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Wendy and Rob Landry, along with their children, Logan and Carson, have been participating in the DiscoveryBound (DB) Outreach annual camping weekend in Jetty Park, Florida, since 2006. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Christian Science families from around the region that we don’t see often,” Wendy says. “It’s a nice getaway that’s conducive to spiritual inspiration because we’re able to leave our cares behind for the weekend and be in the company of spiritual thinkers.”
Wendy is a board member of the DB Outreach Central Florida chapter in Orlando and, along with three other Florida chapters, has been a key part of the Jetty Park weekend planning team for the last several years. “There are multiple components to the weekend that allow folks to participate in ways that suit them,” she explains. “And we always love the inspirational speaker!”
The speaker has also been a high point for her daughter, Logan – a DB National Leadership Council (NLC) graduate who attended the 2019 Jetty Park weekend. “I really enjoyed spending time with old and new friends,” Logan says. “I especially enjoyed the guest inspirational speaker, Nikki Paulk [C.S.]. The concepts she discussed were so simple, but I think they gave everyone a fresh perspective on spirituality and healing in Christian Science. It was such a great close to the weekend.”
The weekend, as it usually does, included kayaking, walks on the beach, a BBQ dinner, games and more – but the spiritual atmosphere brought everything together. In fact, Rob, who has been practicing Christian Science in earnest since he joined a branch church three years ago, was healed during the weekend of a painful finger.
“While kayaking, I had pain in one of my fingers, and it was making it difficult to hold on to the paddle,” Rob recalls. “I started wondering how I had hurt it, trying to identify what was causing the pain. Then I remembered a thought offered during our metaphysical sharing before the activity – it was the Golden Text from the Bible Lesson: ‘…nothing shall by any means hurt you’ [Luke 10:18].
“I quickly realized I shouldn’t be searching for a cause, but rather know that nothing had occurred to cause me discomfort,” he says. “I continued to work with this Bible phrase to reinforce the fact that there was no cause of discomfort, and I was able to finish kayaking without issue. I didn’t think about it again until I was listening to the inspirational talk given by Nikki Paulk that evening. She spoke about changing thought to bring about healing, which echoed my experience that morning, and I was full of gratitude for this small demonstration.”
A cherished chapter worker for DB Outreach, Wendy can see the local and wide impact of the events she helps organize, and many others. “We’d highly recommend Jetty Park or any other DB event because they are one-of-a-kind CS events!” she says.
Logan adds, “I couldn’t be more grateful for DiscoveryBound and everyone who makes these events happen.”
About DISCOVERYBOUND OUTREACH
DiscoveryBound Outreach is a community program that provides local activities for all ages, weekend retreats and national teen weekends for Christian Scientists and their friends.