International Women's Retreat

We are part of Lutheran Overseas Partner Churches (LOPC) which consists of missionaries from three areas of Germany, Australia, the United States, and most recently, the Philippines and Malaysia. While we come from these varied locations, we are all one "team" and work together as colleagues and mutual support. Our Mission Boards meet once a year in September and they oversee all of the policies and procedures that govern the missionary community. They also meet in a Forum with our colleagues in ELC-PNG and engage in mutual education, worship, Bible Study and planning. Our Mission Boards also see the necessity for retreat time for missionaries and they provide funds annually for an International Women's Retreat, a Men's Retreat, and a Family Retreat.

In early June, seventeen women and three babies from five countries gathered in Goroka at the Kefamo Retreat Center for the 2010 retreat. It is a peaceful setting on the edge of town. Some flew in via small airplane and four of us drove up the Highlands Highway from Lae. Each year a theme is chosen for reflection, discussion and sharing. This year the theme was "persistence as a strength in our lives" and we used the Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge (Luke 18). This was my first retreat experience and it was very interesting to learn the stories of the other women, how each of us has a unique story that has led us to Papua New Guinea. "Persistence" has been part of all of our lives even before coming to PNG, but it is also safe to say that persistence is needed as we lead our daily lives in our respective locations.

"Persistence" is also a theme to the lives of women in Papua New Guinea. PNG is still very much a patriarchal society, where men enjoy much more privilege than women. But things are changing. While women are not yet able to be ordained and serve as pastors, they attend Seminary classes and are doing all of the work to "be ready" when the tides change. There are also dynamic women leaders, het meris, in the national church, every one of the 17 districts and in all of the circuits. They engage in leadership training and are particularly focused on the reduction of domestic violence to women and children. The role of women is being discussed in many circles, and it's not just among women. Men, too, are being brought into the conversation, facing the effects that male-dominated behavior has on women and family life. The presence of the missionary women working side-by-side with the women of PNG gives hope to the women and we also learn much from them. Persistence certainly is a strength in all of our lives.