October 2021 Teachers Retreat

Resthaven Retreat House

October 29 – Friday

Praise GOD, we all met at Scalish House at 8:30 AM, loaded up the cars and headed to Door County, for an AGM Teachers Retreat. 1st stop was Oostburg for breakfast at Judi’s Place and another quick stop to the local bakery in town to purchase items for our dessert reception. It was a beautiful drive, once we got closer to our hotel the sun was shining on the trees & the colors were still making a glorious impact. We checked into the Open Hearth Lodge in Sister Bay and waited for the other girls to arrive before all going to dinner at Sister Bay Bowl.

Friday night training started out with Hospitality, Fellowship, Welcome Gifts and Praise/Worship.  The girls all snuggled into their seats with footies/blankets & warm drinks before we began sharing the prior 10 day fast/pray scriptures which led into the teaching for 2022 theme “STAND FIRM”.

October 30 – Saturday

We started the morning with our theme song for the weekend “Make Room” and after more Praise/Worship and a few announcements went into our morning teaching on Galatians 5, the Fruit of the Spirit. Each teacher signed up to teach on one of the topics & lead a group next year for one month on teaching “Walking in the Spirit”.  Starting in January with Team Kristy, on LOVE.

There will be a minimum of one Sunday a month we will have a LIVE zoom call open to everyone who’s on the mentorship/discipleship FB group. Our new format is called “Sunday at Seven”. Every Sunday we will post a scripture that relates to one of the Fruits of the Spirit.

October 31 – Sunday

Sunday morning Jeff & Susan led a communion service for us and afterwards we talked about Matthew 5:13-14 “Believers are Salt & Light” – each lady received a candle & a salted nut roll to remind us that we are a city on a hill, and to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. After our Silent Period & Reflection Time we all came together to share testimonies of what we felt GOD was speaking to us about.

Here is a brief summary of a few of the personal testimony’s shared….

This was my first retreat ever and one of the greatest experiences I have ever experienced in my life so far. It was refreshing to be surrounded with other Christian women. You could feel the presence of the LORD the minute you walked in their home; all my worries & anxiety went away. The agenda was well planned and very powerful, GOD put us all right where HE wanted us to be.

Nikki 

It was a time of “Rest & Reflection” and also a time to strengthen new & old relationships with other Sisters in the LORD. It was also a time to be alone with GOD and to listen to what HE had to say.  This past weekend was a glorious time of rest, reflection, laughter & tears, building, encouraging & praying with one another.

Liliana

Coming from a place of self-sufficiency, repetitive trauma, alcoholism, depression, control issues & anxiety, GOD showed me HE is my healer, my redeemer & my restorer. From the words of the song “If I give it all to you, will you make it all NEW” the LORD said I could TRUST HIM, and overwhelming sense of TRUST came over me that I have never felt before. I no longer have to wrestle with the past but can “Stand Firm” in moving forward.

Jacki 

The biggest thing I came away with is being able to shut out everything and spend quiet time with the LORD and being able to spend the weekend with my amazing sisters in the LORD.  There is so much more that we can take away from these retreats, I want to thank Jeff & Susan for opening their home to us, such beautiful hosts.

Kathy

Praise GOD what a perfect day to have a tailgate party at American Family Field and attend a Milwaukee Brewers Game vs the St. Louis Cardinals. It rained all morning but by the time we came together at 3:00 the sun was shining and the coals in the grill were getting ready hot.

Everyone brought a dish to pass and there was enough food for an army. Thanks to Linda Anthony & Kathy Wolfe for coordinating the menu we had plenty of meat, beans, salads & desserts. Marcus Anthony stepped up to be our grill master and did an excellent job of cooking all the brats, burgers & hotdogs.

Thanks to Kristy Scalish for getting us amazing seats together and the best parking spot in the lot  front row. We had 3 cars side/side and 17 people – 4 kids, 2 teens, 11 adults. We all met at Honey Creek Church and carpooled together. Our cars were packed & we each had our own Brewer tops, hats & Jerseys to show & prove who’s side we were rooting for.

Although we didn’t walk away with a win that night, we did manage to have fun and get a group picture with us all. The night ended with a few minutes of panic, since our car wouldn’t start, so we had to call AAA and try to direct them to the stadium parking lot. With panic and rain starting again, Nikki Price came through and called a mechanic friend who just happened to be in the area and helped jump start the car. We believe GOD had that man right where we needed him at the perfect place, perfect timing.

Thanks to Kathy, Leo & Terrel for following us all the way home to make sure our car wouldn’t stall. It was an amazing week because it was the last homestand for the Brewers and on the final day the “Milwaukee Brewers” won and became the 2021 Central Division Champions.

Praise the LORD, for our 3rd Annual Family/Friends Barbecue & Picnic. Another record-breaking attendance, 3 years in a row. We continue to grow from the previous years and thank GOD for every man/woman, boy/girl and many new guests who were able to join us on this sunny filled day. 

We opted for a new venue this year and decided to move our annual picnic to the Lions Legend Park in Franklin. More room, lots of space under a shelter, in case of rain, and plenty picnic tables. With a playground for the little ones, a volleyball court & tennis court and lots of room to spread out for kid’s games, it seemed perfect. 

The day started out early at 8:30 a.m. as the volunteers arrived, but before we unloaded the cars, we had prayer and church. With the talents of our AGM board of directors we had Tom lead us in Worship, Bob shared the WORD, and Alex led us in prayer and thanksgiving. Thank you to Liliana who blessed us with donut ministry – with a long day ahead of us, we had to get our coffee and donuts to keep us fueled up for the day. 

The day was perfect, sunny not too HOT, but the wind gave us a challenge in setting up. We had to adjust our set up but that didn’t stop us from Plan G (God’s Plan). Our kid’s area led by Sandra Valdez and her family blessed us with an amazing selection of Kids Games and Prizesfor all ages. Face Painting was a hit too, as you can see in the picnic pics. 

We want to give a shout out and a BIG GOD Bless you to the “Registration Team” Kristy and Debbie, for checking in our guests. Each guest received a personalized wristbands that was designed just for this event. It helped us track all our guests and children to keep things safe and secure in a public area. 

Something NEW this year we had a professional photographer come and set up a garden theme backdrop for Family Pictures and purchased a banner for “Arise and Go Ministries” to use at every event, it was a HUGE success and FUN way to take pics. Thank you to Lynette and her family for setting up displays and donating your services.

Where would a picnic be without food and beverages? 

We want to thank our “Kitchen Team" led by Linda Anthony and her family and all volunteers who helped cut/chop/prep & set up an amazing food display, (see the food table pictures below), you will know what I mean. Her creative artistic food creations were over the top AMAZING, and delicious too. The ice-cream social was also a hit by all ages.

Thank you to the “Food/Beverage Team” led by Niki. was outstanding as well, thanks to our lead grill master John and his team Rudy and Chris for cooking our brats/burgers/hotdogs. Our “Beverage Team” Nancy, Julie and Beth, kept us going and refreshed with personalized AGM labeled water bottles, soda and juice for the kids.

We also used our Bids & Blessings Ministry to host a silent auction, many items were donated, including NEW Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys. All proceeds were used to support the AGM ministry and help pay for expenses of the picnic. We want to thank Tina and Sherrie for their expertise in setting up the displays and donating many beautiful Home Interior & Gifts Items to help our mission March Forward.

Praise the LORD for a beautiful weekend in Door County. We’re so grateful for our partners in the ministry and are blessed to called them friends of Arise and Go Ministries. Jeff & Susan Brozek, the owners of Resthaven Retreat House have opened their home to us and invited us to stay in their home & allow us to put together a time of “Team Building”

We met in Sister Bay for dinner at the “Wild Tomato” pizza place, and afterwards checked the girls into their hotel at the Resthaven. Because of the size of our group, some opted to stay at the Open-Hearth Lodge in town. We highly recommend both places, when visiting Door County.

Friday evening the girls were warmly greeted and received a Welcome Bag, filled with lots of homemade goodies and together we took of tour of the property for all first-time visitors.  We had a time of worship & sharing the word, by Kristy Scalish, followed by a dessert reception.

Saturday morning after breakfast we started our day with praise & worship, followed by a brief teaching and a silent period, which we called “Rest & Reflection”. The peace & presence of GOD was felt by all, a great way to start the day for sure. Our afternoon was FREE time, we decided to all meet in town at Al Johnsons for lunch, and do a little shopping in town, and did a few group photos together as we walked down by the lake & toured city.

Saturday evening Liliana Larsen led us in communion & followed up with an Exhortation Service & praying for one another. The Holy Spirit met us in a beautiful way, and many were touched by HIS presence as we prayed and continued to seek more of HIM.

Sunday was our last day, we had breakfast together, shared testimony’s and afterwards had our church service. Starting with praise & worship & sharing the word, and again followed by another "Rest & Reflection" time. Each lady received a special personalized gift, that one of our gifted & artistic sisters Christine Schmidt designed for us. The words she wrote were perfect as each person shared a testimony of what GOD was doing in their lives. It was a gift that we will cherish forever. The whole weekend was a perfect Team Building Time, one we will never forget.

Thank you to Jeff & Susan Brozek for opening their home to us and partnering with the Arise and GO ministries. We will continue to pray for you and the many other retreats that you host throughout the year. May the LORD bless you and keep you & shine HIS face upon you.

Praise GOD, what an amazing & beautiful event. All decked out with sparkles, bling & lots of glitz, we opted to host a ladies tea, right after Valentine’s Day. It was a perfect time, the snow-covered ground set a beautiful backdrop & candles everywhere gave us a warm cozy feeling inside. The tables were each set the night prior to guests arriving and each table was uniquely set with fine China & silverware.

We had 3 tables & 2 hostess’s at each table, who warmly greeted our guests, and made homemade treats for each person attending. Thank you for your love of others, your commitment to the AGM ministry & leading the way by pointing others to Jesus ….

·  Table 1…Kathy Wolfe & Kristy Scalish

·  Table 2…Sandra Valdez & Jolissa Valdez

·  Table 3…Linda Scalish & Charlotte Peters

Thank you to Nikki Price & Carrie Dexter for helping in the kitchen you can see by the pictures that the food was artfully displayed & tastefully displayed. We had an appetizer table and a dessert table, all set in a beautiful TEA like fashion.

We had shopping, games, prizes & a time of worship. Liliana Larsen shared a word and led us all into communion. It was all in all a beautiful day, can’t wait to do it again.

Hope you enjoy the pics!