I had met each woman sitting close to me the night before, and we had started to get to know one another as we drew pictures and shared how we viewed God.
Lead with vulnerability, that's how we had been trained.
Because vulnerability begets vulnerability, I would share parts of my story, in hopes that the women would feel safe doing the same with theirs.
So as my team mate introduced our first activity, I prayed over the women in my small group, that God would bring to mind a painful memory from their lives. I asked for the courage to share, and the wisdom to listen.
God make me brave, make these women brave.
We worked silently on our pictures, thinking through those moments that had shaped us. The ones that did not have to define us anymore.
I asked the women if any of them wanted to share ...and expected silence.
But without a pause, the pastor's wife spoke up. She told her story, her one moment of pain that led to many more. She told of the difficulties in her marriage, and how Jesus helped her fight through. She shared how hard it was to see the pain in her own daughter's life, a truth I am sure many can relate to.
And her daughter went next, openly talking about her own challenges, and how hard it was to see the struggles of her Mother and Father growing up.
I was floored. Mother and daughter, feeling one another's pain, and sitting with each other in it. The pastor's wife at this church is a leader, a true woman of God, and her willingness to share invited the other ladies to follow.
And yet, in all that pain, both of these women saw Jesus, and His divine hand faithfully carrying them forward.
In this moment...I realized our team's role....at this retreat at least.
These women, they love God. They want more of him.
They want to be vulnerable, they want to be brave.
They want to be freed from shame.
I believe that atop of a beautiful mountain in Guatemala, my team simply created a space. we shared and listened, but it truly was Jesus at work.
These women are each going through their own hardships as they struggle with the day to day. God did not send my team to Guatemala to save them, but to remind them that He is there, and that they have each other.
They have each other.
We have each other.
As we move forward my prayer is that each of these women might know that they have God and they have each other.
They are not alone.
God really does show up through His body when we let him, and a church leader down here in Guatemala reminded me that my team's role is to point these women to Him, and to one another.
So that when we leave in a few weeks, they will keep meeting, keep reaching out, and keep being vulnerable.
The bible talks about community ...." do not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching"
-Hebrews 10:25
This will be our prayer, and what we work towards now... that vulnerability will not be a one day thing, but a lifestyle.
Because only when we tell each other of the pain, do we really get to see the beauty of the healing Christ wants to do.
What about you...are you able to be vulnerable in your community?
Who can you reach out to and meet with so that you might grow closer to Jesus together ?
How might you point someone towards Jesus as they share their pain with you ?
Thank- you all for your prayers ! If you are able to support my team and I through prayer, please pray for the follow- up bible studies that will be implemented this week with these ladies. Also, we have another retreat in a nearby town approaching in a few weeks , so please be praying that God would prepare the hearts of those women as well.
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