Sunday, September 18, 2011

Staff Retreat

This past weekend, we went on the all staff retreat to a ‘resort’ about an hour outside the city.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship, encouragement from the different speakers, and relaxation. Plus it was nice to just get out of the city, the noise, pollution, and daily grind of Bogota for just a couple days. We thank God for the opportunity to go on the retreat.

While on the retreat, we had taken a personality test and then discussed with some the people we work with about our tendencies (strengths, weaknesses) in hopes to improve unity and communication among the staff. Often times in a close, multi- cultural community such as ours (a Christian, American school culture within another culture) feelings are often hurt unintentionally. This was the first time the school board decided that everyone who worked at the school needed to go on this retreat together. With everyone present, the speakers spoke about Biblical methods of reconciliation to prevent disunity amongst the staff and for reconciliation to take place between staff members whose relationships have been fractured.  We also heard about the importance of encouragement rather than having a critical attitude, which was a great reminder for us. We often find it easier to point out what WE think is wrong rather than finding the good in others.
During the couple hours of free time we had, we walked the campus, played a little volleyball with some of the ECA staff and went swimming in the pool.  At first, Elleazah didn’t like the cold pool water, but once we sat still and let the shallow water around us heat up (due to our body heat), she enjoyed the water, which is a praise! Elleazah doesn’t have many opportunities to sit in water, we have a small shower at our apartment and her “tub” is the equivalent of a shallow sink.

The weekend was wonderful and relaxing.

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