May they each experience joy and rest; may they soak in the various retreat activities that will refresh them. May their spirits be touched by Yours; renew, heal and encourage them in their intimate needs. We pray for significant times of prayer, refocusing on who You are. May they respond to You as You draw them close. May each woman be reminded of her intrinsic value being a child of God. Remind her that her value is not based on what she does, what her ministry looks like, or how busy she is, but only out of Your grace and love toward her. May each woman rest and feel very loved and valued by each other and every staff member. May the Word of truth being taught penetrate her soul. --Day 24, 30 Days of Prayer
We have nicknamed the night activities during the retreat "Girlfriends and Giggles" time. Tonight was the Taste of Home white elephant gift exchange. Many of you are familiar with how this game is played BUT did you know that the concept of the white elephant is from the Thai culture? 
This group of attendees thoroughly enjoyed themselves; they "stole" gifts probably the most of any retreat and had such a great time doing it. They were even "stealing" unopened bags! That was a first.
A "taste" of the impact on these women's hearts:
- “The Taste of Home gift game was fabulous – wow! What a great selection of fun choices. Thank you for the shopping and packing and hauling.”
- “I liked the sharing, laughter, small groups, prayer, workshops, pampering, etc. Coming here was like coming “home”…not just because I was waited on, but because these are my people…this is my culture: North American women serving overseas. I’m not fully American any more. I’m not fully Thai. This is who I am. These women are “home.”
- “What’s not to like? I came “weary” and “thirsty” and you have joined with God to refresh and restore me and to fill me up.”
It would be very hard to determine a winner but one very happy lady received a DVD, "Luther" and a box of microwave popcorn. She has been looking for that DVD for 2 years and popcorn is her favorite comfort food. What a great God to send His precious daughter such a delightful gift. We couldn't have planned that had we tried.
“The worship time was sweet. The Bible study was convicting and funny. The pampering from our head to our toes was absolutely amazing!”
Until tomorrow...
