Women's Retreat

My teammate Robin annually hosts a retreat for the women from several different churches and/or Bible studies with whom she works, and this year I arrived just in time to help her with the last preparations for the biggest retreat ever. We had a volunteer team come from Arkansas to help with the retreat. After 2 days of shopping, we loaded up the vans on Friday morning and drove an hour and a half to the water park where the retreat was held. (Our state, Aguascalientes, is named after the natural hot springs that exist here. For this reason, there are several water parks featuring pools, slides, etc. that use this warm water instead of cold. Many water parks also have housing accomodations.) Note my quiet passengers below. Because I had taken responsibility for many organizational and financial aspects of the retreat, I worked at the registration table and was grateful that Myrna was able to help me communicate with the women. Her help made it go much smoother!

There were a total of 70 people registered for the retreat, and 66 were able to attend. (This includes 4 of us from the IMB, 8 women from Arkansas, and 5 women from Guadelajara whom I will discuss in my next post. The remaining 49 were the guests.)

We had some great times of praise and worship in the beautiful weather. Is there any sound more precious than sincere worship in one's heart language?

We also had some amazing conference sessions taught by Cherry and translated to spanish by Robin. The theme was "Sharing What You Know." While I was still in Guatemala, I had been sent the outlines for the sessions and was able to put them into powerpoint form that we could use to help the women follow along and fill in their outlines. It was a VERY good study that challenged me as much if not more than it challenged the women in attendance.

The women seemed to be paying close attention to every word, soaking it in.

The schedule also included a craft time led by the Arkansas women as well as the meals and snacks that they prepared. This beautiful, precious woman showing her craft in this picture will probably soon become my hair stylist. She has an amazing story of transformation and is truly a light in her community. I can hardly wait to know her better!

At least some of these women are members of a church where I will probably become involved. Such beautiful spirits shine through their smiles!

There were 5 different churches represented at this retreat (as well as some women who are participating in home Bible studies). Please join me in praying for opportunities to bond with these women and to form parnerships to work alongside them to reach their communities.