I spent last weekend with these folks. It was amazing...we went to a hotel just outside of town. we had to stay pretty close cause Gita was great with child...and we needed to be close enough for her to get to the hospital if the baby decided it was time to make her debut...thankfully she didn't...
yes, we all work together, but between the 3 different Sari Bari production units, we are rarely all together. and while we care for each other deeply, we don't often have time to relax together. most of our time together is spent working. solving problems. we are often stressed out about what needs to get done...but last weekend was different. it was a gift. We ate great meals together. we rested. we played frisbee. we laughed. we didn't have to worry about how it was getting late, and how we all still had to travel home. the guys and the kids went swimming (the hotel had a ridiculous policy on swimwear for women, so we weren't able to swim...huge bummer!)
Beth facilitated a great time for us. we all did the "Strength Finders" inventory, and then individually Beth would explain our strengths. Then we'd have time for each of us where we could speak truth and call out the strengths we saw in one another. and then we prayed for each other individually. it took all weekend - and it was amazing. As i sat there receiving encouragement from my community i was both humbled, and encouraged. It was beautiful to receive from them - words of life and truth...them speaking truth and calling out strengths that i don't always see in myself...and then to be prayed for...
it was beautiful how over and over we'd learn about someone's strengths and then say, "oh my word, your strengths are perfectly suited for the work that you do." and to see how we are a well balanced team...
and just as a bonus - the whole weekend was in Bengali...which is pretty amazing in and of itself...that we know enough of this language to have deep and beautiful conversations like this in a second language (for those of us from America) - to be able to give and receive such beautiful words of affirmation and life in another language...it just kind of blows my mind.
it was a great way to spend a few days.
Below is a link to a photo album from our retreat...in case you're interested in seeing more.
WMF Staff Retreat Photo Album
1 comment:
Sounds like an awesome retreat and absolutely incredible to me that it was all in Bengali! That gives me hope.
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