Team Retreat

I wish you had just been there. I am tempted to just write down every detail of the last three days that I spent with our national team on a team retreat, but I know it wouldn't really be that exciting for you. Because you just had to be there to understand just how wonderful it was. 

I wish you had been there when we went to the waterfalls of Banfora and the Africans oohed and aahed at the beauty of God's creation in their own country that they had never seen before. 

I wish you had been there as we walked down the path to the falls and sang songs of God's majesty and marvelousness. We were kind of like a marching praise band.

I wish you had been there to see them play the human knot game...you know when you stand in a tight circle and grab each other hands and then have to untangle the knot you've made without letting go of your hands. I think it took them somewhere around an hour and a half to undo it, but we assured them it was possible, and they did it with much patience, perseverance, communication, and problem solving. I think it was even more of a team building exercise than we even intended it to be! 

I wish you had been there when we spent time in personal meditation by the waterfall. If you had been a bird in a tree, you would have seen each person in their perfect spot with Bibles and hearts open. Afterwards, you would have heard our team discussion as everyone shared how they had individually and personally heard from God. 

I wish you had been there to hear Charlotte and Rebecca sing the songs that God had given them during their meditation time. Even Herman shared something that he wrote the night before when God gave him a revelation in the middle of the night. 

I wish you had been there when we played the "survival scenario" team building exercise. The team had to imagine that they were stranded in the desert! And each person could only bring one item. They pretty easily figured out that they needed food, water, and a Bible, but the rest was pretty funny. "I'll bring a mat," said one person. "One mat? For eight people?!" Another person said he would bring a hat, which everyone else shot down real quick. "We need to bring faith," one woman said. "But that's why we have a Bible," someone responded. I loved her answer, "Yes, but you can have a Bible and not have faith. And you must have faith to survive." 

I wish you had been there to see us climbing to the top of the domes, where we sat down and sang songs of praise so loudly that it echoed off the rocks. I think everyone within five kilometers could have heard us. 

I wish you had been there to hear how loud we laughed when we took turns taking jumping pictures on top of the domes. 

I wish you had been there when we looked off into the distance where we could see for miles and miles until the earth touched the sky. Then together we discussed as a team what our vision for the future will be and what God's vision for our lives and ministries is. 

I wish you had been there to hear one team member say that she felt like she was filled with the Holy Spirit as a result of our team retreat time together. 

I wish you had been there to hear how loud we sang on the way home, first in Dagara and French ourselves, and then in English, Spanish, and Swahili as we listened to different praise songs on my iPod. I wish you had been there to hear us talk about how much we need personal time with the Lord, how his word is our daily food and water, and how our hearts are full when we spend time with him. 

I wish you had been there to experience the creation of God through the eyes of Africans. I wish you could have seen the light in their eyes, to see how refreshed they were at the end of it all, to see how spending time in God's presence changes us. 

And I wish you had been there to see the joy and life flowing forth from their hearts. And from mine. 

Our team retreat was an absolute perfect way to end my first year in Burkina. From spending time with my team to spending time in creation to spending time with Jesus, my heart is full.