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.!
On February 21st, Millie’s Tea House opened for the afternoon to serve the only high tea in Luanda. Manfred, the butler, greeted eight beautifully dressed ladies at the door and presented them with their tea selection for the afternoon. After they were seated in the dining room, the ladies enjoyed a complete menu of savories and sweets fit for royalty. Smoked ham and pineapple salad sandwiches on crustettes, tomato-basil sandwiches, and traditional cucumber sandwiches were served with sugared grapes, artichoke-rice salad, and African Sunrise tea. Cranberry-orange scones with jam or cream were followed by mango sorbet. The trays of dainties included macaroons, dipped a
pricots, anise cookies, chocolate-pecan tassies, Belgian wafers dipped with chocolate and crushed macadamia nuts, and lemon-filled sandwich cookies. These were finished with a spot of caramel tea. (Is your mouth watering yet?) Millie had worked hard all week preparing for this special event, and Manfred stepped in to graciously assist in hosting for the afternoon. He also helped clean up the myriad of dishes and silver after Millie collapsed on the bed. The guests were the winning bidders of an auction item which the Vances put up for bid last September at a benefit for the Home for Abandoned Girls. Millie asked Manfred not to quit his day job quite yet, but there’s a lot of potential there. It was the talk of the town! 
