Women of the Harvest

A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to attend the Women of the Harvest Conference (womenoftheharvest.com) in Dbrovnik, Croatia. If you are like me and every time a country is mentioned outside the US you need a geography lesson, know that you are not alone. Keep in mind when you look at this map that Albania is the size of Maryland.

WOTH is an organization that provides support for North American women who are serving cross-culturally. The WOTH retreats are held in two international locations each year and take only 75 attendees. I attended with 16 other women who serve alongside me here in Albania.

I made several new friends – there were 6 gals that I did not know at all that went in our bus load. One woman, Virginia, is 78 years old, a retired school teacher. She is here living for just one year, home schooling a Korean boy in a smaller town outside of Tirana. She is really something! She was married and divorced earlier in life, no children and this is the 12th year she has lived overseas helping missionaries school their children. I did not get nearly enough time to hear all of her stories and adventures. She is not sure if she will be back again. She has some heart problems and doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone. She is an inspiration. Amazing….

The conference speaker was Mimi Wilson, author of Holy Habits. She was wonderful and I learned so much. They had some great games – we did a white elephant gift exchange with gifts they brought us from the States. Things like pie filling, cake mixes, pecans, peanut butter, Lucky Charms… etc. It was quite a fight to see who got what! I came home with Lucky Charms and instant oatmeal which made all the family happy! We also had a funny story telling time which was hilarious to hear everyone’s crazy stories about things that have happened to them in the country where they serve. One lady told a story of her daughter falling in the sewer in India because the drain cover had been stolen. UGH! That could really happen to me here! I got a pedicure, a massage and a haircut! YEAH! And I slept like a baby. It was a truly blessed time.

My retreat was sponsored by someone I did not know who paid the $600 fee for me to attend. Isn’t that amazing? I can not tell you what a GIFT it was to have this time away to meet with other women who share my heart, my dreams and my struggles cross culturally and to just be pampered! If you want to learn more about how you could sponsor a missionary for this retreat, click here.