I received a huge blessing this past week. I was able to attend a missionary care retreat in Split, Croatia. (Split is awesome - check out my travel blog for pictures!) There's an organization, based in Tennessee, that sponsors missionary getaways all over the world. They invite missionaries to come to a beautiful hotel for an all inclusive retreat - we just have to get there. Once we're there, meals and lodging are covered! Pretty cool!! I've had friends in the past who've been able to attend these, and was excited to go on one myself. Heather and I signed up, and our good friends Lou and Cathy also signed up. We've been extremely cared for. Lou and Cathy have been the Hospitality House directors in K-town and are getting ready to move to Yokosuka, Japan to lead the Hospitality House there. Heather and I are really sad to see them go, we were really happy to have some extra time with them this past week.
It's been fun meeting other missionaries. Many are from Eastern Europe. We've chatted with people serving in ... Ukraine, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, Greece, and some closed countries that I shouldn't list for safety reasons. It's been humbling visiting with them. Even though I live in Germany, because I minister to the American community and have access to American goods on base, I sometimes forget that I live abroad. Heather and I brought some American goodies for people... Mac n' cheese, pumpkin pie filing, oreoes, peanut butter, baking chocolate, salsa - and it was awesome to see how excited people were to receive these things. One teenage girl that we've been spending time with was sooooo happy to have some comfort food from home. One man had been in one of the 'Stans, but when he was discovered to be baptizing people, he was scheduled to be executed. Praise the Lord he was able to get out of the country and continues to minister in a new location. A lady in a different county works with refugees and she actually met one of the men, the other guy had baptized. It's a small world. Hearing stories like that, and seeing the connections and sharing in all that the Lord is doing all over the world, makes me eager for Heaven. How awesome is it going to be, when we can all gather - from every tribe, tongue and nation and celebrate the faithfulness of God and praise Him together.
It has been a refreshing retreat. For the past two days, I've enjoyed sitting by the pool, looking out at the Adriatic Sea. I've read a few books, spent time in prayer and have napped on and off. We do so many retreats with our youth. I'm so used to taking care of things for them ... transportation, lodging, meals, making sure I have enough money in the right currency, keeping track of students, holding on to their passports, making sure kids are drinking water and staying healthy, etc. it's weird to come a retreat and not have any responsibilities! I've been really blessed by this retreat and I'm thankful for organizations who minister to missionaries. What a cool thing! Each evening, after dinner, everyone has gathered together to sing a few songs. Because I attend a military chapel, I forget that many people living overseas don't get to sing in English. So each night we sing 4-5 songs together, in English. I think people really enjoy that because it reminds them of home.
Sunset # 1 from our balcony.
Sunset #2 from our balcony.
Sunset #3 from the poolside
Final sunset, we fly out in the morning.
I spent two afternoons soaking up vitamin d (I don't get much of that in Germany).
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