“A first time on a boat for some kids can be stressful. By the end of the day they don’t want to get out.
That was the case for over 50 adopted and foster children on Gull Lake Monday, July 19, 2021.
The local Wake the Worldchapter of West Michigan held a day for foster kids and adopted kids to enjoy time out on the water for tubing, surfing and, wakeboarding.
Volunteers with the all day event said the best part is seeing the smiles on kids faces as they get the courage to step up onto the wakeboard or hitting that big wave.
Nick Rachel has spent the last 6 years helping out with his parents, he started when he was 11.
It started as a fun day on the boat for him, but now it means more.
“At first I’m like all right we are just taking a bunch of kids out on boats nothing more than that, and now that I’ve really grown and matured and realized that it’s so much more and then it’s really just kind of a family we are having and really just showing them one of the best days of the summer,” Rachel said.
For Rachel, his favorite memory is seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces.
“When people are going wake surfing, and they are right in there, and they drop that rope, and just seeing them get all excited because they are in there for a minute, that’s probably the most exciting part for me,” he said.
Rachel said some kids are uneasy at first.
“Sometimes terror most of the time it’s joy. We’ve had people from Morocco come in and you know they’ve never even gone knee-deep in water,” he said
Rachel said it’s also more than just boating.
“Some people are more fortunate than others and we are happy to spread God’s gifts and happy to just show people what else there is to enjoy,” he said.
Julie Baylor of Grand Rapids brought her three adopted children after hearing about the event through a post-adoptive resource offered by Bethany Christian Services….”
View the whole story here: https://wwmt.com/news/local/non-profit-gives-fostered-and-adopted-kids-a-chance-for-fun-on-gull-lake