"Find Yourself in God" was the name of the women's conference we hosted earlier this month in Trieste, Italy. One of the ladies of our church has felt a growing passion to reach to the women in our area, and brought this desire before the church in the spring. We prayed and it was agreed that we would work together to organize an outreach event for the women of Trieste.
As we began to prepare for the conference, I must admit that it was a little difficult to see how everything could be pulled together in what seemed to be such a short time. Meeting and planning over the summer is challenging when nearly every family in the church left for a significant amount of time, and though it was only a half-day event, there were many details to arrange. It quickly became obvious that prayer was the key ingredient, and every meeting began and ended by seeking the Lord. We relied on His calling, looked to His strength and direction and thanked Him for the help of each other.
We were all stretched in our faith; it was a very unifying time.The women of our church were brought closer together as worked side by side, we were encouraged by others as they joined us in prayer, and we saw the awesome power of the Body of Christ as different gifts were used together.
One huge blessing was the partnership of the Women's Ministry at Redeemer Evangelical Free Church in Milwaukee, who organized an evening of prayer to lift up our conference the night before!
The day of the conference was incredible.
The women went early to the theatre to set up, the men stayed at church all morning to pray for our event and took turns watching the children. Already, the Body was in action! As we prepared, the peace and joy we prayed for was evident, and as women began to came, we praised the Lord for His faithfulness.
There was a moment we each felt a pang of disappointment in the fact that the numbers we smaller than we had hoped, but we shared later how quickly these feelings melted for each of us, knowing that if only one heart was touched, it was all worth it! The singing was full of worship, the message was challenging and encouraging, the Gospel was presented clearly, and after there were great conversations over homemade treats.
I was reminded again: It's not about me, but it's all about Him! A few women gave us their name and contact information to follow-up. One unexpected result was the feedback we received from believing women who asked for this type of event to be arranged again as a way for sisters to gather together and grow! Please pray with us as we continue to seek the Lord and see the fruit He produces... "
The women went early to the theatre to set up, the men stayed at church all morning to pray for our event and took turns watching the children. Already, the Body was in action! As we prepared, the peace and joy we prayed for was evident, and as women began to came, we praised the Lord for His faithfulness.
There was a moment we each felt a pang of disappointment in the fact that the numbers we smaller than we had hoped, but we shared later how quickly these feelings melted for each of us, knowing that if only one heart was touched, it was all worth it! The singing was full of worship, the message was challenging and encouraging, the Gospel was presented clearly, and after there were great conversations over homemade treats.
I was reminded again: It's not about me, but it's all about Him! A few women gave us their name and contact information to follow-up. One unexpected result was the feedback we received from believing women who asked for this type of event to be arranged again as a way for sisters to gather together and grow! Please pray with us as we continue to seek the Lord and see the fruit He produces... "
Please continue to pray for them and their church planting efforts in Trieste, Italy! Below are photos of our Women of Redeemer "Engage Italy" night here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
With thanks to Tamara Hamill for leading this event, Marie Cassavant for making all the authentic Italian food and Mary Hamill for creating a lovely, warm atmosphere - all glory to God! Mark your calendars for January 30, 2010 for our next engage event: "Engaging Milwaukee! "Hmm...wonder what type of food will be served for Milwaukee!?!
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