Worship and Study 2012

One of the hidden secrets about being an Army wife is PWOC.  What is that you might ask?  Well, it's this really great group of women, Protestant Women of the Chapel to be precise.  It provides Army spouses an opportunity to fellowship, make friends, eat yummy food, and most importantly, draw closer to the Lord through praise, worship, and study.  It really is a great "club" to join!

I had the privilege of going to Willigen, Germany with this wonderful group of ladies over my birthday weekend to a special event called Worship and Study 2012.  Justin was going to be in the field over my birthday weekend anyways (one of the bummer parts about being an Army wife), so that was a good excuse for me to go on this Worship and Study conference retreat. 

We all drove to Willigen together in large European van.  It was a four hour drive, but with that many women there is always plenty to talk about.  Plus, it was a beautiful drive.  Making our way to the small and quaint town of Willigen was a success.

Once we arrived at our hotel we settled in a bit with our roommates before dinner.  I roomed with my dear friend, Erika, who was also leading one of the smaller breakout sessions.  Also, our hotel provided us all of our meals, which was really convenient, plus, it was always superb German food.
 

PWOC logo and mission statement greeting us
at Worship and Study

A warm welcome, complete with refreshments, gear,
and lovely signs directing us where to go

View of the town of Willigen from our hotel

Being stationed in Grafenwohr, Germany makes our PWOC part of the International sect, which is what ultimately gave us the opportunity to attend Worship and Study 2012.  PWOC groups from all over Europe (and a few from the United States) came to worship Christ together.  We sang, listened to Lisa Velthouse (an amazing Christian author and speaker), and went to smaller breakout study sessions which were focused on varying topics.

Throughout the weekend, Lisa Velthouse spoke about the women all within Jesus' genealogy line found in Matthew chapter one.  It was really encouraging to know some "bad girls" of the Bible were part of the line Jesus was born into.  We learned a great deal about Old Testament life and the faith of these women.  Besides hearing from Lisa, I also attended four breakout sessions.  There was a large list of selections, so it was difficult choosing which to attend, but I believe God lead me to the absolute right classes.  I went to dealing with an offended heart, taming the tongue, creating a Godly family legacy, and loving Jesus like a husband.  Every teacher and session was really intense, and I learned a great deal about myself and God.  It was quite a blessing.

 

Grafenwohr PWOC (minus a few)

Cheryl, Cydney, and me

Laurel, Beth, Renee, and me

We also had some free time, so we took advantage of that time by exploring Willigen.  We walked to the downtown area and did some shopping.  Then we took a hot chocolate break before heading back to our hotel for dinner.  It was a cold walk, and it even snowed a bit the next day.  Winter is in the air in Germany!
 

Ava, Beth, me, and Cheryl on the beautiful walk downtown

Hot chocolate break with a great group of ladies

Since this was my birthday weekend, I was thankful to have such a great group of women to surround and love on me when I was far away from home and from my husband on my birthday.  The ladies surprised me at dinner with cute Christmas decoration birthday presents that we saw earlier that day on our walk into the downtown area of Willigen.  Plus, they sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and since it was at dinner the rest of the dining hall joined in.  I think that was the first time I had "Happy Birthday" sung to me with harmony.  And to top it all off, they bought me a yummy piece of German cake, and I didn't have to share!  It was a great 25th birthday!

Starting out 25 the best way :)

What a lovely birthday dinner, surrounded by sisters in Christ

On the last night we had a special gathering after the last session.  We went to the Lichtof (foyer area), all went on different floors, turned the lights off, and sang worship songs while shining flash lights.  It gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes, because the presence of the Holy Spirit was truly in that place.  We ended by singing "Silent Night" in both English and German.  It was beautiful.

Praising our God

Worship and Study 2012 was a blessing, and it came at a time in my life when I was desperately needing a touch from the Lord.  Fellowship with other women is important, and I am grateful to be an Army wife that can benefit from groups like PWOC.  God is good.