As we concluded the BTS spiritual refreshment retreat in Ethiopia on March 19, the eight couples asked if they could express some things to those whose prayers & financial support made the retreat possible. Assisted by a translator, Steve jotted down some of their heartfelt words and you can sense how God answered your prayers for the retreat…
“May God bless all of you (who made the retreat possible). The fellowship and encouragement we experienced while meeting other brothers & sisters in Christ for the first time really impacted us. My wife and I thank all of you!“ Brother Bayu (an evangelist)
“In the midst of a very hectic situation within our church, God used this retreat to give us rest. It was such a timely retreat for my husband and me.” Sister Berhane (pastor’s wife)
“I thank God that He allowed Steve to come despite his accident last May. Steve and BTS have been used by God to serve us in many ways. We leave the retreat remembering we need to ‘rest more’ as we continue to serve Christ.” Brother Makonnen (Campus Crusade)
“A special Thank You to the BTS team for this retreat…they were all with us in spirit. This retreat gave each of us an opportunity to lay aside our normal schedules and get away for encouragement. In all of my years as a Christian leader, I’ve received plenty of training but have never been given an opportunity to rest (and be refreshed) like on this retreat.” * Brother Getachew (leads ministry to street kids)
“Thank you to everyone who helped make this retreat possible. I want you to know how important this retreat was to me personally. We’ve understood Christ’s New Command in a deeper way and how important it is for us to be loving one another. This retreat was an answer to our prayers.” Sister Tsega (children’s pastor)
“I thank God that He used the BTS team to make this retreat possible. I’ve learned how important it is to Jesus that His disciples relate maturely to each other. God wanted me to personally be here at the retreat and I want to follow Mary’s example of sitting at Jesus’ feet. We have more deeply understood God’s love for each of us and how we can personally experience it through putting the ‘one-another’ commands into practice. I also want to say Thank You to BTS for making this retreat available to both men & women!” * Sister Aster (Campus Crusade staff)
“In 2019, I heard Steve speak at my church on Christ’s New Command and it impacted me and my small group deeply. Now that I’ve been able to attend this retreat, God has ‘fanned into flame’ my desire to live it out in all of my relationships.” Brother Shemelis (church deacon)
“Our time spent thinking about the conversation between Jesus and his disciples in the Upper Room touched my life in many areas…we sometimes felt like we were a part of the conversation with Jesus because it became so personal to us…we were reminded that we must not only love others in God’s family BUT also allow them to love us…thank you to ALL who have been involved in making this retreat happen.” (Combined comments)
