Today, as the attendees gathered to hear the last words of our speaker and worship our Lord, they are doing so with bittersweet hearts - grateful for this wonderful time of relaxation as well as connection, yet knowing they will be saying goodbye in a few short hours.

The room is full of tears, laughter, email address swaps, note cards being shared, and many other examples of how quickly these women went deep and connected through similar life challenges and ministry work.

Miss Thelma Thrive says “This retreat was unique because of the COVID circumstances that brought us back to the US. Although our passport country is here, our hearts belong and desire to be home, which is the country of service. We feel caught between two countries, which is difficult to explain to those not in our shoes. I was able to interact in my small groups and at meals with other women who resonated with the same feelings. I felt fully accepted, validated, and understood. The counseling appointment I attended was exactly what I needed.“

Like many others attending, Mrs. Gloria Global Worker lives and works in an area where she is unable to worship in a church. Returning to the states, she looked forward to church services in her heart language, only to discover her church did not survive COVID as an organization and another has still not returned to worshipping in person. “The teaching and worship times during the retreat were deeply impactful and filled my heart. A morning of teaching time, with free time in the afternoon to spend with the Lord, and/or self-care, then an evening of laughter, was the perfect schedule to allow me time to process what was on my heart when I arrived. I was freed from the burden that I carried to Beaver Creek.”

There are many, many more stories to share… if every one of them were written, there would not be enough blogs to contain them. We are grateful that we have a sovereign God who knows them all and delights in his daughters.