Note from the Pastors' Retreat
Pastor Kory, Pastor Yasu, and myself spent this week at our conference's Pastors' Retreat in Northern California. It's usually a great time to catch up with other conference pastors except that I ended up being sick for most of the retreat. It appears I picked up some type of stomach flu which also hit a number of our church young people this week. I'm praying that everyone affected will recover soon.
While being sick and away from home was not a pleasant experience, I received from the Lord this week in ways I never would've expected. One of the biggest ways was how some of the pastors served me and took care of me. Obviously, I hadn't anticipated getting sick, so I hadn't brought any medication with me. But these guys seemed to know something I didn't. So when I mentioned I wasn't feeling well, several pastors were right there with a supply of Tylenol, Advil, NyQuil, and KN95 masks. Later that afternoon, another pastor made a trip to the store specifically to get me some medication, Gatorade, and snacks. Throughout the retreat, pastors would check on me and pray for me. To top it off, one pastor even offered me acupressure massages to relieve my headaches and body aches. I declined it at first because it seemed . . . well awkward I guess (FYI we don't usually give each other massages at the pastors' retreat :)). But later I sheepishly accepted when he brought it up again and I can't tell you how much I appreciated him and his willingness to serve me in this way. And who doesn't like a good massage! In fact, I am so grateful for each one of these men who cared for me in different ways.
It's hard to be sick and it's especially hard to be sick in a public setting, away from home and your family. And yet I think God used this time to humble me, to make me dependent on others, and to strengthen my relationship with these men in ways that were unexpected. While I still felt pretty lousy as the flu worked its way through my body, everything each one did, helped me get through the week and I didn't miss any of the sessions or discussions. Plus I had the added blessing of growing closer to each one of these men as I received from them this week. God is good! If you ever get sick and are away from home, I hope you can be surrounded by a group of pastors such as these.
God bless,
Pastor Darren
