And God bent down and kissed us...... by Judi

This last weekend I spent with 6 Tanzanian women leaders at a Lutheran retreat centre part way up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The retreat centre was a place of peace and beauty for our ladies who minister tirelessly. One women bused 10 hours to be at the retreat. Another 3 women took a dala dala for 4 hours.

Part way thru the retreat as I walked along a flower lined path, I caught a glimpse of God's smile. As I looked out over the expanse of coffee plantations and villages stretched below with the pink blush of the setting sun still touching them and then at our huddle of brightly coloured african women whose hearts are toward Jesus and each other, I felt that it can't get much better than this...... I thanked God that He loved me and that he had allowed me to partner with him in this amazingly fulfiling ministry.

Throughout the retreat we worshipped together, prayed for each other, encouraged each other and laughed riotiously.

We have received many invitations to visit other African nations to minister to the women there. We have received invitations from bishops in Sudan, Mozambique and pastors in Uganda for the team to minister. We feel that as a team we should prepare for this, raising the funds and preparing our topics. We feel excited and united. Please pray for our continued knitting together and defining of roles as each one is raised up to minister within the conferences.