Family.

The people closest to us.

Our society has changed drastically in the past 20 years and families are having a much harder time staying connected. Most families spend more time with teachers, friends, coworkers, coaches and their computers than with each other. So many distractions coming at all of us every day that there is little time to slow down and connect with the people who are the most important to us.
This past April With Change In Mind was lucky to have a family of four make the choice to travel with us. Never before had we had volunteers so young and a family who had the desire to all volunteer together.

As with all of our volunteers there were months of pre-trip preparation. Lots of emails back and forth between me and the family where I answered questions, responded to fears and basically just any old thing they wanted to know about. The Freedman family also set up a Skype call with me a few weeks before their trip. This gave us all a chance to see each other face to face, and for the family (and the boys especially) to ask all of those last minute questions. I think having that call made all of us feel like this was really happening and got us very excited about the adventure that was waiting for us!

There has never been a trip that didn’t have challenges. This is one of the things that makes these trips so unique and life changing. This family group was no different. We all had challenges. We were challenged to make decisions as a group, challenged to all stay healthy and happy and challenged to get the most out of the experience that we were all lucky to have together. These challenges were only a small part of our entire journey together. We had LOTS of laughs, dancing, jokes, conversations and moments of learning.

Some of the highlights of the journey were hearing how much the family loved working in the Adziwa garden that With Change In Mind had helped to build in 2013. Watching Mom (Elizabeth) and her two boys (Zachary and Max) jump into the water at Lake Malawi together. Watching Dad (Andrew) and the two boys viewing lions just a few feet in front of our open air safari vehicle. And my all-time favorite moment was sitting on the porch of Kumbali Country Lodge on our last night together talking about how the experience had affected each of us.

What struck me was the commitment Andrew and Elizabeth made to focus on their family…to focus only on the tasks at hand and each other for two weeks. No phone calls were made, no internet was used and the entire trip was dedicated to the four of them and their family connection. Andrew and Elizabeth don’t have “special” jobs that allow them to make their own hours. Both of them work full time and have the stress that comes with working and balancing family life. They made a choice though. Together the two of them made a choice and a commitment. This commitment was evident every moment I was with them. They didn’t just tolerate each other they actually ENJOYED their time together. I would venture to guess they all learned a lot about each other and about the kind of family they want to be going forward.

The strengths among this family were diverse, but when put together they made a great team. Each member of the family had moments of leadership and decision making and each member of the “team” was able to provide insight, ideas and participate in all aspects of the trip. I got to see this family come together and support each other in times of struggle and I got to witness many moments of soaring laughter and silliness.

In the end I hope that the Freedman Four learned and experienced a lot. The greatest gift for me however, was watching this family take a break from their busy lives and commit to time together. Not just time, but intentional focused time serving others and bonding as a family.

When the Freedman’s drove away and headed to the airport I had tears in my eyes. I felt like I had been lucky enough for those two weeks to be included in their special family. I was invited in to witness their service journey. I was so proud of each of them and so proud that With Change In Mind had the opportunity to help make this family’s dream of a humanitarian adventure come true.

Check out a short clip of some great pictures from this trip!

With Change In Mind Family Trip 2016 from With Change In Mind on Vimeo.