Last weekend was one of the highlights of my year. It was our annual graduands’ retreat. I have taken part in the last three retreats, and each one has been a special blessing.
The retreats focus on the students. Each year they give a personal testimony of what God has done in their lives over the years here at the CLTC. We were privileged to hear how the Lord has miraculously met financial needs, gently overcome fears of failure here at the college, faithfully walked with students in their studies, and kindly introduced them to new lifelong friends.
This year’s retreat was the first one held off campus since I have been at the CLTC. We made a short journey to the village of Domil in the Western Highlands. Domil is a model Highlands community. Their red, black and gold community flag bears the motto “Jesus is Lord”. (I hope to share more about Domil in a future blog post.)
The retreat started on a Friday evening at our campus with an inspiring movie of the life of Billy Graham.
On Saturday morning we loaded into two vehicles for the trip to Domil. They gave us a nice morning tea, which was followed by a tour of the village and a special meeting with the village elders. After that session we heard a short message from Doug, who is our Dean of Studies. That was followed by ten student testimonies.
On Saturday afternoon we took a hike up to a special prayer house, which the people of Domil had built on top of a mountain ridge overlooking their village. After the hike we took “showers”, which consisted of a bucket of water, some soap, and a bowl to ladle the water over one’s tired dirty body. They were most refreshing.
One of the key ingredients to a good retreat is lots of food. Our hosts provided a prodigious amount of tasty treats. I especially liked the sweet bananas cooked in cabbage leaves. Yum!
That evening I shared on John 14 and focused on the need for humility in service. After my talk the three faculty members washed the student’s feet in remembrance of what Christ did for His disciples. After the foot-washing ceremony, the students got to share their testimonies.
Sunday dawned with a hearty breakfast. The final group of students gave their testimonies. The weekend concluded with a communion service led by Graham, who is a member of our faculty.
The weekend was full of good memories. I returned emotionally and physically exhausted, but at the same time I was grateful for all that had happened. God had indeed really blessed each one of us with a wonderful mountaintop experience.
Thanks to all of you for praying and giving to allow me to enjoy this special privilege to serve in this place.
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