Strategic Retreat

Alrighty then. I promised a blog on the retreat. So here we go.

We actually went later this year than we have before. Typically, our retreat is the first weekend in December. We don't always go to the same place, but we usually go Thursday-Saturday. This year, we went a week and a day later. Not sure why, but it actually worked out really well for me. I was able to get out of town at a critical time.

Crossing into Kentucky

Sarah was my travel buddy and roommate

Our retreat this year was actually in another state. We went to General Butler State Park and Resort in Carrollton, Kentucky. I'd never been there before, and I was intrigued by the history of the place. Unfortunately, the Butler-Turpin homestead was closed for the season, but I did learn some interesting factoids about William O. Butler (who possibly had his portrait painter just copy Andrew Jackson's and make him less ruddy and wild) and the Butler clan as a whole. They really like that guy.

The resort, or lodge, is really nice.

Watch for deer!

Front lobby 

View from the porch

We arrived around 4 on Friday. I traveled with Mike and Pat Dragon. Mike is our assistant international director of ECC and my boss' boss. Pat helps run Dynamic Women in Missions and is a CMF for South Asia. We have a lot of fun together, though it took me a while to figure out Mike's personality. Sarah is better at that, but I think even she nearly drove him crazy as we went through Madison. If you've never been, Madison is a great little town right on the river. They have many shops and things to do. Sarah got a little excited, enough that Mike stopped at Dairy Queen across the river in order to get her to calm down. Speaking of, I discovered an amazing new blizzard flavor with graham crackers and peanut butter. Best thing ever!

We had dinner at 5:30 in the lodge restaurant. It was fairly obvious that we were in the south as the buffet menu included frog legs. I did not try them.

Nearly everyone was there by the time we started that evening around 7. We do a gift exchange every year, white elephant style, but classy. Mostly. My initial pick was stolen, so I ended up with a nice book about theology and doctrine. 

I learned how to play a new game that night. It's called Hand and Foot. Think Canasta, but not. We played until 10:45 at least. I'd say that's past my bedtime, but these days, it's really not. 

We didn't have to be in our meeting room until 9 Saturday, so naturally, I was up at 6:15. I survived, but only just. I should mention that to get to our room, we had to go outside. True, it was only about 25 feet, but that was just enough time to freeze a little. We also had to go outside to get to our rooms. 

We had a time of worship before each session. Our speaker was Rich Danzeisen, the executive director of international ministries. He's my boss' boss' boss' boss. His three kids led worship. 

Rich gave a very nice talk on Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King. Since we are co-heirs with Christ, we also have these titles and the responsibilities that go with them. I found this quite interesting.

As part of the session, we played telecharades. Basically, we were given a phrase by table, and one person had to act it out for another while everyone else closed their eyes. The second person would act out what he'd seen for the third, and so on until the last person had to guess the phrase based on the acting. Needless to say, it broke down rather quickly. 

But we got some good laughs!

After lunch, we had some free time, which was absolutely spiffing. I decided to go for a bit of a walk as it's difficult to get steps when you're sitting all day. 

No, I should know better. I've seen enough trail maps to know that they are never accurate, and they underestimate distances. But I'm a trusting, naive sort. I went for the Wilderness Trail, a nice little 1 mile jaunt with a little loop. I should have known better when the first few hundred feet were directly down over rocks and tree roots. 

I liken it to the Bataan Death March. 

Found a nice little waterfall.

This was a common site along the trail.

Lots of these little ditches and gullies.

We found what was left of the Blair Witch.

Jim and Karen testing some local fauna.

The trail walk took a little more than an hour, and it was definitely more than a mile. My calves were aching for days after. But, I did get all my steps in. And then some. 

We had another session Saturday night. We had to do a skit that illustrates what it means to be a living sacrifice. 

I was there, and even I can't explain what's happening here.

Sunday was our last day in Kentucky. We finished up with our last session and then did something we did two years ago where everyone says a short prayer for everyone else. It was a nice ending. 

We left around 1 and made it back before most of the rain and snow came through. Overall, I had a lovely time, and I appreciated the chance to see the people I work with in a non-work setting. 

You learn a lot about them, believe me.

Here are some more photos.