It has been almost 2 years since I posted. Just today it occured to me that there may be some single adoptive mommas out there who follow this blog who may be interested in my new ministry. In particular, we have a retreat this summer (July 2021) just for single adoptive moms!!! More about that below.
Long story short: COVID-19 put a wrench in so many things - one of those things being my job of 10+ years with Go Be Love International (dba of Visiting Orphans, Inc). We all got laid off at the end of March 2020 because of COVID-19 and its effect on international travel. I started praying about what would be next for me and a few months later, God put a retreat center vision on my heart. In August, I filed the paperwork to create a 501c3 ministry called Restoration Nation Retreat.
Restoration Nation Retreat (RNR) hosts Christ-centered retreats designed to refresh, nourish and restore those who attend. Our heart is to pour out the extravagant love of the Father on each attendee. The vision for RNR was born out of much prayer and a heart for missionaries, ministry leaders, foster and adoptive families, as well as those experiencing burnout, grief or the effects of trauma. Retreats will be designed with each group of participants in mind.
Our Purpose
To see people healed and whole in Jesus.
Our Mission
This mission of Restoration Nation Retreat is to refresh, nourish and restore those in need of healing through Christ-centered retreats, counseling, and other services.
Our Website: https://restorationnationretreat.org/
As of today, we have 5 retreats in the works for 2021. 3 for missionary ladies and 2 for adoptive moms. One of those adoptive mom retreats is specifically for Single Adoptive Moms!!! Being one myself, this one is near and dear to my heart. I've never heard of a retreat for us before and many of the adoptive mom retreats I've been to - us single momma's are often looked over entirely. One retreat I went to - I asked the host if there were other single adoptive moms at the retreat and she looked at me and said "Honestly, I don't know." She looked at me like she had no idea this was even a category of adoptive moms. The retreat was beneficial and refreshing but a lot of the content was geared toward married couples. Most of the guest speakers spoke about "my husband and I" and so on. It just felt like I wasn't really seen. It's been on my heart for many years to do a retreat for single adoptive moms. Long before I had any inkling that I'd be starting a ministry that specifically does retreats. I didn't know but God did. And I'm so excited to love on single adoptive moms at our retreat this July at Sandy Cove Ministries in North East, Maryland. If you are a single adoptive mom who is reading this - I would love for you to come! All the details here: https://restorationnationretreat.org/july-2021-retreat-1 Cost is only $100 as my heart in starting this ministry is to keep costs as low as possible so that it's never a reason why someone doesn't attend. Restoration Nation Retreat will be fundraising the rest of the cost. We're seeking sponsors for this so if you or someone you know are interested in sponsoring, you can find out more about that here: https://restorationnationretreat.org/retreat-sponsorship
Besides the new ministry, I am also doing freelance design work for many clients (mostly nonprofits). I just finished website updates for a nonprofit in Georgia, a logo/coffee label for a friend who bought a coffee farm in Hawaii, a brochure for another ministry, and am currently working on a 2 week fundraising campaign for a mentoring organization as they honor one of their long-time mentors who is retiring. It's been a joy to get to use my skills to help other ministries and companies. I'm really loving it. And I'm excited about the new ministry and our first retreat coming up April 29 to May 2, 2021 for missionary ladies.
On the homefront, my son is growing like crazy. Since January of 2020, he's gone up 3 pant sizes. I can barely keep up. He's about to be 12 years old. Where has the time even gone? It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about his first English words. My boy is strong willed and definitely a future leader. He does not like to follow. He likes to be in charge. Always has. I know God has big plans for him. It is my greatest gift to get to be his momma. Before the quarantine of 2020, we were supposed to go to Ethiopia. The trip got cancelled 2 days before travel. We still have a flight credit and cannot wait to go when it's safe. We both miss Ethiopia and all our dear ones and family there so much. We also miss our family in Michigan as we haven't been able to see them either. We've been having fun closer to home and staying put in Florida. I'm thankful to live in a place with such amazing weather and lots of fun outdoor things to do. We've been to Orlando a few times and spent a lot of the summer at the pool and beach. Recently, we went to Sea World Orlando for the first time and Mihretu and I went on the big roller coasters. I get a little nauseous these days but Mihretu absolutely loves these rides. Needless to say, he went way more times than I did. I'm so glad we moved here almost 6 years ago. I've been thankful for that decision every single day. You never know what God has planned but as of this moment, I don't ever want to leave Florida.
For those of you who are long-time readers of my blog, I'm sorry I don't get on here much anymore. I'm very sensitive to what kinds of things I share about my kiddo online. The more I've learned over the years from adoption groups and from adult adoptees in those groups, the less I want to share. I think that's a good thing. I certainly don't ever want my son to read my old posts and be embarrassed in any way. I do very much want to create a safe place for single adoptive moms to know they are not alone. Please connect with me through the new ministry or come to a future retreat. I would love to meet you!
With much love,
Autumn
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