up on them if he weren’t sensitive to the situation. He said there’ve been several kids that have really made an effort to connect with and include Matthew, and Greg made a point to commend them later, hoping it will perpetuate the efforts. Greg also said that there’ve been a couple home runs – cool God moments where He knocked it out of the park. They’ve been singing this certain song, and Matthew has gotten on stage to sing with them several times. The first time he was one of four, and he rocked it out. Saturday night he was one of 12 – in front of over 100 kids – and he got the loudest, most enthusiastic applause!!! Cool!! Another time, he was with a group of boys when Harry Potter came up, and he quickly became their go-to guy for all things Harry Potter. Greg said it was pretty cool. I can’t wait to see some pictures – Greg is trying to email me some. God is so good. On the way home in the truck, they had some more really cool conversations. Apparently in their evening discipleship debreifing talks, they really bonded and built trust with each other, including Matthew. In the car ride, when he offered some cool fact about topics that popped up in conversation, one of the boys said, "Matthew, HOW do you know all of that?!" Greg took the opportunity to expand on what he'd told them about Matthew when he first joined the group. He said, "Matthew's brain just works differently than yours. He can store and recall information much easier than most of us, but then some things that are easier for you are harder for him. His brain just works different, and different isn't BAD... it's just different." I really think the guys accept him for who he is. He came home saying he likes his d-group guys a lot better than he did before he went. During the year, he has said they aren't really his friends... they are too goofy and too silly. After this weekend, though, they apparently bonded on a deeper level, and now he likes them. GO GOD. Jimmie said it so well, "It's like we're living right in the miracle we've been praying for for so long." Amen. God promises to do immeasurable more than we can ask or imagine... and he delivers, in HIS TIME. Here are some emails we received after the retreat: From Jeremy, Children's Ministry Leader: Thank you so much for letting Matthew join us on the retreat! It was a joy to have him and I enjoyed getting to know him better and riding the zipline with him! I just wanted to follow up with you to see how Matthew's experience was. Thanks again for sharing him with us. Jeremy PS. Does Matthew go to the Lionheart School? I think I see him pictured in an article in the May 2013 issue of the Johns Creek/South Forsyth CountyLine magazine! From Dean, a parent a d-group leader: Though Matthew is not in my group I wanted to tell you about some of the good times I shared with Matthew this weekend. He always seems in his element every Sunday morning and really enjoys the big group time together. Essentially the retreat was like packing 5 Sunday mornings in praise and worship and discipleship surrounding them with a lot of fun activities all in one weekend and Matthew could not have been happier or more engaged! He ran up front for several opportunities to sing his heart out. I saw him and his Dgroup friends running around together a lot having fun. But when it came time for the lake activities, he had one thing on his mind, boating. I think he and I were thinking alike, the last thing we wanted to do was go for a swim in that cold water! So I asked him if he wanted me to get a boat and he was happy about that. We boated for about an hour and had some great conversation and paddling lessons. We used both a paddle boat and a canoe. I really enjoyed my time with Matthew this weekend; his progress is amazing! Just wanted to share this while it was still fresh. Matthew really blessed me this weekend! Dean Darsey