Rebecca Carpenter
Rebecca Carpenter
The women of the Carolina Conference are a determined and resourceful group. Even a hurricane couldn’t dissuade them from coming to their annual Women’s Retreat at Nosoca Pines Ranch.
The Hispanic women spent the weekend together, September 30-October 1, 2016, sharing fellowship and sisterly love, and gaining insights from their featured speakers: Antonieta Silva, a Venezuelan who now lives in Ecuador, and Magaly Minaya, who came from the Dominican Republic. Inspirational messages were heard throughout the weekend, including Saturday evening when Silva broached the often-avoided subject of the sexual side of marriage, and how it relates to a spiritually happy home.
The following weekend, October 7-9, it was time for the English-speaking women to travel to the camp, but a storm was brewing just off the Carolina shores. Hurricane Matthew kept some from venturing out, but more than half of the original 240 who registered braved the weather to attend. The strong wind and rain knocked out the power on Sabbath, but the worship speaker, Brenda Walsh of 3ABN, just quipped, “God gave me a big voice for a reason,” and kept on talking. She shared her testimony with the women in the dark, but there was a glow of the Spirit on every face as they listened to the Word of the Lord through His servant. This was the first retreat for the new women’s ministries director, Cynthia Mercer, but she came through the whirlwind with much prayer and hard work, and was happy with the results of her team’s efforts.
The theme for both retreats was “Blessed Beyond Measure.” If the response of these women was any indication, they certainly were.
Carolina | December 2016
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