Traveling, especially with kids, can be stressful. Picture a flight with 110 moms, 55 infants and countless toddlers. That was the scene on Monday on a Southwest flight from Dallas to Orlando.
“This is organized chaos. This is what we do,” said Mari Rubio, coordinator with Carrollton YoungLives. She said they had a special chartered flight to take everyone to camp.
YoungLives is an organization through Young Life that helps teen moms, like Raquel Nuncio, succeed. Nuncio got pregnant when she was 17. She said she was depressed during her pregnancy. “I knew that I had done something that I wasn’t supposed to do,” said Nuncio. But the day her son, Elliott, was born, she said, “I realized everything is going to be ok.”
Nuncio went to YoungLives for guidance. Like many other teen moms, her future started looking brighter. She was excited to attend camp this summer with other young moms and babies. All 110 moms and their children checked into their flight and gathered near the security checkpoint at Dallas Love Field Airport.
Over a megaphone, an unexpected announcement came. “You are going with your children to Disneyworld!”
The group of moms screamed with joy, many tearing up excited to bring their kids to Disneyworld for the first time. They each get two nights at the Disney resort to enjoy some quality “mommy and me” time.
“It’s just such a blessing to be able to give this to them.” It’s for a group of moms who only want the best for their kids," Rubio said.