As so many of us gather with family and friends in our homes and around tables to give "Thanks to God" and His many blessings, we at Pure Joy International count all of you that support our ministry through prayer, gifting, going, and giving as true blessings from God in the life of this ministry. Thank you for your faithfulness and blessings over you and your families today and always.
From our family here at Pure Joy International to yours...
Thank you
each and everyone for your prayers while we were gone and for our trip back
across the waters. We all made it home
safely Sunday evening. What a wonderful
time we had in the country of Tbilisi, Georgia.
The country is beautiful and the ladies that attended the Retreat were absolutely
a “Joy” to the team and the other women attending. Many new friendships were established,
connections made for future time together, the word of God was shared, worship
was marvelous, and fellowship so sweet.
I am
attaching pictures to this post as many as possible. They are random but will give you some idea
of some of the things we as a team had an opportunity to see. One thing I would point out to you that was
so much fun to see for me personally was what I thought were candles hanging in
store fronts along the way was actually a candy called “Churchkhela” and is a
candy treat. You will catch that in the pictures somewhere. So, enjoy and if you have questions about any
of the pictures are comments let us know.
His,
Vickie
Note: Pictures are of sights and team
members only. Because of the sensitivity
of where some of our ladies serve, we did not take any pictures of the ladies attending. We had some ladies that did not make it to
the conference because they could not get visas to get in and or were concerned
about not getting one to get one back into their country. But you
can know as we do here at Pure Joy International, God had exactly the ladies
that were supposed to be there for this conference at this time and season. Again,
thank you all for your gifting, going, giving and continual prayer
support.
And thank
you to all that serve cross-culturally to make a difference for His Name Sake.
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We landed around 3 a.m. in Tbilisi Sunday morning. Everyone is just a little bit tired, ha, ha, ha. By the time most of you are reading this it will be Sunday afternoon your direction in the States. Most of the team is still asleep and I just woke up it is 2:00 a.m. here on Monday the 23, 2023. I’m still trying to adjust to the switch over on days and night. I’m not there yet. Truth be known, I suspect some of the team is wide awake in their rooms too.
Yesterday, the team grabbed some breakfast after arriving to the hotel and getting rooms, and settled in. Then it was straight to bed for everyone until 1:00 p.m. the time here. We had lunch, went to the mall, and had our first team meeting followed by an afternoon of putting the final touches on all the awesome things you sent for with us to love on the ladies attending the retreat.
We have our first day of sightseeing today following breakfast. We will be doing a 4-hour walking tour of the city of Tbilisi to gain some understanding of the culture of this country. Well, post those pic this evening.
Please continue to pray the team will get rest and have
prepared hearts for the ladies coming on Wednesday. So, appreciate the hundreds of team members (that
would be you) back home that are praying for us all and following our journey
here.
His,
Vickie
The team
is awesome. They are having fun together
and many laughs. Probably from sleep
deprivation. Ha, Ha, It is so fun to be
back with those that have traveled with us before and the new team members traveling
with us for the first time.
Please
continue to pray for us as we navigate the remainder of the trip to Republic of
Georgia. So far, our flights have been good
and on time. Several of us had extra
seats by us on the plane here so we could stretch out some.
Will post
more tomorrow and hopefully have a few pics to throw into the mix.
Keep Praying...
His,
Vickie
Well, it is finally
here. We leave the country in the morning
headed to the Republic of Georgia. I
cannot tell you how thankful we are for all the prayers and support we have received
in the months of preparation leading up to our departure.
I know I share this with you each trip but only because it is true. All of you that have made gifts, prayed over a woman, and have gotten them a card, supported a lady to attend the conference, supported the ministries general fund, prayed with us daily and weekly, thank you so much for being a part of this team. We all have a part and you have done your part well!!! Now may we as a team carry those gifts, giving and prayers to our sisters across the waters!
I will
try to blog or get some information that our PR person Kim Roberson can post to
our Facebook page. So, keep an eye out. (Smile)
Please
pray for safe travel. For Him to be our front and rear guard, to hem us in before
and behind. And for the ladies attending
to be Blessed Beyond Measure!
His,
Vickie
We have 8
slots left open. However, if they are not filled by the deadline the
registration will still be closed on the aforementioned date.
We are so
excited and cannot believe we are just under 3 weeks away from our time in the
Republic of Georgia. Please continue to
pray for the ladies that will be attending and the team that will be
leaving. All the details are coming
together well. Of course, there are
several things that cannot get done until registration closes but we are used
to a little bit of stress. (ha,ha,ha) Keep the prayers lifted up!
As you finish your week consider this reminder
which you have probably processed before but need a review; Am I so busy working for Christ that I am
neglecting Him.
His,
Vickie
Today as I have been working on things for our Pure Joy International trip to Republic of Georgia, I have been reminded of the very first bible verse God gave me for encouraging the missionary women.
Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called
“today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (ESV)
I love that verse and what God spoke to my heart about it in those early years still holds true today. “Encourage each other, lift each other up in the things of the LORD, while you can. It prevents spiritual heart attacks in the body of CHRIST. "
We go to other countries to encourage our sisters in Christ because God gave us the vision to go in the format of retreats/conferences. To encourage them, to remind them of His Love for them, to speak the Word over them, to worship Him with them, to laugh, cry, and fellowship as His girls. We don’t just go to go; we go because we can’t not go!
Please continue to pray for the team as we are in the major stages of preparation now. We have 11 slots left. Registration will close at the end of the next 3 weeks so please continue to get the word out.
Thank you so much to you that are giving towards sponsorships of the missionary women that will be attending. It means so much to them to be able to come at no cost to them except getting to and back home from the venue. Their room and meals, materials for the retreat are all sponsored through your giving. You all are always the best! If you want to donate, go to our web site www.purejoyinternational.org and scroll down to Support for instructions on how to give.
Have a blessed and safe long weekend as we celebrate Labor Day weekend here in the U.S.
His,
Vickie
