Retreating

When we took an international assignment, I knew that one of the things I would greatly miss would be the yearly ladies' retreats, especially at Mission Springs and Mt. Hermon. Was I ever surprised in Indonesia that they had a ladies' retreat at Puncak, a beautiful area outside Jakarta, reminiscent of the Santa Cruz Mountains. If you recall, that was immediately after the tsunami had struck Sumatra. The emotion was felt as women shared personal testimonies from their time helping in Ache and watching the hands and feet of the gospel go out to the Muslims there. The worship and singing from women from all over the globe was fantastic. So here we are in Luanda where we had difficulty even finding the church that offered a service in English. Well, last weekend marked the very first women's retreat here in Luanda. Several women from the Luanda International Christian Church had the vision to sponsor a one day retreat for the ladies here, many of whom had never had this opportunity before. What a special time it was as 53 ladies (many who did not go to our church) of many different nationalities gathered for fellowship, prayer and worship based on "Loving Well," a video series by Beth Moore. The focus of the retreat was learning to love well, even those who are difficult to love. I was privileged to participate in the planning committee, and it was beautiful to see how God honored the prayer, planning, and preparation that went into the day. The response was overwhelming, and the table discussion so encouraging as ladies from Canada, Scotland, Kenya, and the U.S. all brought different perspectives to the topics. One of the Kenyan women shared that what we call slums in Luanda don't really qualify because they have electricity, or even satellite. In Kenya, the homes in the slums are made of cardboard and wash away when the rains come. Every woman left with such a sense of connectedness and a desire to spend time together again. And look what I would have missed if I had never left the U.S.!