March Madness

Hello--hope that this post finds you well. I (Amanda) wanted to get caught up on a few things that have happened recently. March was a busy month for us! Guess you could call it March Madness.

At the beginning of the month, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Continent Connection Conference in Brazil, hosted by Continent of Great Cities. Forty missionary women from all over South America came together for this conference to be encouraged, to share, to learn, and to connect with other missionary women. Georgia Freitas of Continent of Great Cities was the director of the conference. She came with a team of 12 ladies from all over the United States to lead the small groups, teach classes, provide counseling sessions, and lead the praise time (it was so great to sing praise songs in English for the first time in a while!!). We stayed at the Maresias Beach Hotel and it was right on the beach!! It was such a beautiful location! In the mornings, we learned and practiced contemplative prayer. Several times a day we would meet with our small groups and share about our experiences, talk about issues women face on the mission field, and pray for each other. Each afternoon we had topical classes about emotional needs for women, prayer, depression, culture adaptation, just to name a few. There was some free time during the day to go to the beach and do water aerobics in the swimming pool.

I learned so much from this trip. Not only was I spiritually encouraged, but also more educated about the mission field. I met so many wonderful, strong missionary women, and I was so happy to hear their stories and experiences. I am so thankful to Continent of Great Cities for hosting this conference! Enjoy the photos below!

Love, Amanda

PS--more updates coming very soon!!

The small group I was with met in this kazebo everyday with a nice view of the ocean.

My small group: (l-r): Brittnea (Asuncion, Paraguay), Deborah Reynolds (Rio de Janiero, Brazil), me, Tessa Sexton (Porte Alegre, Brazil), and our group leader Rachel (former missionary who worked in Brasilia, Brazil)

We met in this room everyday for praise time.

Great view from the hotel!!

Group shot right of the participants of the Continenet Connection Conference.

We had a luau party at the pool on our last night. The ladies from Santiago: (l-r back): Denise Dean, Penne Hatcher; (l-r front): Julie Grant, me, and Holly Emery. Tae Perkins could not make the trip.