Colorado, Part 1 -- Ministers Retreat

Last Thursday we got up and packed (because it had somehow never occurred to me to do it until then), loaded up and headed to Colorado to join the folks for the Regional Ministers Retreat and a semi-secret Goodbye Party for us. ;-) Nobody could get a definite answer from James on whether or not we’d be able to make it up to join them for the Retreat, so Brother Van finally called and hinted around pretty heavy that they were wanted to have a chance to tell us goodbye. He’s the best ABM guy ever.

We got settled into our cabin, then went back to the main lodge for service. Brother Clarkson did a great job moderating his first function as the new Regional Overseer. :-) The folks here will be so blessed to have him. Brother Hawkins preached a really good message about the power of prayer and about truly trusting and believing that God is going to answer our prayers.

After service that night we had a Welcome Party for the Clarksons. That amazing ABM guy had arranged it, of course. He called the Clarksons up front and introduced each of them (as if they were new here or something! Ha!) and then everybody came and greeted them, pinning money on them as they passed.

I had to post this picture of Sister Shanda posing for Haley. :-)
Kristin was ALL ABOUT having her picture taken with EVERYBODY this weekend! Ha! Love that girl. :-)
I told Sister Shanda that I hoped they at least got enough money to buy new shirts for everybody since these ones are now so full of holes. Ha!
I really liked this new campground. This Retreat was scheduled there so everybody could see if they'd like to use this facility for camp next year. I thought it was terrific... except for the fact that there's no dishwasher! It wasn't a big deal for 60 people over the weekend, but it's NOT going to be fun for camp! We all took our turns...

Then there's Sister Jamey. She was slicing apples to snack on after church that first night and just about took her thumb off. Okay, so it wasn't THAT bad, but she sliced DEEP and it bled and bled and bled. She walked around like this for the rest of the night since somebody told her she was supposed to keep it elevated. Ha! It's a great conversation starter and makes for even better pictures. ;-)
Jeremiah, hanging out with the girls...
I can't recall anything real specific about the rest of the evening, only that I think we went to bed at about midnight. That's pretty early for this group, so we did well.

I don't have a Retreat program... and that's what I always go by when I need to blog about a function--I use the program to refresh my memory! I know that Haley thought a fantastic class on personal evangelism. Sister Missy taught a really good lesson to the pastor's wives, too. In the service that night Brother Hawkins preached another really good message (of course, I ALWAYS enjoy listening to Brother Hawkins!), then we prayed for a bit, then Brother Chris preached the message he had planned on preaching the following day. We ended with another prayer time. I was richly blessed through ALL of the Retreat--felt almost like I was so full I couldn't really retain any more though! I'm so thankful God allowed us to be there.

Brother Chris Thompson led the devotion on Friday morning and did a great job. He was a blessing to me. :-)

Brother Luis is one of the best CPMA leaders I've ever known. Love that guy. And his bright yellow fleece. I want one. :-)
Sister Keila never disappoints either. :-) She gave an interesting, informative, and inspiring Sunday School boost. It was great.
Jon and Brother Chris tried out the horseshoes that were sitting out back. They didn't to so hot. Ha! It was fun to watch, however. :-)
And here we have Brother VanDeventer, making the most of Minister's Retreat. :-) He is so cute! And boy was he in rare form this weekend! He always has a streak of orneriness, but it oozed out all over the place for three days straight! Ha! I loved it. :-)

~whew~ I'd love to write about the rest of our trip, but I'm too tired. --I'll pick up where I left off next time.

But before I go, an update on the house...

I talked to Jason again tonight. The yard sale lady (she does have a name, but this is sort of catchy so we'll stick with it) is having a hard time getting approved for the loan. She and her daughter have excellent credit scores, but don't bring in enough income to carry a second mortgage. Her Dad has the income, but no credit history. Long story. Anyway, Jason has got her set up to meet with a different lender at 9:00 tomorrow (Thursday) morning to see if this guy can get them approved. Jason said he should know something within a few hours of that and he'll give us an update as soon as he hears something. Another lady looked at the house over the weekend and really liked it, too--wants to bring her husband to look at it when he gets into town next week. So even if the yard sale lady doesn't work out, at least somebody else has LOOKED at it--and even LIKED it! That's huge in this dead market! Ha! I feel so at peace about the whole shabang. We're still in limbo, I guess, but I don't feel like it. I just feel like I'm resting in the Lord and He's going to work it all out just like it needs to be worked out. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. :-)

Until next time...