Joy in the Planning
By Joyce Wachsmuth --
This weekend some of our women will be at the women’s retreat in Turner, Oregon at the Aldersgate Retreat Center. 1979 was my first experience of planning and attending a women’s retreat. Because I had never attended one, I had so may questions? What do women do at these retreats? I didn’t have a clue, and I didn’t have Google to ask!
At the time, I was part of a women’s Bible study in a home, so I asked the ladies if they had ever attended a women’s retreat. None of them had, but one of the ladies said, “I think they have someone share from the Bible and women have fun playing games.” So, with that information, I began planning with a group of women our first Greater Portland Bible Church Women’s Retreat in the spring of 1979.
I asked four speakers to come and share. With 30 women attending, the ratio was one speaker for every eight women! The place that we rented was very rustic, and we needed to bring everything. All I remember was that my car was loaded with stuff. Pat Palau (Luis Palau was just at the beginning of his ministry), was one of the speakers. Honestly, I can’t remember the other three speakers, only partial names of each of them. It was 40 years ago! Through the years, many of our speakers have been from the Portland area, such as Muriel Cook, Myrna Alexander, and Pam Reeve from Multnomah. We have had speakers from Texas, Arizona, Washington and California, too.
You can imagine what I thought when I learned from other churches that you usually only have one speaker for the retreat! Sandi Fried and I planned the first few retreats together. We really had fun planning! For me, each retreat met the needs of my life at that time. I remember tears running down my face as I took a walk to ponder what I had heard. Spending one or two nights with women can be overwhelming for some (especially introverts). However, you really get to know other women because there is uninterrupted time just talking, playing games and other activities. It’s a joy to just get to know one another and make new friends.
Another highlight for me at retreats is the worship time. Singing with women is always so moving for me. Worshiping the Lord together many times with the view of the mountains or the ocean is amazing!
For 35 years now, I have had the privilege of speaking at women’s retreats for other churches in Oregon, Washington, California and Colorado. I have enjoyed the honor of sharing my life with women. In 2015, I had the pleasure of speaking with my daughter, Beth, at our women’s retreat. It really was fun praying and working together on our talks. Beth shared deeply about her life and what it means to truly walk with Jesus. My two sisters from Louisiana and Colorado joined us, and it was so special to be with them.
As I look back at my experiences with retreats, it has been full of rich and very cherished moments that have nurtured me in the Lord. If you are reading this and you are attending our retreat for the first time, I am praying for you. Open your heart to what the Lord wants to reveal to you in this 2019 Women’s Retreat of Greater Portland Bible Church. The theme this year is Pure Joy! Thank you Sheila Michaelson and her team for serving us this year!