Women's Retreat

WOW!!!

I have to admit that, immediately prior to leaving for the camp, I had a fairly strong lack of desire to go. Being home with my family appealed to me so much more then heading off for a weekend without them.

And it was such an effort to get there. Not just mentally but physically. Diane, Kylee and Meg were brave enough to accompany me in my car. Since I'd heard that the fella's had all gotten themselves lost, I armed myself with an infallible (ahem) Google map and I knew that there was no way we were going to get lost. God has such a way of humbling us!!!

There came a point, while we were driving down the main street of Campbelltown, far, far away from where we were supposed to be, when Kylee suggested we ring David Kent. I reminded her that we had a reputation and an image to uphold and maintain and that we couldn't have this little faux pas passed on to ANYONE!!! Praise God for common sense. Kylee looked at me and said, "at the moment, I don't really care about image or reputation" ... or words to that effect!!

So ... Kylee rang David Kent. I think David Kent should be the CEO of Google Maps. We got there relatively easily under his superb directions - roughly two hours later then we should have, but we felt grateful to have arrived safely.

Because not only did we get lost, but we were driving through wind along tree-lined roads where bits and pieces were flying at the car!!! I have to say that we passed an accident on our side of the road at Lake George, then we passed through rain that was driven sooo hard by the wind that it was, literally, almost parallel with the road. I don't remember ever seeing anything like it.

When we arrived, I knew that the hand of God had been upon us and I was (and still am, actually) very, very grateful to Him for ensuring our safe passage. There was a wonderful sense of fellowship within the car, too, when it could, otherwise, have been soooooooo stressful.

Thus, I knew that God was going to move in a mighty way!!! I just wasn't expecting Him to move in SUCH a mighty way!!!! From the first song to the last, from the first word spoken to the last, I was ministered to by the Spirit of God in a really deep way. I haven't cried so much in a long time and, I can tell you, it felt soooo cleansing.

Sister Sjostrand (pronounced "show-strand" - she pronounced it herself and I think that's because we were all pronouncing it wrong!!) and her daughter, Caitlin, are amazing in their ministry. Sister Sjostrand can work a piano/keyboard over like it was a "walk in the park" - she makes playing it look soooooo easy!!!

And can she sing???? And when Sis Sjostrand and Caitlin sing together, it's as if all the angels in Heaven have entered into Earth's atmosphere and are singing with them. It's truly wonderful. What an experience!!!

Her ministry in preaching was heavily anointed. She was obedient to the direction of the Lord and His anointing flowed into the congregation. He ministered through Sis Sjostrand and through Jena, too, in such a magnificent way. We had two sessions each morning and a service at night.

Jena preached on Sunday morning and, even now, when I think back on the words she spoke, my heart is full of love for the Lord. God knows the innermost working of our hearts and minds, even when we think we're keeping them locked away in the secret places. God knew exactly what I needed and He touched me and delivered me in a beautiful way.

The worship was simply amazing. Especially on Sunday night!! Marcella (from Campsie church) led the worship and, as usually happens when Mars does anything, it had the signature of God allllllll over it!!! There was dancing down the front, in the aisles, in the seats, all over the place. The overhead wasn't working, but the praise went up unhindered. And just when it was beginning to quieten down, Mars announced that the Fijian sisters were going to do a special item and "please be seated".

Yeah!!! Right!!!

It was, quite literally, music from Heaven. I'm sure that God was directing that choir. It was wonderful and the dancing happened again. Then ... the Fijian choir stopped and we thought the "item" was over but one Fijian sister started singing again and, so, the dancing started again, but this time, the choir was dancing, too. Sister Sjostrand and Caitlin were in there dancing with them and whoever else joined them at the front.

There was another special item on the Saturday night. Four sisters from Hoppers Crossing positioned themselves at the front of the congregation and performed a piece of choreography to a CD of "There is a sweet anointing in this sanctuary". By the time they finished, there was not a dry eye in the house, it was so beautiful. And powerfully anointed. Absolutely wonderful!!!!

One amazing thing happened for me, personally. On the Friday morning of the day we left for the camp, the Lord showed me a passage of scripture. I was reading it and comprehending it and going "wow" over it and then, when Diane and I were talking about scripture on Saturday afternoon, I couldn't remember a thing about what I had read on Friday morning. Soooo - I decided I would refresh my memory on Sunday morning and was dumbfounded!! The scripture the Lord had shown me on Friday was very, very much in line with what Sister Sjostrand had preached in the two sessions on Saturday morning. In fact, although Sister Sjostrand didn't use that particular passage of scripture, she probably could have preached her whole message from it!!! That has never happened for me before, so I knew that God was wanting to tell me something!!

I love the Lord so much. He is so faithful to me, even when my heart wanders and my mind is turned to other things, He still loves me - warts and all. I love the fact that He knows me intimately, but He still loves me. In fact, He loves me too much to leave me the way I am. He wants to keep changing me and making me more like Him. Even when others have given up on me, the Lord remains constant!!!

This is not, by any means, a comprehensive account of the women's retreat, but the Lord did so much that it's difficult to contain it all in a few words. I think that sometime, down the track, there will be many testimonies of the Lord's wonderful work in the lives of those who went and desired to be forever changed. I am changed because of what Jesus has done for me - I'm not quite sure how those changes will be exhibited, maybe no-one but me will know how I am changed - and He has set His seal upon my life!!

What a wonderful Saviour!!