The July Retreat
In June we received nominations for a couple whose story is that of strength. They are the backbone of a church and are greatly involved in almost every aspect of its ministries. As usual, we try to tailor the retreat to the couple, and sent a pre-retreat questionnaire, which asked for a location of piney woods, and river side. This didn’t fit our normal locations, so I went to our good friend google that came up with several locations in North-East Texas. One stood out, but not in a positive way. I talked with the inn keeper who said he had a full-time job, and his wife was fighting cancer and most of her days were spent at MD Anderson receiving treatment. I thanked him for his time and kept looking for other places. However, I couldn’t get that place out of my head. So, when I called my nominations, I gave it to them as an option. And . . . that’s the one they chose.
After the retreat, I received a call from the couple and they said simply, “We need to talk.” We’ve started Elijah’s Tree four years ago, have completed lots of retreats, and never had a phone call like that, so I really didn’t know what to expect. We met at their church, sat down, and the next hour was filled with an amazing testimony of what God did! When the couple got there, the inn keeper met them and quickly let them know they were on their own for breakfast and meals. Because of his job, he wouldn’t be there and because his wife was fighting cancer, she wouldn’t be there. However, after a few minutes of talking he changed his mind and realized he wanted to spend time with this couple. Everyday, the inn keeper put off his job to stay with and cook for this couple, and even though it was simply good conversation, this couple who was on retreat for their selves, was ministering to him!
The more they talked the more they connected and found they had many things in common. One example was at the front of the property, there stood a pillar with a date in it. It was the day the inn keeper and his wife were married, which was only two days away from when our retreatants were married. Because of their connection they were able to minister to him concerning his wife and spent time in prayer with him. At the same time, they had plenty of time to enjoy the peacefulness of the retreat, the piney woods they requested, and the river they wanted. When asked about the high point of their retreat, they said: “The fellowship we had with the inn keeper. Allowing the time with us to pray for his wife’s healing of cancer. Also praying for him for strength, for joy, for peace, for comfort and God’s love.” We also asked about additional feedback for us: “The Retreat was truly named for the peace, the tranquility we experienced during our retreat. We were able to stay focused on God’s Calling in renewing restoring and returning to our calling.”
This was an amazing retreat and we want to share more of Elijah’s Tree With you. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter Today!
