Pastor's Wives

I just had a great weekend in Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon) in a neighbouring state (Minas Gerais) where I was the main speaker for the pastor's wives retreat. From the time the group invited me, I was excited about this event and was really looking forward to it. I worked a long time on the Bible studies. I spoke about celebrating being a woman (about Eve), celebrating being a woman of God (Deborah) and celebrating being a pastor's wife (Elizabeth). It was hard work, as I did lots of Hebrew and Greek exegesis to really understand the women and their world and then bring the lessons from their lives into our world. I learned so much and reminded me how much I love studying and sharing my applications with others. It was thrilling to see people who I hadn't seen in years and also get to know a new crop of woman. It was particularly gratifying to have contact with people who have "followed" my writings and messages throughout the years. I sensed a real hunger for God's word among the women, just the kind of audience any speaker loves to have. You can see by the photos there was a good crowd and the Baptist camp in Minas is a beautiful place. I spent most of my time speaking and studying, but I did have time for lots of chats and heard many inspiring "stories" from these heroines. Minas is a particularly challenging state for evangelism. Some of these woman live far far away from any other church or other Christians. Their life is hard (physically and spiritually), but they are certain of their calling. I was definitely inspired by their lives. Although I came home tired, I felt like for the first time since I have been back in Brazil that I really did something worthwhile. My heart and soul needed this weekend and I think the group needed to hear what God had me to say to them. What a great way to spend 3 days.
Since the group sent me a plane ticket, I was able to get home in time to attend church on Sunday night and it was terrific to be back in my very own church. I will have to spend today, Monday, recovering my energies, but I would certainly do it all again!