MCC Retreat #6 in Cali

The theme of this retreat was fear.



Fear of losing a family member.
Childhood fears.
Fear of natural disasters.
Fear of intercultural communication.
Fear of failure.
Fear of letting people down.
Fear of letting go.
Fear of taking risks.
The fears of our children.
Fear of not staying connected with our communities at home.
Fear of causing damage.
Fear of losing ourselves.
Fear of conflict, armed or not.
Fear of pain.
Fear of the future.
Fear for lost perspective.




Thanks to the Caleñ@s on our team, they were able to navigate workshops, games, and worship times around this theme with excellent planning and activities. We had group time, in tears, in laughter, in prayer. We had group games and "dinamicas" using metaphors. We had time to write and stretch, sing and study, play and ponder, and help listen to each other.





Because of so many recent marriages, there are now eight married couples on the team. The other team members honored this with a very elegant candlelit dinner with music, dancing, games, and recited love poems. It was beautiful, and something Aaron and I needed more than we realized.




I am still struck by the numerous transitions that happen within an MCC team. With each and every retreat it seems there are also goodbyes. And as we connect with others through time, these goodbyes get harder and harder...





Still, getting away from the "norm" of life here in Bogota, which has been cold, dreary, rainy, and emotionally heavy and moving into the warmth and beauty and light of Cali was nothing less than therapeutic for us. We played hard, ate well, and slept long, which is what a retreat should be, right?






And I came back to Bogota feeling grateful.

(thank you Shalom Wiebe for some of these action photos...she has a really nice camera.)