Every three years my mission has a big spring conference-retreat. They call it RE:Group and we do all kinds of re- things: reconnect, recuperate, review, refocus, etc. Our planning team has quite a creative sense of humor.
This year was that third year. So the last Wedsnesday of spring break I was up early and heading out the door for the train station. The mission encouraged us to take the train - with a group of 5 we could get a cheap day pass. So we made our teams and away we went.
Katerine, Gail, Grace and I were in a group with, Jay whose wife wasn't able to come - we adopted him for the weekend. I decided long ago to invest in a hiking backpack for just such trips. I can pack a lot in it and it is convenient for train, bus, plane, etc. We had to take 4 trains over 4 hours to get to our final destination. We started at 11:15 in Mühlheim and travelled to Offenburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and ended in Swäbische Gmund at 3:05. Since all our stops were short we had to bring a lunch along. I always pack a full lunch for the train - you never know what you will want.
We stayed at a Christian retreat center called Schonblick - which means beautiful view. I was asked if I would mind rooming by myself. Since I am early to bed and early to rise, I agreed to take the single room in the main bulding.
We usually have meetings at RE:Group but since we just had the eduation conference, the mission opted for more of a retreat this year. So we had 2 meetings in 3 days and the rest was free time and touring. We had one night of organized chaos in the way of board games. Imagine 120+ people in a small room in small groups playing every board game you can imagine: Pit, Apples to Apples, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Dutch Blitz, Rook, Catch Phrase, Yatzee, etc. and you can see the wild fun. This is what I love about my mission - we are a mission of fun and family. We work hard but we also love to get together and play hard.
One day - the one with the highest temperature and the most sun - was a family outing day. The organizers rented 2 buses and drove us 1.5 hours farther east to Rothenburg (more on that later). This was a whole day of outside touring with some shopping thrown in.
Part of the family fun is getting to know the kids. This year we had a HUGE group of kids from ages 1-18. One family brought their seven kids who quickly got to know us all; other family brough their rampunctious triplets, and so on. I like it when they all start feeling comfortable around the adults and we can talk and play with them. It is important for them to know their mission family and to have pride in their mission. So we try to make them feel like part of the group.
One meeting was an info meeting to let us know about things TeachBeyond is moving into as we redirect our focus. This was eye opening and helped those of us at BFA catch the excitement of the new developments and to hear the dreams of our leaders.
My job now is to learn more about the mission's changes so I can articulate this vision this summer. We will see what I can learn from the new brochures and my notes from the info session.
