One of their first contributions was a teambuilding exercise. Since the women attending come from various churches (or in some cases no church at all), it was really important to foster bonding. In this exercise, the women had to help one another over a rope that was pretty high off the ground. Different rules were introduced at various points in the exercise, but the mail idea was supporting, encouraging, and trusting one another.
They also presented a few skits that were funny and yet also accentuated some of the main points of our conference sessions. Although I didn't understand every word, I understood enough to be impacted by these skits. They did a fabulous job!
Saturday night they had each small group of women perform an interpretation of a fairy tale. This part was primarily just for entertainment, which was especially meaningful since some of these women never really had a childhood and seldom have opportunities to do something "fun" like this. Between having a hard time hearing them and struggling to catch the language because they were talking so fast, I really didn't get much of what was said in the fairy tales. However, there was really a lot of physical comedy, and it was very clear that the women were having a fabulous time with it! In Red Riding Hood, one woman (in the grayish sweater in this picture) absolutely stole the show with her portrayal of Toto the dog. Throughout the weekend, this same woman continuously demonstrated her servant's heart. She was always looking for a way to help or to serve others!
This group was interpreting Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and I was particularly amused by their version of the work song. Instead of "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go," they sang something like, "Hi-ho, hi-ho, I'm not going to work, I'm not going to work!" Super funny!
The Guadalajara women also led a small group time that was very meaningful. The two smallest groups were comprised of women who are either new believers or women who had not yet made a decision. Before the end of the session, most had made a decision. The other three groups focused on the practical applications of our theme, "Sharing What You Know." We talked about reasons why we often don't share and God's view on those reasons/excuses. We were each given a bead bracelet and talked about the colors can be used to help explain the plan of salvation. Then a really cool thing happened. We were sent out 2 by 2 to go share with people who were visiting the water park that day. There was an immediate challenge to share with those nearby who needed to hear. (It was also a cool parallel to Jesus sending out the 70 in 2's as there were nearly 70 of us!) By the end of this sharing time, I think we had 6 reports of people in the park who had prayed to receive Christ after hearing the plan of salvation.
(Note the water slide in the background of this small group picture.)
Please join me in praying that all of us from the retreat will be bold in sharing what we know; that the people in the park who prayed to recieve Christ will seek to know Him more and will find believers who can disciple them;and that our "big sisters" from Guadalajara will be blessed and rewarded richly for their service, leadership, and love.
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