Day 2 in Rosemary

On Monday, the families we will be serving arrive between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. We call them the "retreat families", and each is distinct--coming with different backgrounds, standing in different places in their life journeys.

We checked the families in, and the volunteer family partners met them and took them to their houses. We gave them a while to settle in before meeting back together in Town Hall. The families each filled out a Lighthouse "mad libs" and the Host read their answers, poked fun at them, and introduced them to the rest of the crowd.

After the introductions and the teaching of the Lighthouse Song, everyone made their way across the street to Summer Kitchen, who very generously closed their restaurant for the night and fed everyone from Lighthouse. Here's a picture with me in it from outside the restaurant:

(I'm the one in the middle wearing a gray, sleeveless Lighthouse shirt)

After dinner, the volunteers headed over to Wiggle (the staff house) and assembled in the living room area for Night Cap. Night Cap is the nightly environment where we cover announcements for the next day, share some experiences from the day, focus in on the devotional thought we will be sharing with the families the next day, and worship together in song. It's one of my favorite parts of the retreat. At the end of a long day, it's good to come together before God and really be refreshed. It helps remind me of the purpose of everything. After that concludes the days activities.