There are moments when we step into sacred spaces that have been prepared by God for us and we are in awe of the depth of love we find. Such was our delight at the women’s retreat last fall. The theme was Stronger Together and we exemplified that in our worship in both Spanish and English. Women embraced each other and the work of the Holy Spirit as we prayed, forgave, listened, and held tightly to the words of Truth that continue to anchor our souls. One of the survivors who came shared, “I connected with God again here. After leaving the program, I didn’t know if I could really follow Him like that again. Now I know He is with me out here.” One precious 86-year-old abuela joined the family of God!
Groups from each city and church gathered to reflect and process the Word of God and how they wanted to respond to Jesus’ invitation to live in community. One leader shared, “We’ve gotten busy and haven’t had our regular connection times. We all realized here what we’ve been missing, and we will be starting to meet again when we get home.” We are grateful for the testimonies that continue to be shared and echo the words of another survivor who said, “Do we have to leave? I want to stay here!”
Honestly, like this precious woman, we empathize with the struggle of going back to the battle, to the dailiness of our own issues and those around us. But we returned to everyday life, empowered, refreshed, and Stronger Together.
