Terrie Leen Griebel, Oregon Conference women’s ministries coordinator, along with Jane Nicola, Oregon Conference relational ministries administrator assistant, and women’s ministries committee members planned this past year's annual Oregon Christian Women’s Retreat, held Oct. 20–22, 2017, at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, Ore.
Guest speaker Jennifer Ogden, Walla Walla University Church associate pastor, presented the message of Jesus and how we are living in the last days. Sabbath evening Ogden made an altar call for those coming to God for the first time, those who wanted to be baptized, and those who strayed and wanted to come back.
As a result we had a beautiful baptism of five women. Laura Robins had never been baptized in any denomination and felt she was led to this retreat for baptism. When she read there would be a baptism that weekend, she knew the Holy Spirit had led her to the retreat for baptism. She had been attending an Adventist church and was contemplating baptism in the last few months.
Last year’s offering was raised for Impact Hope to send 98 refugee girls in Rwanda to an Adventist boarding school. More than $50,000 was raised, and all 98 girls were able to attend an Adventist boarding school.
This year the women gave more than $10,000 to buy sewing machines for the Summer Vocational Training Program of Impact Hope and Rwanda Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). This was the first year of the vocational training, and Griebel had the privilege to be in Rwanda with Impact Hope for the first day of training. The students were excited and grateful for the sewing machines so they can learn the trade of sewing. Learning how to sew enables the students to make enough money to be able to live outside the refugee camps.
For more information on Impact Hope of Rwanda and to help the children of the refugee camps, go to their Facebook page, or their impact-hope.org website.
This year’s Women’s Ministries Retreat will be Oct. 12–14, 2018, with Jean Boonstra as the guest speaker. For more information about the retreat and to view live streaming of the speakers, go to https://orgcwomen.netadvent.org/.
Terrie Griebel visits with a student sewing in Rwanda.
Laura Robins felt led to be baptized during the 2017 Oregon Conference Women's Retreat.
Money raised through the Women's Ministries Retreat brought sewing machines to students in Rwanda.
