Retreating In Colombia

Here we are at the Retreat Center, and it is early morning. Many of us are gathered around the bay windows watching brilliantly colored exotic birds at the feeder. It’s a scene that’s only a snapshot of the beauty that dots the grounds and provides surprising delights at every turn. Phil and Dean, career missionaries in Colombia, have landscaped and decorated their home into a retreat where others can be led beside quiet waters and where the Lord restores the soul.

The birds are not the only ones being fed. National pastors and missionaries from Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico are being challenged and transformed during these two weeks together. Here is a taste of what we are hearing:

*Worship is a lifestyle.

*I should not only ask God to use me how He wants but that he also use who He wants to use for my best.

*Wounds are caused when lies are accepted in the mind…the Lord will restore us if we invite Him to come into that difficult moment and apply His truth to our hearts and minds.

* The worldview of an individual is his big picture, the culmination of his beliefs about the world; his formula to understand the world. A worldview is the basis for his daily decisions and therefore is so important.

*Many times we are confessing our acts and not our heart.

*As parents we should give our children blessings at different stages of their lives (births, preparation for adulthood, baptism, marriage…). A blessing is an occasion or a ceremony where an individual is specifically honored with truthful, sincere and upbuilding words.

Meanwhile back at “the ranch” in Houston our children are enjoying a variety of activities with their cousins. Whether it’s a water fight, going to a teen worship time called Reverb, celebrating “Gotcha Day” with their newest cousins or staying up way too late talking, they are making the most of the opportunity.

You can look forward to a photo journal of Medellin next week since we are visiting the city Friday, Saturday and Sunday to take in the local culture and meet with our Colombian brothers and sisters.