Every fall, many of the conferences of the Evangelical Covenant
Church (ECC) fill up their Bible camps and conference retreat centers with
loads of women who are looking for a weekend away with their girlfriends and
with God. Any time that I happen
to be home for the last weekend in September, I always try to book myself some
time to be at Covenant Point Bible Camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and
this September was no different.
This year, I had the added delight of being able to be the missionary
speaker both at Covenant Point and Mission Springs in northern California. And now that the retreat season is
over, I've decided that I need to book myself into a quiet place for actual
retreat, since being the missionary speaker at a women's retreat doesn't
exactly allow for much personal time or retreat!
 |
| Gift pack at the speaker's cabin at Mission Springs, CA |
|
 |
| Mission Springs Chapel where we met for amazing worship |
|
 |
| In honor of my veiled friends, always traveling with my refugee suitcase (bottom right) |
 |
| Swapping missionary nurse experiences from Africa |
 |
| God's abundant harvest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan |
I've learned about living our lives on purpose, and learning to
be content....both timely teachings as I journey through this time of
transition and seeking God as Jehovah Provider for all of our needs. I've prayed with women who needed a
word of encouragement, or someone just to hold their hand and allow them to
share their grief over the loss of a husband. I've challenged the women of the U.P. Michigan and northern
California to turn off the media and turn our hearts open to God, who can then
use us for His kingdom building purposes.
I've learned that women in the ECC are passionate about caring for missionaries
and refugees, especially as they poured out so much love on me (and Steve, by
extension) through their offerings which will be put aside for our new ministry
in Sweden. I've heard teaching
about coming to the table (the communion table) and staying at the table even
when life and ministry are difficult and our human tendency is to run away from
conflict and just give up. Those
were the best words yet spoken into my life in recent weeks. Don't give up. Stay at the table. It can be resolved at the table, and
only at the table, and only if we approach the table with a spirit of true
humility and an understanding of forgiveness. And then we went to the table, at both retreats. What a privilege to participate in
community around the table.
This past May, 2016, before we left Antwerp Belgium, I had the
joy of planning an overnight retreat for 6 new followers of Jesus, all who had
come from countries where little is truly known about Jesus. We used my Special Interest Missionary
(SIM) funds, which are available to long term missionaries through Women
Ministries of the ECC, to fund the event...to pay for the train tickets for my
refugee friends to get up to Antwerp, to pay for their food and lodging at the
Catholic retreat center, and to pay for some of the supplies we needed for the
weekend (check out a previous blog post from June 2016 about it, especially the
artwork that came out of the weekend).
Another great memory built around women, coming together, laughing,
crying, praying, praising God through worship and study. Another group of women walking away
from a weekend encouraged in their journey with Jesus.
So thankful for Covenant Women, Women Ministries of the ECC,
women of the church ~ however you want to call it!
As I look forward to being in Sweden next fall, perhaps
there will be a women's retreat there, where we can organize some time together
to be with girlfriends and with God.
And maybe there will be some new girlfriends at the table, new followers
of Jesus who have traveled a long way to get to Sweden to meet a true follower
of Jesus who knows how important it is to have time with God
~ and girlfriends!
 |
| Seals in Santa Cruz provided a whole lot of entertainment for this city slicker from Chicago ~ |
 |
| Doing the duck at Covenant Point ~ there is a story behind this photo, for sure! |
|
