Team KoalaBunny's Adventures

This past weekend, we got the chance to attend the Women of Faith farewell tour as volunteers for World Vision.

Because this was the last Women of Faith conference (as the ministry is beginning to change focus), we were really happy to have the chance to be there together.

Yes, that's right-- we attended together... Phil was one of the handful of male volunteers in a stadium filled with ten thousand women. But because we were there together, it was still a wonderfully positive experience.

On Friday night, Glennon Doyle Melton spoke on being open and honest with one another-- although we don't agree with a lot of her viewpoints, her message still resonated with us that the church needs to be a place where we can be real with one another, rather than pretending that we have everything together. And although we got back late and were groggy by the time it ended, we were happy to see Nichole Nordeman live as she concluded the night.
On Saturday morning, Patsy Clairmont delivered a wonderful and simple message titled "Refuse, Replace, Repeat." We all have negative voices speaking in our heads-- we need to refuse them. But we can't just not think about them... and so, we need to replace them with the truth that God tells us about ourselves. And finally, we need to repeat this process time and time again because the negative voices need to be repeatedly silenced and replaced with God's voice.

Next, we heard a message from Marilyn Meberg that even though we may feel disconnected from God and the ones we love, this is never actually the case. She shared about how after her husband passed away, her son got married, and her adopted daughter found her birth parents, she felt alone and disconnected from everyone. But in the loneliness, God met her and showed her how she was never alone.

Thelma Wells spoke about leaving a legacy. She brought her daughter and granddaughter onto the stage with her and spoke about the power of investing in future generations.

Finally, Luci Swindoll shared about how she found purpose in her life. Ever since she was little, she knew that she never wanted to marry, but wanted to be a career women. But when her brothers, Orville and Chuck Swindoll, began rocking the world for Christ, she started feeling like she had settled short on God's plan for her life. But then God revealed to her that her calling was right where she was-- and she wrote a book about her decision to remain single, which was the beginning of a life-changing ministry.

We were really happy to have the chance to see the very last women of faith conference, especially since many of these great women of the faith are retiring from speaking.
Because these conferences are typically quite expensive, we wouldn't have been able to attend without being volunteers for World Vision. Even though money is quite tight for us in this stage of our lives, we're proud to continue sponsoring two children and one microloan through World Vision. If you're unfamiliar with World Vision, or if you have never given a lot about sponsoring a child, please check out the short video below.