Written by Jane Mehringer
Hello and welcome to the second volunteer prep day in Ghana! Today was a very busy but very fun day as our volunteers prepare for “spa” opportunities for the attendees! As happens so often during our trips, we find ourselves outside our own comfort zone. One of our new volunteers, Linda Douglass of Wheaton Illinois, experienced this when asked to be on the pedicure team. This most certainly was NOT in her comfort zone. We asked Linda if Thrive had helped her in any way through their training for the daunting task. “They did! Everyone who was in the pedicure group got together and we practiced on each other.”
Linda came to Thrive as a seasoned worker for the Lord. She had worked in Kenya from 2003 – 2005. We wondered if the Thrive pre-training had been helpful for her even though she had been on the field herself. “Yes it did,” she replied. “I really liked the training videos but I think the most helpful was when they assigned me a mentor who had already been on this kind of retreat.”
We have found Linda to be a very sure and knowledgeable woman of God, who is also warm and very easy to be comfortable around.
Most people find this type of retreat very different than what they have experienced before. Thrive wanted to know if Linda found what we are doing to be as meaningful as other types of trips. “Oh definitely. As someone who has worked out in the field, to have someone bring you a touch of home or even just to listen to you and let you talk is wonderful!”
At Thrive, our goal is to give women who are in full-time service a chance to relax, be pampered, get a massage, and much more! They will get a chance to step away from whatever struggles they’re having and be able to unwind. They will also be able to talk to people who they feel safe with and are free to share their burdens.
We finish up this day by completing a few more tasks to ensure that we are ready for our guests to arrive. All the spa sections are set, the place of worship is lined with chairs and hopes that those who fill those chairs will be blessed this week. We invite you to join us in prayer for these brave, wonderful women of God. May they leave this place refreshed and with lighter burdens. God bless them all!
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