Connection at a retreat

I'm in a post-retreat slump. This morning (Monday), I struggled to wake up, despite having a very quiet, restful day on Saturday. And now I'm back at my desk, trying to pick up the pieces after being away from it since last Tuesday. Part of me craves the high of the retreat, the time to worship, to talk with other women, and, to be brutally honest: to swan around without responsibilities!

I guess this slump probably means that I am actually quite tired and need a longer break than just one day. I'm looking forward to going camping next week for four days, and hope that that will result in greater physical refreshing.

Last week was great, I got to escape from Tokyo and daily life to a women's retreat I've been to many times. I always look forward to this retreat with other cross-cultural women, but I don't look forward to coming home and facing the rest of my life afterwards!

This time was a bit different, though. It was great to come home to my husband and not this kind of situation. Home without children remains a very quiet place, something I love, but it was a dramatic change from hanging out with 60 other women for the better part of three days. My husband graciously listened while I spilled out many things from the week that had passed.

Entrance to the centre's onsen,
yes non-private bathing

But you might have gleaned that the retreat was good. It was, in fact, great. I got to go to the venue a day early, ostensibly to help the small leadership team to set up. But I didn't actually do much, mostly because there were so many of us helping that the few things that needed doing didn't take long (or took a lot longer, because...well you know how sometimes it's easier for one person to decide something than a committee!). So the first 24 hours really were very restful, though I did have the remnants of a nasty headache on Tuesday afternoon.

It was so much fun being able to see many people who I haven't seen for two years (the last time I went to this retreat). It's interesting reading about that retreat in 2023 (here). I'd forgotten how heavy the start of that year was. This year my heart was lighter and there were less tears. I'd also "graduated" into the "older woman" category of those who have no children left at home, which felt odd.

Some of these women I never see at any other time other than these retreats. Yet, conversations are deep. I pondered this with one lady over lunch one day. We concluded that most of us feel like outsiders most of the time, but at a retreat like this we are insiders who are almost all living in a foreign land. It's comforting to find this a common ground and fosters strong bonds that form quickly.

Writing workshop ladies talking

Worship through song during the retreat was led by a couple of very down-to-earth ladies and our speaker was also very relatable. The talks were Bible-centred and the retreat started out with a whole session of focussing our eyes on God, in particular focusing on his unfailing love.

Thursday afternoon was free time, plus the option of attending two of four short workshops. Yours truly ran one, on a topic I've never specifically taught before: writing prayer letters (for those who hate doing it). Eight ladies were brave enough to come and I hope they went away with a few ideas to help make this routine ministry task easier. I'm not a natural teacher, and find it uncomfortable to stand up in front of even a small group like this, but I can see ways that I might repeat this (and do a better job).

After that I went for a walk with a very dear friend who I haven't seen since December.

Thursday night was very special: an open worship night. I've noted in the past that at these non-church interdenominational events I often feel more free. I've worshipped in conservative circles all my life and am happy there. So worshipping with people who are far more expressive is different, but good for my soul, I think. We mostly sang, and towards the end dissolved into a lengthy people of spontaneous micro-prayers. It was exceptional. 

The fun ride home

On Friday we left for home straight after lunch. I squeezed into a fun car full of six women and our luggage. We had a great afternoon, you guessed it—talking all the way home (about four hours, as we gradually dropped of ladies along the way, and only got a tiny bit lost along the way)!

During the week I had all sort of encounters. Here's a tiny taste:

I met a neighbour I didn't know I had. She and her husband work in a Chinese ministry at a sister church to ours and live about five houses from us.

I caught up with the mum of one of my youngest son's best friends. Turns out our sons had been talking (Australia to US) just that afternoon!

There were two other Aussies at the retreat. One with the Salvos and the other on a working holiday visa, I chatted with both.

At various times over the week I was able to share bits of our recent journey with neurodivergence, autism, and mental illness. And about journeying with kids into young adult years, especially about the bumps and challenges we've faced. I rubbed shoulders with mums who are ahead of me on this journey, and others who are facing up to their kids finishing high school soon, as well as women who are still in the midst of figuring out how to get their kids an education in this foreign land. We all learn from one another and it's a joy.

I met women who "know" me through my writing: this blog and through my work with the Japan Harvest magazine. That's always a little scary. What do people know about me? What do they think they know? Many who know me for my role as a managing editor make assumptions about my educational background that aren't true. No, I don't have a university degree in writing (or editing, though I've discovered that few editors do, most learn on the job like I did). But it's always exciting to hear from those who have really enjoyed the content of the magazine. My roomie was busy reading the latest issue (I don't think she was trying to impress me).

I did a lot of listening and a lot of talking. And, as usual, came away wishing that I'd done more listening and been slower to speak.

Last week on Facebook, I shared this article about the value of cross-cultural relationships. I could probably write a whole blog post as I bounce off ideas that the two authors shared, but here's a tiny portion as it relates to the friendships amongst women I meet at English-speaking retreats in Japan.

Cross-cultural friendships may often lack the natural reference points that ease our interactions with people of our own background, but they do have the advantage of creating a sense of self-expansion. This is the sense that we are growing as people...

Self-expansion can come in many forms. It may come from an exposure to new points of view, or an introduction to new and exciting experiences that we had never encountered alone...we are constantly learning from each other...

Connections across countries . . [may help] to loosen some of the shackles on our thinking so that we are more receptive to new ways of viewing the world—a more flexible and open-minded attitude that encourages innovation. (David Robson and Alessia Franko, "'I call her my Italian sister': The power of cross-cultural friendships")

So, I think that these friendships are very helpful. They take me beyond my usual thoughts and experiences and stretch me into someone who has a bigger experience and broader mind. I love getting outside our organisation and church and hearing about how other people and organisations do life. It helps keep me realistic about the various challenges we face in our own lives. I'm already looking forward to next year's retreat!

Retreat musings

This year's theme: "Leaving a Lasting Legacy".
Though it's left me pondering whether thinking about
leaving a legacy might be the wrong tack to take, but rather following
Jesus to the max might be better and the legacy will take care of itself?

Before too much more time passes, I want to write about the retreat I went to last Wednesday to Friday. It's the ninth time I've been to this women-in-ministry retreat and I love it every time. It's a time to go away, be with friends, worship in English, and rest from work (although I usually come back tired, but not from work).

One of the friends who greeted me with a hug when we arrived.

It's part of my missionary-life survival kit. I especially love being with friends who know what this missionary lifestyle is about. No explanations are necessary. Though this time I did spend a lot of time answering the question, "How's your son settling in Australia?" That's what I get for blogging and putting my life up on social media!

But friends who've known you for a while in this mobile environment are worth their weight in gold. This was the 25th time this retreat has been held and as part of that they had photos from many of the past retreats, as well as videos from several ladies who've been a part of the leadership team in the past, but are no longer in Japan. It was bittersweet to see these as they are friends who I can no longer share sweet fellowship with.

"Red" sister fellowship.

However, keeping it positive, I enjoyed the friends who were there. One lady asked me, in a slight panic, on Facebook a few weeks ago if I'd be at the retreat. She saw me preparing to go to Australia and wondered if I'd be back in time. I was surprised that someone who I didn't know super well would be so concerned, but encouraged nonetheless. Missionary women go deep fast. Very often we know little about one another and don't have a lot in common (aside from where we work), but we can have deep, honest fellowship regardless. I don't fully understand it, except perhaps that we're bound together by our shared experience of living and serving outside our home culture and thus are more needy and willing to lean on others?

I felt very tired this time going into the retreat. (Maybe I've been overdoing it recently?) It was hard to stay awake during the first night's worship and teaching session. Sometimes I find it's easy to concentrate on the words of songs, but other times, like Wednesday night, worship is singing without engaging the brain very much at all and I've learnt that that's okay. It was great to praise God in English and I was glad for a nice mixture of old and newer songs that I knew as well as ones I didn't.

The retreat has an overabundance of slippers and
rules about where you wear them. They have dining room
slippers and toilet slippers, but also hallway slippers and
chapel slippers! To get from the main building to the chapel
 you change into outdoor shoes and then into slippers again!

The post I wrote at the retreat (here) contained some of the things gleaned from the speaker. I didn't take notes this year, simply trying to soak it in. Probably being so tired made me a little more grumpy and picky with this year's speaker than usual (I was getting grumpy at cliques and a little frustrated that she didn't spend more time in the Bible).

Retreat is usually a time that includes tears for me. Often during worship time, or during times of sharing personally with others. This retreat was no different. Obviously saying goodbye to our son was still quite raw, but the speaker's husband died a few years earlier, so she talked about grief and the loss of Christians in the prime of ministry also brought up tears. She also emphasised that we have a choice in how we react to painful situations: certainly we need to grieve, but beyond that we can choose our response to pain.

Thursday night was enjoyable, it was a celebration of the 25 years of Women in Ministry retreats. We heard from ladies who had gone before us and a little of the history of the retreat. We sang and prayed. We were entertained by a group who'd learnt a new song that day and a spoken piece by two sisters. And we laughed at two ladies who did a skit/song routine that showed the full span of a missionary lifetime, with tongue-in-cheek. Then we finished up with cheesecake (my favourite dessert).

I'm afraid that is a bit of a piece-meal review of the days away, sorry if it comes across like that. But I've come back to Tokyo refreshed in spirit and my love-tank full. I feel ready to deal with the challenges of life again (though I wasn't ready for being hit by a cold first day back at the "office"). I'm thankful that we're planning to be back from home assignment in time to go to the retreat again next year too (Lord willing)!

Delight in retreating

This was my breakfast table on the final morning. I haven't had such a fun
breakfast in quite a long time. The conversation was wonderful (and not
needing to be driven by me, as is often the case in our boy-laden household).

I'm back from the annual women in ministry retreat. It really is always a special time. If anything marks these fellow ladies, it is servant hearts. There is also a vulnerability that comes from the sacrifices of cross-cultural work that means that people dive deep fast.

So hold on to your hat, and I'll tell you a bit about the three days.

On Wednesday I met up with 12 other ladies at the school car park, we piled into two vans, and drove to the far west of Tokyo, out into a narrow valley between mountains. The retreat had began: in our vans. 

The main ladies who made this event happen. The leadership team as well
as some who came to serve us: worship leader, and counsellors.

The early hours of the retreat were a feast of meeting up with people we haven't seen for long or short times and meeting new people. Lots of loud cries of joy and hugs. It was delightful. Like a birthday party, except the presents are other people, for most of us didn't know who else was coming.

This was a retreat marked by laughter. From the ice breaking session to the main teaching sessions. Laughter was a main ingredient. Something appreciated by many, as life and ministry in Japan is not often marked by belly-shaking laughter.

This was our speaker. A well-known author. We just about
died laughing when she did this, trying to take a photo
 of our breakfast table from her seat at the head of the table!

Tears were not uncommon either. When you worship in a language other than your own, worshipping in your heart language can be an emotional experience (though I do need to acknowledge that we did have a number for whom English isn't their native language, but who did speak it very well). Time in prayer in larger and smaller groups produced tears. Being prayed for by others. Simply being in the company of others who share the same life-experience of leaving loved ones to serve in another country, can produce tears.

 

A retreat like this contains many ingredients that combine to make a special experience. 

• Fellowship with other ladies is one of the keys for me and it pervades the whole time. The extrovert part of me laps this up to the extent that I find it hard to wind down at night-time. This was my eighth retreat and I now know many of the women who were there. A great delight! Oh, I talked with so many people.
• Worship (singing and praying): in English. I was pretty tired and struggled early on to get into this with all my heart. But even when you're in a tired place, it was lovely to sit back and sing words that you knew the meaning of.
• Speakers: this is usually an American who comes over especially for the retreat, often someone who is a professional speaker. This year we had a particularly famous author: Liz Curtis Higgs. She's written a lot of books. The tradition is that we ask the speaker to write an article for Japan Harvest, so I get to interact with the speaker a little bit before hand. I have to tell you that I had to put it out of my mind that this lady had published 35 books when I was editing her article and treat it just like any other article that crosses my desk! And yes, if you're wondering, we did change things in it! Not major stuff, but there were fixes that were needed.
• Second speaker: this year we had a second speaker for one short elective about developing a theology of suffering. Interesting and important stuff to ponder.
• Free time: this is an excuse for more fellowship and fun. As it was raining when I'd hoped to go for a walk, I took the time to lie down instead, but despite being exhausted, couldn't drop off.
• Fun time: the ice breaker at the beginning, meals, cooking marshmallows over the fire, doing craft together, drinking coffee/tea and snacking, and watching a movie together on Thursday evening. Really, just enjoying being together for two days. Something that is rare for women serving on the mission field. We're generally so busy doing whatever we do that there isn't often much time to just be with friends.

But most of the above could be written about any retreat, I suspect. Here are a couple of stories from my retreat:

On Wednesday afternoon a friend told me a story about one of my sons and how impressed she'd been with something he'd done. I was impressed too. That there was my first tears of the retreat.

At various times I was able to pray for others specifically. How amazing it is when someone you've never met before confesses a heart-cry like desiring a baby and the sadness that God hasn't provided in that way yet. 

Since we had a famous author in our midst, she was asked to do a short writer's workshop, though it was more teaching about good writing than any workshopping. I was encouraged to find that she wasn't saying anything new to me (except when she briefly spoke about fiction writing).

One story that is about the retreat, but didn't happen there is another friend of mine who had planned and looked forward to coming, but had had to cancel early last week when her disabled son caught chicken pox. She'd organised respite care for him and numerous other things just to free up the time to come, but it was all thwarted.  She lives in an area where there are few missionaries, and this retreat is a once-a-year event. I felt terrible for her, not to mention that I'd been looking forward to seeing her myself.

I think I've run out of words! Here are some photos to tell a bit more of the story.

This lady, Bethany, beautifully led us in worship, without
getting in the way of us interacting with our God. She led
from the piano (which always gets my admiration, I can barely
talk or sing while playing). She came all the way from
California with the money that God provided in order to serve us.
 But more than that, she's a beautiful godly lady who I met last 
year and was delighted to meet again this year. And she remembered me! 

This is the chorus of one of the songs we sang. It was 
written by a missionary in Japan. The words struck home. 
Especially that last line, it hasn't been easy recently to "remain"
 when others around seem to be constantly leaving.

These are some of the ladies I helped get to and from the retreat. What a delight
it was to be together in the van. I'm so thankful for the ability to drive 
and the vehicle God's given us. I just wish I could have recruited
another driver and van, because we had to say no to some because
we didn't have room for everyone from our area and they
took the trains (thankful for the train alternative, though).

I had been looking forward to going for a walk on Thursday during free time,
but it was raining. However on Friday the sun came out again and I managed
to get out and see some beautiful blossoms.

This retreat is part of what keeps me going in Japan. I'm just so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this. There are hundreds of missionaries who never get a chance like this, and I've been able to be a part of this on eight different occasions now. So thankful.

Missionary women, clothes, shoes, and bags

I need a new handbag. My current one is falling to bits on the outside (imitation leather fail). So I posted this on Facebook on Thursday:

"Any ladies out there tried a handbag insert? What are your experiences? I hate burrowing for keys, glasses, mobile, lip balm, pens etc. That makes buying a new hand/shoulder bag hard, though."

The jeans I finally found. The only pair that approximately
fitted my waist and weren't skin-tight. What I love about
shopping for pants in Japan is that they fit my height
perfectly. Even short jeans in Australia never fit me in the
leg. I'm just under 5'3". You can imagine how most Western
women would find shopping in Japan!

I got lots of comments. Some had tried out inserts and found a good brand, others had tried them and found they didn't work for them. Others used several little zippered bags/pencil cases to hold what they need inside a larger bag like a backpack. Another lady confessed she was addicted to a particular brand of bags which are expensive, but long lasting and have lots of pockets.

Most of those comments were from missionaries.

Women's bags are very personal, people have different needs, preferences, and styles. Missionary women are no different. In Japan we're walking, riding bikes, and travelling on trains more than we would back home, so what we use has to reflect that too. It is not good having, say, a large cane basket. That simply won't work on a crowded train or even on a bike. A large backpack can even be a problem on a train. A tiny handbag won't necessarily work either when you're travelling by train most of the day. You can't just have things in the car, you have to be carrying everything that you need on your person.

Then on Saturday I sat with three other missionary women for a time as we watched our boys (yes, we have a total of eleven boys and no girls between us) at the athletics meet. We talked about bags and the unique challenges of buying shoes and clothes in general in Japan. I admitted to having gone jeans shopping and my realisation that Japanese women just don't seem to have thighs!

What struck me about that conversation as well as the handbag interaction on Facebook was that we were doing what women everywhere do: talking about fashion. But there was some twists. Check these:

• A lot of Westerners in Asia can't find clothes that fit them, often it is just because they're too tall, but also because we're just not as slight as most Asians. I'm by no means chubby, but I'm not slight either. Finding clothes here often means I'm looking in the L and LL ranges (if I don't want skin-tight clothing).
• Shoes are a problem too, my feet are a size 8 in Australia, much larger than that and you're buying men's shoes here. Alternatively you're buying via the internet or stocking up when you happen to be in a Western country.
• We often shop in a strange way. When we're in our home countries we often don't have time to wait for the sales, or to do a lot of window shopping. So we'll buy clothes when we see them and often quite a few. I bought more clothes in our year in Australia than I usually do in a year.
• We usually go for clothes that are more classical, that won't be seriously out of fashion in four years.

So I still have to find another handbag. Do I go for a one without many pockets and buy a longer-lasting insert to make up for that? Or do I go for a more expensive brand with lots of pockets and will last a long time? I'm erring towards the latter because I think it could be cheaper in the long run.

Meanwhile, I'd better get back to work...

If you find this topic interesting, you might enjoy this post from January last year I wrote about missionaries and fashion quoting some fascinating discussion from various friends of mine.

Photo Essay of the Women's Retreat

Now I'm home I really want to write a summary of my days away, especially the last three days at the women's retreat, but I've been playing catch-up today (buying groceries, and catching up on important emails and computer work) and I'm out of time today. So here are some photos instead. I'll write tomorrow.

View from my room. The sunset was actually better than this,
but my little camera didn't quite capture all the colour.

A wider view from my room.

The 59 beautiful women who attended the retreat. So many friends here. It was
my seventh time at this retreat and each time I get to know more and more people.
Not to mention deepening relationships that I already have. Friendship is
 the greatest emotional need for women, and one of the most difficult thing
for a missionary woman to get and keep. So to say I value these ladies is
something of an understatement!

Our talented worship leaders. Heidi, on the violin,
also was my room mate.

Jan, a friend, and OMF colleague, was
the MC of the retreat, and leader of the
team that ran the retreat. So thankful for
her and her team.

We were blessed with nine German-speaking attendees.
Here they led us in How Great Thou Art in German.
Actually the event is quite international. Only three
Aussies, but a variety of European nationalities,
as well as US and Canada. 

I loved the decorations in the chapel.
"Called not Driven" was the theme.

Edie, trilling on the piano! She blessed us with
some beautiful music.

Across the road is this peaceful forest.

A small shrine in the forest.

I tried to take a selfie. Sort-of happy with it.
Where did all those crinkles come from, though?

This is the river that ripples its way past the retreat centre. I love getting
out of the city! Thankfully we're back at the same centre in a couple of
weeks with our OMF colleagues.

Moving forward into more retreating

In an hour or so the second half of my week away begins. It is the Women in Ministry retreat that I usually go to in March. This is my sixth time and I'm really looking forward to

it. (This was my blog post about last year's.) It brings together women from all sorts of backgrounds, countries, mission agencies, and ministries. The variety is refreshing, stimulating, and enjoyable.

As it's in the same venue where I've been running the Writer's Workshop/Retreat I hope that I'll be able to transition into it fairly easily. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends I haven't seen in a while and catching up more deeply with others I see occasionally.

Last year we had a speaker who told some very funny stories. I has some great laughter-therapy! I've already had some this time around too: at lunch today we had some fun going at our table. One of the great things about these retreats is the internationalism. I love the humour of my Scottish friend, Hazel, let's just say it's closer to Australian humour than some other countries.

I think, however, that I've done enough writing now. Aside from writing this blog post I've put together enough stories (nine) to talk for about 20 minutes. That's longer than most places will allow us to speak for, so I'm probably safe. I'm certainly feeling satisfied. That's a lot more than I anticipated being able to get done! Time to have a little bit of a lie-down before the Women's Retreat fun begins.

A fun, yet deep retreat

The retreat I went to from Wednesday to Friday was both fun and deep. This was my fifth retreat, and each time it gets better, partly because I get to know more and more people and become more and more relaxed myself.

I laughed more than I've laughed in ages. I had more in-depth conversations in two days than I can remember having for a long time. And I thought more deeply about Biblical things and how they applied to my own life in a way I haven't for some time.

Fun

Part of the drive to the retreat.

It was such a fun retreat. The speaker had stories that made us laugh so hard we were struggling to stay on our seats. By the end of one of her stories I had cramps under my cheekbones!

But she wasn't the only fun. We laughed and laughed in the van I travelled up and back in. And at numerous times during the retreat I found myself hooting loudly. Ah, it was lovely to not feel embarrassed at the loudness of my belly laugh.

One of my favourite memories came from an idea a group of us had while relaxing in the Japanese hot bath (onsen) together late on Thursday night. One of our speaker's stories related to a trying on a very tight bathing suit at a store, and being given some disposable panties to wear underneath the suit that looked "like gauze and dental floss" (and I quote her). Well, the suggestion was that we create a similar looking garment and present it to her the next day. I couldn't resist following through on this with my mint-flavoured dental floss and some gauze I rustled up from another lady. And in front of everyone at breakfast the next morning, I made a presentation of the said garment to our speaker. We all laughed hard again!

Campfire time

Laughter isn't exactly common on the mission field and missionary get-togethers is the perfect time to indulge in this type of therapy. So many ladies I spoke to appreciated this opportunity to laugh loud, long, and often.

Women of Royalty
The theme of the retreat was "Women of Royalty, finding fulfilment as the woman God intended you to be." This was a much broader topic than last year's but no less enjoyable.

Here are some things we covered (sorry it is a bit lengthy, it is hard to summarise):

1. We are God's image bearers and we are who we are only by the hand of God
• our enjoyment of life begins with recognising that God has made us unique as women and as individual women: this is a gift not to be ignored
• after this session we discussed a variety of questions with women sitting around us. My group talked about the kind of life we thought pleased God. We had a few answers including:
• love (but acknowledged how hard this is to do, that we always tend to pull back and self-protect)
• seeking God
• consistency in spending time with God, on the plains (the mundane times) as well as the mountain-tops
2. We are a jewel in God's crown



The chapel where we had our main sessions.

• as heirs of Christ, we are daughters of royalty, hence the topic (Romans 8:17a)
• a jewel is a person that is treasured or esteemed
• we are God's workmanship, created to do good works (Eph. 2:10)
• God chooses not to bring up our sins (actual phrase in Bible: "remembers not" and we are to forgive the same way (this was a biggie for me in terms of forgiving myself for my failures)
3. We studied three women in the Bible, two of whom aren't often talked about
• Eve



Campfire + testimonies

• we imagined how it would have been for her, with no parents, sisters, friends, etc. Everything she did was for the first time, including giving birth
• we thought about how difficult it would have been for her seeing her eldest murder her second son
• and how she still had faith after that (see Genesis 4:25)
• "not to" lessons: don't debate with satan, don't blame
• "to do" lessons: know God's word, watch out for temptations in the Big 3: physical, emotional and spiritual
• Mrs Noah
• this was a stretch, given that she is only mentioned in relation to her husband
• I never realised that Noah was also an evangelist (2 Peter 2:5), one who told everyone of the coming catastrophe for 120 years, but never saw anyone added to the passenger list
• we pondered the grief she must have endured in seeing everyone except her husband, sons and daughters-in-law die, as well as having to totally start again after the flood
• our speaker noted here that grief and loss is an occupational hazard of missionary life: and that the best thing is to embrace the pain as it enriches us
• we thought about their marriage and the godly boys they produced (and their godliness attracted girls who chose that over the ungodly lifestyles of the whole community)
• we figured they were consistent, obedient and righteous
• Martha



Our speaker: Sandi Bradford, in the middle
of one of her stories.

• she shared an intimate relationship with Jesus, to the point that she could confront him with her concerns. 
• an interesting revelation was the KJV translation of Luke 10:39 where it says that Mary "also sat at the feet of Jesus" intimating that Martha often sat there too
• she was honest and authentic, this is a challenge to us as women who are often not this way

Resiliency

There were many different opportunities available during the two days; including counselling, people who would pray specifically for you, and coaching. Free-time activities like sight-seeing, card making, and learning how to quill (I tried the last of these.) 

There was also a session on developing personal resiliency. I attended this one and found it to be an encouraging time—as I pondered my call and purpose, the various resources I have now and experiences that I've had in the past that help me cope now with difficult situations. I realised that my tool kit is fairly well stocked in this area, praise God. 

So many conversations were going on in the dining
room, it was hard to be heard at any time.

It isn't just because I'm in a good place right now. It is because God has sustained me in various ways in past struggles and I can draw on those memories and experiences to help me through future challenging times.

Summing up

I just went back and looked at what I wrote about last year's retreat. There were a lot of similarities to this retreat, things that I appreciated about both:

• a relaxed, "spacious" schedule
• a venue that allowed lots of interaction
• and a great bunch of ladies to travel with, to and from the retreat

Even though I stayed up way past my "Cinderella Hour" both nights, I have come home feeling energetic and refreshed. I'm so thankful to the team of ladies who organised it, to the many who contributed to running it, and to the many friends I have who come and make it worth being there.