From Karla Barron - Community Lay Director: Tidewater Emmaus Community, This is not an easy communication to send, it never is easy to send news that you genuinely wish to be different. I must tell you all that the Mens Walk, TW106 has been postponed until the Spring of 2015. With that news, I would like to say that this was not an easy decision for the TWE Board. The Board met on Thursday evening of last week to discuss board matters, including the deadline for Friday, August 22 for the Mens Walk. Much conversation was had over the issues concerning the Mens walk and it came down to the fact that only 10 applications existed as of Thursday night and the deposit had to be mailed to Wakefield on Saturday. Without the minimum number of pilgrims, the TWE finances could not cover the 50% deposit required by Wakefield. The board decided to wait until Friday evening at 8pm to see if more applications would arrive, and as of 8pm Friday evening the number sat at 13, 7 less than the minimum of 20. It was later that evening that I made the call to the Mens Weekend Lay Director. I send this to you now, having given the team time to have received the news. I felt it appropriate that the team receive the news first hand and I am hoping that by this communication the team has been fully reached. If a team member is hearing for the first time in this letter, I had truly hoped they would have heard the news via telephone. We have invited the team to remain as one team for the Spring walk, God willing and so I ask that prayers go out to these men that continue to hear Gods calling for the pilgrims He has and will bring to the weekend when it does happen. I believe that every Emmaus weekend is not only blessed by our Father, but brought together by His mighty hand. As humans, we want so much to believe that if we had only tried harder, focused more on the timeframe, gotten more information out, werent caught up in summer vacations, etc. and basically shoulder the greatest aspect of a walk not meeting the numbers. This is our humanness grasping on and attempting to place such a huge value on our part. I know that my Father in Heaven is so amazingly powerful that if it is His will, a walk can occur despite all of us. I know that when He has called me to sponsor, I have heard His voice so loud and powerful that I could not ignore it and simply followed to ask a pilgrim to go. It is my complete faith that if God wanted this weekend to happen now, He would have called the sponsors to action and called the pilgrims to say yes with such a power that could not have been ignored. I have to reside in that same faith that in His will, this weekend must wait. We must have the patience to know that all happens in His perfect timing and that we are only His faithful servants for the men that He seeks to bring to His weekend. At this time, we must turn our focus to the Womens weekend. We continue to accept applications for the women God is calling. The deadline for applications for the womens weekend is September 5th. So if God has laid a name on your heart to sponsor, please step out in faith and ask. He uses us all so perfectly as His hands and feet to do the work of the Master. Please continue to be in prayer for the Mens Team. Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. DeColores Brothers & Sisters in Christ, Karla Barron, TW85 TWE CLD
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 23:32:50 +0000