Retreat for Pastor's Wives

In March, Ramona Beam and Donna Fort hosted a Pastor’s Wive’s Retreat at the Serenity Lodge in Antelope Game Park, near Gweru, Zimbabwe. The theme we chose was “Planting Yourself in the Lives of Others.” Esther Burroughs book, A Garden Path to Mentoring, was the inspiration for our group sessions. We shared that no matter how busy one’s life is that the basics of mentoring can be applied through the daily activities of one’s life. (Like in Deuteronomy 6:7.)

In the final share time, one lady said she had not realized before how important it was to take time to teach our children basic life skills when they are young that can be built onto as they mature. She said that as a mother she had failed to show her child how to do certain things that she expected her child to do, and that as a result she was often disappointed with her child’s performance. She realized that she was being unfair and unreasonable to her child. She said she planned to go home and begin to spend time with her child showing her how to do things she was capable of doing the right way.

Ramona Beam was our “chef” for the weekend and we ate very well. One night the women helped her prepare dinner and got a cooking lesson in return!

We learned some things about the way they cook and they learned some things about the way Americans cook. It was a fun cultural exchange.

One afternoon we all piled onto a donkey drawn carriage and went for a game drive.

Other activities included: learning to fold cloth dinner napkins in decorative ways, arranging flowers for the dinner table, bubble baths (a rare experience for women who only have showers in their homes) and manicures done by a recent graduate from cosmetology school.

This first time event was such a success the ladies informed Ramona and I they wanted to do it again “next month”. We told them we would try to do it again “next year.” Pray for the pastor’s wives of Zimbabwe. Pray that God will take the little they have and multiply it like the loaves and fishes so they can meet the needs of their families and those who come to them needing help. Pray for them to be godly examples and mentors not only to their own children, but to the girls and women in their churches as well. Submitted by Donna Fort