We had an amazing retreat with our pastors and their wives in November! It was such an enormous blessing to all that attended; both the receivers and the team who came to serve! I took everyone to the special restaurant that we use for teams, where they serve the food in the bucket of a tractor to kick things off on Monday. It was a very special treat for the pastors and everyone left with very full bellies and the panoramic views from the restaurant were amazing! The main theme of the teachings was on unity and everyone really received from them. The time together really helps to draw us all together as a unified team and the time to fellowship with everyone so needed! There were some amazing times of worship, timely messages, and extra ordinary times of personal ministry. The pastors prayed for each other and they all gathered around me for a special time of prayer! Personal time of counselling and prayer was available to the pastors to spend with Pastor Geraldo (Jerry) and the ladies all had special times of prayer and personal ministry with the team’s ladies. The team gifted each pastor with a Bible dictionary and concordance and helped them to understand how to use these tools. There was a special time of taking communion together and the team gifted each pastor with a little communion set for 2 that was from Jerusalem; to use at the retreat but to also encourage them to use at home, to take communion together as a couple! The teaching that was given on taking the Last Supper went deeper than I think most had understood before and will add more meaning as they lead their congregations in taking communion together. There were little special things done that touched me. Names were drawn of each of the churches; so that each church is committing to prayer for that other church. It was an amazing time to love on the pastors and their wives, encourage them, challenge them, motivate them and send them out with renewed strength to continue on in their callings. Having these retreats is an answer to my prayers. They are so important and provide so much fruit to keep our pastors built up and ready to continue to reach out in their communities. These retreats are very “fertile ground” to sow in to. The cost of a retreat costs about $5000. We have already set dates for our next one for January 2025; a little over a year away. Stand with us for the Lord to make the provision and prayerfully consider being a part of that!
