Michelle Duggar: How to make a family vacation meaningful
This post was written by Michelle Duggar. Photo: Darwin Wiggett/Getty Images.
In June and July our family got on our bus for an 11-city road trip to promote our book, "A Love that Multiplies." It was a great opportunity for us to fit in some family sightseeing and field trips together. And it was really great for homeschooling since the kids were able to learn more about the history of the different places we visited.
When we were in New York we were able to go to the Bowery Mission, one of the oldest missions in New York and in the United States, where we served food and helped cleaned up. That was a real highlight. The children really enjoyed getting to go there and sing and then visit with the homeless people there.
And they really enjoyed visiting with a volunteer who had been homeless 30 years ago. When he was homeless he actually ended up at the Bowery Mission himself. Now he's serving and helping there, and has just a really neat testimony of how he got back on his feet and is making a difference in other people's lives, thanks to the Bowery Mission.
We also performed a concert in Highland Park, where one of the pastors we know invited us to come out. The children enjoyed that because we were able to meet a lot of people in the neighborhood. So it wasn't just book signings; we were able to be a part of ministry while we were in New York, which is something we try to do whenever we can.
We also went to Niagara Falls, and that was just breathtaking! We went on a boat up around where the falls are and got very wet. Some of the kids wanted to get more wet than the others, but those of us who wanted to stay dry kept our raincoats on. The rest of the kids were totally soaked and later had to change clothes on the bus! It was just a really neat time. And my husband Jim Bob and I had never been there before. So it was a brand new experience for all of us. And it was just very special.
Read more from Michelle Duggar on TLC's Parentables.
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