Last evening, we completed our 5-Day Training (training event #7 of 10 total), and all but two participants and me were picked up on the bus and taken to the airport or hotels. Three of us remained here at the retreat center last night and leave first thing this morning by taxi to the airport.
24 participants attended this training. They worked hard, and their various and many gifts shined through. They poured themselves into the role plays, which provided some great learning experiences for all. It also exhausted them and us, but in the final debrief, they were effusive in their appreciation for the experience.
On Sunday evening, the group met to discuss what reconciliation ministries look like, and they had prepared rough plans for developing reconciliation ministries within their own ministry contexts. As instructors, we were gobsmacked at how ambitious and wide-reaching their plans are. These leaders have caught a vision for reconciliation in the Lutheran Church of Australia more than any group we have met with. Although Bruce, Kathy and I are worn out, we were inspired and energized by their labor of love and plans for the future.
In our parting comments, I told the group that I have great expectations from the LCA in Australia, New Zealand, and in their mission posts. But it is not because they are such gifted people (which they are). It's not because they are so hard working and fun (although that's true). It's because they believe and trust in a God that works miracles, and their faith in him is confident. The Holy Spirit is working through his people here in the Great Down-Under. "Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness" (James 3:18).
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