Spiritual Emphasis Weekend

Spiritual Emphasis weekend was a great time of drawing close to God and to each other as well as a time of relaxation and refreshment! One of the first things Ginny, Lydia, and Ceci did was run to the beach and jump up on a rock to watch the incoming tide as it splashed over them - yes, they got wet!!
Joyce originally thought she'd sleep here . . . but her spot became very popular with many of the students! They took turns lying in the hammock off and on over the weekend, and Joyce, Melissa, Daisy, MaryLou and I spent most of the night outside our tent looking at the moon and stars! The evening was balmy and gorgeous! But that's getting ahead of things.

First we had to set up the tents - that took awhile, especially when we discovered that a few of the poles for our tent were broken! But thanks to Tim, Mo, and Joyce's ingenuity, we soon had our tent up!

After a late barbecued meal, we sat around and sang some songs. Then Hedrick Kual, a BA graduate of PIBC and current seminary student, gave us a great message on why we should pray, and why we sometimes don't pray. Hedrick's message was taken to heart by all.

After his message, Hedrick asked us to break up into our community groups and discuss the topic for the evening. Our group opened by each person sharing a short prayer of one thing they were thankful for to the Lord. Then we shared about different aspects of prayer in our lives; when it is hard to pray; why we should do it anyway; what happens when we obey God and pray; answers to prayer. It was a good time of sharing. We closed with another prayer of thanksgiving.

During all this time, there was a fantastic moonrise that took place - I was not kidding when I said above that the night sky was gorgeous! There was a brilliant moon, as you can see, and it illuminated the night sky's clouds so well that as we lay out on our matts, we were able to "name" the different shapes we saw in the clouds, laughing at each others' imaginations. We saw at least 3 shooting stars, and talked until 3:00 a.m. What a blessing to have shared good fellowship with each other!

. . . and by the way, the sunrise the next morning wasn't half bad either. (And yes, we were up to see it: who do you think took the picture?) :-)


The next day was the day we saw the great piggy event, listed below, during our breakfast time. Afterward, we had an extended time of Bible study, and meditation on scripture, each of us going to our own "spot" alone and focusing on the scriptures and thoughts in our study guide. It was a blessing to see how seriously most of our students took this time! (This photo is the view I had while I was doing my scripture meditation and journaling.)




We had two other general group meetings; one before our lunch and one after. Faculty members Ned and Hollie shared with us in the areas of commitment and openess in our lives with God. Hollie had a group of students perform a skit that demonstrated what happens to us when we allow sinful "strongholds" to get a "strong hold" on us and trip us up, entangling us in ways that render us useless in ministry. Hollie encouraged the students to give these to God and be strengthened by His grace and love in our lives.



All too soon, our weekend was over; but the impact still lingers. Please pray for our students and staff members at PIBC, that we would cling to the Lord in trials, surrender all strongholds to Him so that He can lift us up and make us useful to Him in service. Until my next entry, God bless you and strengthen you in YOUR service to Him, and know that He upholds you in His mighty hand.
Love in Him who loved us first,
Melody and Tim (seen here at the beach on Guam where we had our retreat) (. . . and yes, that is Tim's Starbuck's coffee mug in his left hand! Honestly, would you have recognized him without it?) :-)