This is the 4th year I’ve been involved in planning and organizing a ladies retreat for the missionary ladies in southern Haiti. It’s held each year at RMI’s Retreat Center in Zanglais. It’s a great time of fellowship, relaxation, worship and teaching. There is always something so special about being able to sit under strong Biblical teaching that is in my heart language—English! Just that alone is relaxing and refreshing.
This year, we were thrilled to welcome back Gale Kernitz and Sheila Clark, as our speakers for the weekend. They were here two years ago and the ladies responded so well to what God had put on their hearts to teach us from His Word. This year was no different. Before they came, they asked if they could bring their daughters with them and we were so glad they did! Gale’s daughter, Elle Tyler, is an accomplished pianist. Before the retreat, she performed a classical piano concert for the missionary community; a real treat for us here. She also took a lot of pressure off me by planning and leading our worship sessions during the retreat. Sheila’s daughter, Meaghan, came as well. She really helped with the decorations and craft. It was fun to get to know them all better.
Our theme for the weekend was “Sharpening the Tools in Your Toolbox.” We dug into God’s Word and sharpened our relationship tools, gospel tools, discipleship tools and prayer tools. They gave us some good visual tools to help us think through these areas, so our weekend was filled with shapes: circle, square, figure eight, triangle and hexagon. For example, my favorite tool was the Lord’s Prayer Hexagon. Looking at Matthew 6:9-13, we talked about the 6 areas that Christ modeled to us when he taught his disciples to pray: The Father’s Character, His Kingdom, His Provision, His Forgiveness, His Protection and His Deliverance. After spending some time talking about the different tools, they gave us time to put them into practice. My prayer life has been revitalized using this tool.
The weekend also has some down time, which is always a highlight. Some went to the beach, some went hiking, some took naps, some played games, some kept crafting… Of course, a huge and very competitive game of catch phrase has become a tradition every year. That is especially fun playing with some of the ladies whose native language is German!
I’m always thankful for this time away with other sisters in Christ.
~Becky
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