ONLY EVER GOOD 2024 Freedom Church Ladies Retreat: June 6-8, 2024
THURSDAY June 6th: I spent the better part of the day getting my stuff ready for the Ladies Retreat. I showered and washed my hair in the morning, as well as doing a load of laundry in order to make sure my favorite items were clean and dry and unwrinkled. We were responsible for bringing our own bedding and towels, etc. I arrived at the church a couple of minutes before three p.m. Peggy was kind of in charge of some of the carpooling, so last minute plans were made right there in the parking lot. Unfortunately, one of the women riding with us forgot her sneakers. She wanted to run home (Royalton) to get them, but then suggested that a quick stop at a DOLLAR GENERAL might suffice. So, we stopped ate the brand-new DOLLAR GENERAL on the Transit and Kelly as well as some others went in to make purchases. I stayed in the van, so Peggy could keep it running and the a/c running, too. Kelly was able to purchase the last pair of sneakers in her size and we were on our way. Peggy drove the church van with me, Jan, Andrea, and Kelly. Another car followed us with Pam and a couple of others. We stopped in Ellicottville at SUBWAY to use the bathroom and make food purchases. We took our food with us. I tried to eat my six-inch sub in the car, but it was leaking vegetables, so I put it back in the bag. Shortly after leaving SUBWAY, Peggy asked me to look at the MapQuest and check the directions. I was unsure of where we stopped and where we should pick up and said so. Those in the backseat chimed in that they knew how to get where we were going, so we switched to their directions. They worked but may not have been the best directions, so we did not arrive at camp in time for Peggy's meeting with the other members of the "Dream Team." Someone took this picture and posted it on Facebook. I am pretty sure it is the members of the team praying together before the event started.
Tables were set like this, and you can see the individual swag baskets.
We arrived just in time for us to get our stuff into the medical building where we would be sleeping. Jan and I were able to get the same room we had last year. You can see the church van parked in this picture.
and get over to the chapel for the meeting. The theme of this years retreat was ONLY EVER GOOD.
There were tons of great snacks including salad, meatballs, fruit, marshmallows, pretzels, cookies, chunks of angel food cake to dip in melted chocolate! Sarah gave a very interesting talk about mustard seeds:
There was some great worship and we were given an opportunity to start a large craft project: a PRAYER BOARD and there were a lot ot supplies and items to choose from. Here are a few.
After I got my board and a few items to put on it, I suggested to Jan that we go to our lodging so we could get our beds made and get settled in. I hung a couple of my shirts up. If I remember right, it was a little after ten thirty when we turned in, completely exhausted. We had the same room as last year, which has a half bathroom right in it.
FRIDAY the 7th: I did not sleep well at all. I am pretty sure that I only got a couple of hours of sleep. It was kind of hot in our room during the night, but chilly outside in the morning, so I chose jeans and my long-sleeved Li Lo Li short that I purchased last year during the same retreat. Breakfast was an egg and cheese casserole, fruit, muffins and oatmeal and more.
I worked on my PRAYER BOARD off and on during the day and completed it pretty much, but I hope to add some items at home. Cindi and Karen arrived after breakfast in order to spend the day. In the morning, we did a version of THE AMAZING RACE. I was part of team one: Tessa, Megan, Karyn, Lynn and me. Karyn was suffering from sciatica, and was limping a bit, so she offered to drive (which was allowed). We did not win, but we did ok. Here is a picture of the winning team. I don't recall the name of the girl on the left with her foot up on the rock, but she was very competitive and took her flip flops off and ran in her bare feet in order to be able to run fast! I guess it worked! I don't know what happened to the fifth person.
I surprised myself by being able to keep up with the three youngsters and Lynn who is probably ten years younger than me. Some of the other "old ladies" did not do so well, and also were not lucky enough to have a driver like my team did.
We had four hours of free time in the afternoon, after lunch. Camp staff opened the store for our group, but I needed to try to take a nap. I think I slept about a half an hour. When I got up, I returned to the chapel and worked on a project involving a glass jar, dried flowers and leaves and a glue that dries clear: MOD PODGE. Also, Jan, Catherine and I took a nice walk down to where the road kind of ended. Supper was a baked potato bar: baked potatoes with lots of toppings to choose from. The evening consisted of lots of worship, testimonies and more really good snacks and this
SATURDAY: Breakfast consisted of pancakes and sausage and more. We broke up into the same groups we had for the AMAZING RACE yesterday. We had twenty minutes to make up a "skit" either agreeing with or disagreeing with a statement. In this photo, we are planning our skit, which really was not a skit.
I don't think my team did all that well. One or two of the other teams did a good job. Lunch was subs and broccoli salad and a couple of other items. The store re-opened by request. I purchased a green hooded sweatshirt that zips in the front since I cannot find the light blue one that I purchased at TJ Max a while back. After going to the store, Jan and I returned to our lodging in order to sweep and deposit trash in appropriate bins, however, someone else had already done it. I got the rest of my stuff and took it to the van. I don't know exactly what time we left the camp, but two vehicles were following us. We stopped in Salamanca for gas and a bathroom at a very nice, very small convenience store. Peggy made a wrong turn as we got close to Buffalo, which added about ten minutes to our drive. We got back to the church at about 4:40, and I got home a minute or so before five p.m. I went directly home. I did a load of laundry and put some stuff away, but mostly relaxed all evening. I watched the Dr. Phil interview of Donald Trump on youtube.
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