If you know me at all
you know that I am excited to be able to say registration is open for a retreat
in North East Asia! It is just so fun to
see God's hand move on behalf of the missionary women that will attend the
retreat and the team come together and churches and individuals get involved in
prayer, giving, and gifting. It is a
totally awesome thing. And the big thing
is you just start thinking about the retreat and the women there all the time. You'll be out and about and think “Wow! That
would be something cool for the ladies” or
someone will call you up that has been on a past trip or has sponsored
missionaries before and tell you they have a gift they are working on or that
they have been given a resource that they want to give to support the retreat. In fact,
as I'm writing this, I started thinking about how on Instagram, they
have a place on there where if you like a picture or video you click on this
little heart that says "I like". (For those of you who don't know what Instagram
is.....it is an online photo-sharing, video sharing and social networking
service. Don't worry, I didn't know
about it either until this past year and it has been out 3 years and even then
I found out from a family of kids!)
So, I started thinking about what are the things I “like”
about Pure Joy International.....
Y
I like that someone is working on a gift for a
trip 3 months out and praying for the missionary women and the team.
Y
I like
that so many people are involved on a trip without going on the trip. When we have a team of 15 going, then because
of the preparation and things we do, we could have as many as 500 or more people
involved that never leave the country, but are a part of the team.
Y
I like that God stretches people to give and to
go. (I have seen so many women on a team
that never thought they would ever leave the
country)
Y
I like watching God move on behalf of the missionary
women and team members and those involved stateside.
Y
I like watching those women be ministered to and
knowing that the team ministering to them was handpicked by God to do so.
Y
I like watching God challenge the missionary
women and the team and those involved at home to grow more dependent on Him and
to trust Him more.
Y
I like watching the workers in hotels overseas
and our bus/van drivers recognize there is something different about us.
Y
I like it when a hotel/resort tells us they
really enjoyed our group and we can use that as a spring board to start a
spiritual conversation with them.
Y
I like that God touches the hearts of missionary
women all over the world through the speakers and worship and fellowship to the
point of refreshing them to stay the course for the sake of the Gospel!!
Y
I like that I get to serve the LORD being a part
of something only He can do.
You get the idea. I
could go on and on! I'm just thankful I
am serving the LORD in a ministry that challenges, convicts, and affirms our
growth in HIM! I can't imagine serving
the LORD in a ministry that I am miserable in day in and out. In fact, unless God has you on hold in that
type of situation, I would be taking time to pray, “God show me Your will!” Sometimes God's will for our lives takes a
left and we just continue to move on ahead alone. I say that because if you aren't in His
will, you are on your own with your will.
Therefore, while God is omnipresent, it just means you aren't
experiencing His revealed presence.
Time is short....make sure you are serving God and not yourself and or
man apart from Him.
If God is speaking to you about participating in the North
East Asia retreat, let me know.
Love you All.....
His,
Vickie