NW MN Retreat Report

We find it hard to believe that we even attended the Northwest Minnesota District Retreat. It seemed as though we weren't even there. It happened so quickly. We left church right after the praise songs, we drove, we had some fun, ate some food, and then we were home the next night. It was quick, but it was GREAT!

The Lord was very good to us! There was a little weather to deal with on the way up, but He carried us through it. We had incredible fellowship on the way up. There was never a dull moment. I think the longest stretch of silence was 60 seconds. Once we were there, we checked-in, and then headed to the high school gym in Thief River Falls. There was a good group of people there. I even got to see an old Bible School classmate. That evening was the first session. I had felt most confident with what I had prepared for that night. Before the session, I was able to pray with Pastor Todd and Nathan, both of whom work with me on the FLY Committee. It was a joy to pray with them, and that even furthered my confidence in Jesus. I was humbled by that, and felt unworthy to deliver God's Word. God is God, and He delivered. Before we knew it, the night was over, and it was time to retreat to the hotel.


The next morning brought two more sessions. I was less confident about these two. The group of students was pretty tired, and thus their response was more reserved. I'll be honest and say that was tough at times. I am used of people responding, at least outwardly. It was a far cry from the retreat in Pittsburgh. However, I knew that God was doing what He desired to do. I kept claiming the promise in Isaiah, that His Word that proceeds from His mouth, will not return void! What a promise! It was an awesome time to share God's Word with such students. It was a struggle though. I had been getting sick before, and my voice was at about 40% during the weekend. I am sure I sounded pretty terrible. Good thing God's Word doesn't depend on the way my voice sounds. A few people came to me afterwards. That was great encouragement to me! It told me that God was in control, and that His work did go forward. In my mind, I had made no sense, and it was bad . . . in my mind. Knowing that God did His work inspite of me, that is humbling. That is awesome!

We left Thief River Falls after the retreat, and had another great car ride to the cities. It was such a blast to spend time with Analaya, Lynn, and Tom. I was looking forward just to that part of the trip. They didn't let me down. We had great 'Visitation' if you will! ;-) [that's for them] We stopped in the cities for dinner at Chin's Asia Fresh . . . good stuff. We also made a stop at Tom's heaven on earth . . . the Apple store. It was a joy to watch him go from mac to mac playing.

Thanks to all that were praying for me, and for us. It was a great time!