Answered prayers at retreat

Shortly after our Spiritual retreat in April, I wrote up some answers to prayer.  I delayed posting this until we could get photos.  Although it has been quite a while since Christy wrote some specific prayer requests as we went to our annual spiritual retreat, I thought you may still appreciate joining us in thanking God for specific answers to prayer:

"Please pray for us, that we will truly be refreshed."

Although I (Zach) felt quite tired by the last day of the retreat, it was actually a time of refreshing.  Our retreat has the wonderful design that after the morning sessions of worship and hearing the word from a speaker you are free to skip all other activities.  I did this the first day (even missing one of my favorite sports, Frisbee!)  and just slept and spent time praying about ways I felt I was failing, trusting them to God.  I felt a great burden lifted!

"We need your prayers as a family, that we will withdraw and be with Jesus, so he can tell us how much he loves us."

During the final session, the speaker shared a story.  One day his wife was telling him that there was no food or money for breakfast the next day.  His son who was watching cartoons, turned around and heard everything they said about it.  Even though there was no solution, he still turned back and watched his cartoons as if nothing was wrong.  Why?  Because it was not his responsibility to provide breakfast!  He believed (correctly) that he would wake up the next morning and he would have breakfast to eat, and he didn't need to do anything to make that happen.  I (Zach) felt God telling me through this story that when he tells me not to worry about so many things, that is what he means.  He is going to take care of me!

"Please pray for the Lord to speak to our children, and give Susannah and Kirstin all she needs to share the gospel with these missionary children.  . . . Pray that [the children] will know they are loved by the adults helping and by Jesus."

Perhaps I will only hear in heaven the details of how children heard the gospel at this retreat and knew they were loved by Jesus.  I do know though, that as Christy prepared a special dramatized Bible story-telling each day, she felt God speaking to her through the very stories she was preparing for the children.  The children seemed to really love "Aunty Susannah" and "Aunty Kirstin" and want them to come back next year!