WOTH Mexico Retreat 09

Breath of Kindness

2009-10-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Listening~

“Oh, comfort – the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts, nor the measure words – but pouring them all right out – just as they are – chaff and grain together – certain that a faithful hand will take them and sift them – keep what is worth keeping – and with the breath of kindness - blow the rest away.”

"Friendship," by Dinah Merlock Craile

Our dear guests have left, the second retreat is over.

We, as volunteer staff, pray that the words above were found true in their time with us--whether in their small group, counseling appointment, pedicure, meal conversation or fun time by the pool. What a great and awesome privilege it has been to serve these 'women of the harvest.'

It has been an honor to share with you from the WOTH Cancun Retreat. I hope you have not only enjoyed it but possibly have been nudged to become more involved in partnering with us. I would love to hear from you: swoodroof@womenoftheharvest.com

Blessings,

Sharon Woodroof for the entire WOTH staff

That Every Nation May Know

2009-10-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Lord God, may our passion be for Your ways to be known on earth and Your salvation granted to all the nations. We thank you for Your many blessings to us, yet we want to remember their ultimate purpose is to bring praise to You. What an amazing thing it is to have people from every nation praise You - what a celebration! You are worthy, Lord! We praise You today.

--Day 4, 30 Days of Prayer

Not only do we pray for the attendees of a Woman of the Harvest Retreat but we also desire to be a witness to the hotel staff. One of the men that serves us in the restaurant where we have lunch every day asked one of the volunteer staff more about our group and what we were about.

He said that he noticed something different about how we acted and especially about the expression on our faces. He was very interested as she shared more about the gospel with him.

After she shared that in our morning staff meeting time, another volunteer staff said that she had had a dream about someone from our group sharing the gospel with a waiter at the restaurant.

Thank you, Father for doing far more than we could have asked for or hoped. Pray for this man and his questions about the Lord. May we bring You glory as we serve here.

Seasonal Change in More Ways than One!

2009-10-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

My thoughts to share today are not one cohesive story but many different comments and observations-

One attendee has served on the field for 25 years and this is her first retreat ever! She is loving her time here.

Another woman has been moving continually and experiencing much loss--she doesn't unpack anymore but just takes what she needs out of boxes.

A comment as the morning gift was open, "Thank God for thoughtful people!"

The most popular item at the Taste of Home game was Velveeta cheese, even in Mexico. One of the times it was stolen the lady cried, "But my Doctor said I need it!"

As our guests entered the room for the evening session there were artificial fall leaves on their chairs, one lady burst into tears. She was SO excited because many don't experience a change of seasons like that anymore. "This is just like Christmas."

Second Retreat Begins!

2009-10-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Father, You know how quickly we become anxious; thank you for the awesome privilege we have to obey and bring it all to You in prayer. Thank you for reminding us of the power and need of being thankful. Thank you for listening to our anxious hearts. We praise You for Your peace that will guard our hearts and minds as we focus on Jesus. May we truly experience the reality of this verse today.
--Day 26, 30 Days of Prayer

After a quick break, we welcome our second group of guests!

Pray with us that the attendees feel welcomed and waited for and that they will enter into all that the Lord has prepared for them during their time at this retreat.

It usually takes a bit of time for them to start sharing but a very special story surfaced right away. One of our attendees has an orphanage for 60 children; she was wondering how coming would be possible at all. Then just 6 days after she had registered, she received a newborn that forgets to breathe. He is closely monitored mechanically. She was also beginning to question whether she should come due to the cost of airfare. You know what’s coming...

An anonymous check arrived earmarked that the funds were to be spent on her! How could she not come after an answer like that? She is looking forward to a much needed break and 4 nights of sleep uninterrupted by the beeping of medical machines.

We thank and praise you, our generous heavenly Father for how you meet our needs!

Fresh Brewed Life!

2009-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day for the first Retreat.

How did these four days pass so quickly?

How was it possible to connect and love these women in such a short amount of time?

Our speaker, Sandi Bradford, has been inviting us to a “fresh brewed life," encouraging us to celebrate our uniqueness as females and all that makes us women of faith. From the Scriptures we have looked at the woman with the hemorrhage that touched Jesus’ cloak, Martha and Mary and Mrs. Noah.

We pray for our dear sisters in Christ that as they return to their fields of service the key verse that Sandi has used for this retreat: “From the ends of the earth I call to You, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2).”

The staff will have a short rest after giving 32 haircuts, painting 43 pairs of toes, 45 massages, 35 color analysis and much counseling and prayer.

Supernatural Stories in Paradise

2009-10-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Our cry to You, Lord, is that every woman leave with this new spirit within her. May they be fueled by Your Word and prayer, affirmed in their position in Christ, and reminded of Your love through the memories of being served with care by the WOTH staff.
--Day 24, 30 Days of Prayer

Many times we as WOTH staff are teased about “suffering for Jesus” in the beautiful locations of our retreats. Believe me, I know I have an awesome job! The resort location, along with every thing else that happens at a Women of the Harvest Retreat is very carefully thought out and planned; first as an expression of God’s lavish love for us but also to create an environment to allow our guests to feel comfortable and safe. Our guests come unsure of what to expect but as the day goes on, the layers are peeled away through the worship, the teaching, the pampering, the gifts, the counseling, the prayer, the laughter and the hugs.

One of our attendees shared that her reason for attending the retreat was to be able to set specific time aside to seek God and hear His voice about an issue involving her ministry. She had scheduled an individual prayer time, “coincidentally” followed by an appointment with a counselor. During the session her prayer of seeking the Father was quickly answered and with tears streaming down her face she kept repeating, “I get it, I get it.” Because of the short amount of time the counselors have with an attendee a response this immediate can only be accredited to a supernatural breakthrough.

Thank you gracious heavenly Father for hearing our prayers and for the mighty and awesome privilege of being able to serve you!

He Cares, He Really Cares

2009-10-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

We thank you, Lord Jesus, that You have rooted and established us securely in love. May we hunger and long to understand the tremendous facets of Your love; may we experience Your love more deeply. Forgive us when we take it for granted and are not in deep awe. Lead us, Holy Spirit, to respond to Your love by loving You more. Open our eyes and hearts, Lord! May we yield to Your power within us and passionately desire to bring You glory forever!

--Day 6, 30 Days of Prayer

A very significant part of Women of the Harvest Retreats is all the free-time options: hair cut, pedicure, personal color analysis/make-up and massage!

We asked the ladies last night what they were looking most forward to at the retreat ~ one responded, “Honestly, the pampering!”

Many of our guests tell us that this is their first pedicure ever. Although the volunteer team is not made up of 'professional' pedicurists, we do let our guests know that they will never get a pedicure done with as much love!

Another big part of a WOTH retreat are gifts. One of our volunteers made a pair of earrings for every attendee (remember that is 100 pairs of earrings!) and it was included in this morning's gift packet. One woman told us that she had just lost her 3 favorite pairs of earrings in moving and hadn’t even packed any to bring with her. These new earrings came at the perfect time.

We are thankful for our Great God who pampers each of us and lavishes us with gifts. What a delight to bless our new friends as the Father has blessed us. A heartfelt 'thank-you' to many of you who were the generous donors for many of these gifts.

Until tomorrow~

They're Here!

2009-10-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

May we glow with love for You and be humbled by Your love for us. We find such comfort in knowing that You will lead us throughout life - we are not alone. May we regularly come into Your presence and experience a renewed joy. May we recognize Your blessings in the details of our lives.

Thank you, Father, for such love!

--Day 22, 30 Days of Prayer

They’re here! Our guests have arrived.

They are so excited that there must have been at least 20 women waiting for check- in to start. Some were so anxious that they signed up for the pampering before they had even been greeted by the 'WOTH Welcoming Staff' or received their folders! We will welcome women serving in 9 countries and representing 47 different agencies between the two retreats.

Some of our guests were sharing feelings of unworthiness to be given the gift of the retreat; others told of unexpected gifts ($) to them that provided the transportation to attend. Still many, many others dealing with loneliness are yearning for connection with new friends. We look expectantly to see our Mighty God move during our next 3 days together.

P.S. For those of you praying for our weather - the cloud cover remained today but no rain and it was a bit cooler, which was nice. Please post a comment on the blog; it’s fun for all of the team to have your responses!

Getting Set for the First Day

2009-10-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Father God, we intentionally want to praise and thank you today because we can count on the fact that Your love is steadfast and won't ever end. We praise You for Your mercies that surprise us day to day. Your faithfulness is overwhelming. Lord, we acknowledge that we are blessed beyond measure to have You as our hope and portion - thank you!

--Day 21, 30 Days of Prayer

Hola, bienvenidos a Mexico! Hello, welcome to Mexico. It is once again my honor to be your blog host, this time at the Women of the Harvest Fall Retreat in Cancun.

That’s me, Sharon Woodroof, WOTH Marketing and Development Assistant, along with a Mariachi player; they were singing "La Bamba" for our table at the time. I will be sharing daily with you from the WOTH retreats along with Nicole Tesone, photographer, and Cindy Blomquist, blog editor. So join us each day at this blog for all the refreshing details and photos.

The attendees arrive tomorrow--Sunday, October 18! Please continue to pray for good weather as the clouds and rain have moved in.

All 1,500+ pounds of supplies arrived, along with the team of volunteers. They are ready and anxious to meet our guests. We are expectant to see our mighty God work in majestic ways.

Adios, until tomorrow.