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I just returned from a wonderful, three day retreat that was a gift from a special group of women in the West who are part of a ministry dedicated to serving and encouraging women in cross-cultural service.

One of the real challenges of my life is the sense of being isolated from like-minded women.  There are many people who have a good sense of what I do but I don’t often get to share with women who really understand what that means.  On this retreat I met women who enjoy going into a prison as much as I do, who miss their kids and grandkids terribly but get great joy from impacting the lives of families in their country of service, and really appreciate the beautiful homes and conveniences of North America but would gladly trade that in for a little house in a remote village for the privilege of serving God. 
 
In a spectacular, safe environment with fabulous food, inspiring leaders and teachers, pampering and gifts, I was able to share with more than 70 other women that “get my life”.  Probably too much of that was done in the wee hours of the morning, when my room mate and I should have been sleeping, but we will get caught up on our sleep later. There was lots of laughter and even more tears but mostly there was joy!

It was a particular joy to meet the twenty-one volunteers who so freely gave their time, their unique gifts and even their finances, to come to Thailand and serve us, but I am also very grateful to an army of other women who work dilgently behind the scenes who made this possible. They have a unique and and valuable ministry and all of us came away encouraged and refreshed.

If you are interested in knowing about (joining?) this very unique ministry you can visit them yourself at

https://www.womenoftheharvest.com/home.asp