Missionary Nurture Program retreat

Tommy, Charlie, and I just returned from Bethlehem Baptist Church’s missionary Nurture Program retreat. Thanks so much to those of you who prayed for us. We spent the weekend at a small retreat center in a quiet, rural area of Wisconsin (about an hour and a half from Minneapolis) together with about 30-40 other missionary candidates hoping to be sent out to various parts of the globe from Bethlehem. The theme of the retreat was conflict—and how to resolve it. We talked about conflict from several different angles and reflected on the various types—interpersonal, cross-cultural, and spiritual—that we are all sure to face on the mission field. Erik Hyatt, BBC’s missions pastor; Mike Jacobsen, a missionary with Arab World Ministries; and Tom Eckblad, BBC’s soul care pastor, led us, and it was a rich weekend, full of great conversation, warm fellowship, good “church camp” food(!), lots of games and laughter, and encouraging, challenging teaching sessions. (Kudos to Tom and Julie Varno for wonderful stories and encouragements from their 7-year missions experience in Uganda and for holding this whole retreat together!)

--Wesley, for the team