Let the Adventure Begin!

Today is the day! 

It has been 12 years since my church has been going over to Nepal to visit and support the Tibetan Trust Home. The Tibetan Trust Home is one of our strongest global mission partnerships, and is a residential or boarding school for underprivileged Tibetan kids in the Pokhara area, supported by donations. My husband has gone over a lot in these past 12 years, and over that time he has asked me to come quite a few times….my answer always resulting in “no, not this time”. My no was for whatever reason…the girls were small or didn’t work out with my vacation time and what we had planned that year, on and on I just have never went. There is the other part too that my heart beats deeply for Africa. I love that country; I love the culture, and the people. So if I were to jump at an opportunity to go on a trip it would be to Africa, not Nepal.  

So here we are today and in just a few short hours we will begin the 2 to 3 day trek to Nepal! There were several motivators for me to say yes to go this time when he asked. One being our girls aren’t infants anymore and are at an age where they don’t need so much one on one care. Another reason was I had enough vacation time as this year I moved up to 3 weeks’ vacation! Another reason was on this trip we get to celebrate 20 years of the Trust Home being in open. And then the last was, if Jeremy was going to get me to Nepal he knew another key motivator would be to go with friends! There are several of our closest friends going on this specific trip, so that is when all of that combined I said yes. 

There are so many emotions that have come these past few weeks leading up to this trip, and the culmination of it all was last night my oldest daughter saying please don’t go as she is crying in my lap. Ok just go ahead and RIP my HEART straight OUT!! Ugh. Needless to say, it was a weep fest.

Despite all the tears, I am excited. I was driving in to work today, praying, and I’m just excited to see God in a whole new context. On the other side of the world, to watch Him be moving & not confined by my little world I try to keep him boxed into. I’m also excited to see the Trust Home in person, to get to meet Argon, and the kids we support. To be able to see the majesty that is the Himalayas!  Cannot wait for that part!

So my prayer for this trip is that I am present. That I’m not so focused on missing home and the girls that I miss what God has in store for me there. After 12 years of not going, there is a reason I am going on this trip specifically so I don’t want to miss a thing!

Here we goooooooooo!

 

Brainstorm with me

Go with me here today….this isn’t going to be like any of my other posts. Think of it as a lets brain storm together post. Recently I was asked a question on what types of things would you want to see at a leadership retreat for women. I got thinking for a while and the first thing is…I would not want it to be a waste of my time (or any of the womens time). Time is valuable and we are stretched in so many directions the last thing I would want for me or for any other woman is for it to be a waste of their time. I would want it to have a vision and a purpose and want us to take away some practical things. You see, I’ve never been a normal ‘woman’s’ leader…I just have never really bought into the retreats that are weep fests and just bare your soul as you cry over chocolate. That’s just not me. I want to dig in deep to the word. I want to talk about things that are going to propel me forward as a leader.  So as I was thinking I wanted to define the word:

Definition of retreat

1. an act of going back or away especially from something dangerous, difficult, or disagreeable <The enemy is in retreat.>

2. a military signal for turning away from the enemy <He sounded the retreat.>

3. a place of privacy or safety <a mountain retreat>

4. a period of time in which a person goes away to pray, think quietly, or study

 

Now obviously we are talking about numbers 3 & 4. 

And another way to put it is: A quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax. A period of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation.

 

So as I am thinking of leadership and that specific role I think about….as a leader you need to take time and regroup, recoup, to rest and relax. The leaders I think about run so hard that they don’t take much time to stop and rest. They are just on the go and they start to run on empty because they are pouring out so much to others. Taking time to retreat and rest, to relax, pray and meditate. Get fueled back up…that is the main point of what I would want a retreat to be. 

The other word that comes to mind is: Equip

Definition of equip

1. to provide (someone) with necessary materials or supplies

2. to provide (something) with a particular feature or ability

3. to prepare (someone) for a particular activity or problem

 

I just love the definition of this word because what better description of the word do you need…its to provide someone with necessary material or supplies. To provide a particular feature or ability, and then to prepare for a particular activity or problem. And isn’t that the whole point of what a “retreat” for leaders should be? We want them to rest and retreat, but also we want to prepare them for being a leader! I just loved these two words and they totally resonated with me. 

Going back to the original question: What types of things would you want to see at a leadership retreat for women? And keeping in mind the definition of retreat and equip I would like to see some main speakers talk about…here are just some options that I think would be vital to equipping leaders: 

• Taking a look at one of the letters Paul wrote specifically to leaders and breaking it down. Giving practical and useful tools on how to continue on in the faith. 

• Run and not grow weary. Talk about the struggles we face as women leaders and how to run and not grow weary. With that too, touch on running your own race. Not running the person on your right or lefts race, but staying in the lane that God has for you and you alone. How to navigate that challenge of comparison as a woman leader. 

• How to be armed for the battle. Teach on how to lead people well especially when leadership and the position you are in becomes mundane. How do you keep pressing in and marching forward when you feel your wheels are stuck in the mud. 

I would want to maybe have some breakout sessions that talked about more practical things like how to lead a small group or how to handle different situations within the group; the talker the non-talker etc. Another break out could be how to handle crisis situations or how to help someone in crisis, or how to engage in conversations with people when you are shy yourself. 

      

Those are things I would like to see at a retreat; things that would add value to my time as I sat and refueled. What about you? What kinds of things or topics would you like to see discussed at a retreat for women leaders?

Thanks for taking this brainstorming session with me…sometimes it’s fun just to sit and dream up things even if they won’t come to be! Happy Friday everyone.