Pioneer Women

Oh the smiles, the laughter, and the joy of being together.

In this room.

All eight of the JV ladies who've come for this retreat are here at Malenovice, in the lodge down in the wooden village (I never know what else to call it except that!). They arrived safely amidst a beautiful spring-like afternoon, even though it had snowed this morning. It felt nice to welcome them in with sunshine and warmth on our faces!

We're tucked away for the next days two days, ready to listen to each other and to the Lord. I'm so excited for what He has in store for us.

This morning, before coming up to prepare for the retreat, I was at our weekly iTeam Bible study. As I shared about the upcoming retreat and who was coming for it, one of our team members said something like, "It sounds like this is the Pioneer Women's Retreat".

I like that! It fits with each of the ladies who are here. They are all involved in pioneering work on behalf of the Lord in the countries that they live and serve in.

Being a pioneer woman isn't easy. It takes courage, guts, faith, perseverance, more guts, and a good dose of humor thrown in to make it through all the crazy things that get thrown at you when you're the first one in a country, doing something new that hasn't been done before.

It also wears you out. Sometimes you just need a break to be with girlfriends who make you laugh and smile and help to give you perspective. That's what I'm hoping for during our time together.

So pray for these pioneer ladies over the next few days. Pray that they'll be refreshed, encouraged, nourished and fed.

And pray that we laugh a lot, which we already have this evening! We're off to a great start.