CBSI Retreat

A few weeks ago I had the chance to go away for a night, leaving Jeremy with the kids - hey, turnabout is fair play! - and help with a CBSI (Community Bible Studies International) retreat. One of our fellow workers here is the regional coordinator, and since the retreat was to be in Holland this yea, she had to figure out all the details and run the program. So about a month ago, I received an email asking if anyone was available to help with the worship times, and since I had the time open and I love worship music, I sent back a reply saying I would help - not really knowing what I was getting myself into! Those of you who know me well, know that I love to sing and that in college I was a part of the choir and ensemble - however, I have never been REALLY good and am not very confident in singing which is why I love singing in groups! However, I quickly realized that this was me leading music while someone played piano and another played the guitar, and I was going to be the only one with a microphone. That meant people would hear me! We did have the chance to practice the week before the retreat, and then I realized we would also be singing several songs I didn't know and that in leading I was expected to sing the melody which is usually much higher notes than my comfortable alto self likes. They expected me to be a soprano! I do have to admit that while I can sing soprano notes, I much prefer the lower ones - they are easier to sing and more fun (altos, I'm sure you can agree!). Anyway, during that week I got more and more nervous, but it was a need they had and I wanted to help out, so I toughed up and packed my bags.

I was only helping for the last 2 days of the retreat since they already had a singer for the first 2 days, and so I took the train to where I was meeting up with my ride and we headed out. About 1 and a half hours from home, I found myself being driven up a beautiful tree-lined street to an old mansion house that had been bequeathed to a Christian organization to be a Christian retreat center; the house had been remodeled making the second and third floors into small hotel rooms and the downstairs into a cozy conference area. I was also told that the retreat participants, the regional leaders of CBSI and short term Calebs loved to sing. (Caleb = CBSI's division of retirees that go into areas all over the world for 2 to 3 weeks and pray for and build contacts within communities to begin new Bible studies. This was very good news to hear since I was hoping they would drown me out, even with the microphone. When we arrived we had a few minutes to practice again and then we started the worship session. It was wonderful. Not mechanically perfect, and I know that I hit a few 'just shy of the right note"notes (that means pitchy for all you American Idol fans), but no one seemed to care. Those people wanted to sing, and so they did - very fervently and loud. During every session you could feel the presence of the Lord as we sang together in worship. We were told later that it wasn't just singing songs, that it was worship. What a compliment! During the 2 days, I had a chance to mingle with several of the participants and hear their wisdom on how God moves, I was able to listen to 2 sessions by the speaker who gave great Biblical insights and asked some tough questions in self-evaluation and (being 20 years younger than everyone else there) I had a lot of time to myself - a luxury for a mom of a 3 year old, not to mention I've never been to a retreat before where the planned activities were over by 8:30pm!

I also got a great lesson in humility as I have a hard time accepting compliments (about anything, really, but especially in music) However, when you are told by an elderly person that you "sing like an angel" you cannot tell them to shut-up (usually my first reaction) but must politely accept the compliment. This was a great lesson for me as I received many appreciative thanks and compliments from the participants and had to silently accept the praise. Funny the ways God uses to teach you things!

Overall it was a great 2 days, and I was really blessed to be a part of if it. Thanks for your prayers. Here are some pictures from our great location.

This is the front of the houseThis is a view from the backAnother view of the back with the pond behind themThe entry way and staircaseThis was a parlor, I believe, and is where we had our meetingsThe ball room has been converted into a beautiful dining room where we had fantastic food and service.Also in the new dining room - I love all the fireplaces!The group getting ready before a sessionIf you look closely you can see this is a sketch of the house as it looked originally. Now it is surrounded by other houses, but it was fun to see the historic image of such a beautiful place. Please pray for "Het Brandpunt" and their staff. It is definitely a ministry as they run every year at a financial loss, but their staff have great attitudes and a servant's heart. They went out of their way for us, making the entire experience wonderful, and we were grateful to be able to be there.