WonderFull World Ladies Day Recap

On April 10, 2021 Word of Life hosted a “WonderFull” World Ladies Day! The ladies traveled around the world to all seven continents. The ladies “boarded” the plane in the church foyer where they had to go through “security” and have their temperatures taken and hands sanitized, and of course everyone had to have a mask to get through the gate! All the social distancing and COVID recommendations were followed. Then the ladies were welcomed with a lovely gift bag including a blanket to tie the ends and to donate to Presbyterian St. Luke’s NICU and Facing Homelessness. Every lady received a passport as they presented their boarding ticket. The passengers for the day were greeted by our SHINE flight attendants and a wonderful continental breakfast with juice and muffins, donuts, and a variety of fruit. The women were then directed into the sanctuary for their flight around the Wonder-Full World! Each continent had a theme, with the first one being:

I wonder if anyone cares about me:

The women received an opening greeting and prayer by our pilot for the day, Pastor Gayla, who introduced us to the tour guides of the seven continents. The first tour took us to Australia via Dawn Wamser! She showed a beautiful video of Australia and its wondrous creatures, including kangaroos and those precious koala bears! Dawn, showed a video on how to correctly throw a boomerang and she even gave a small boomerang favor to every lady to represent having boomerang faith…..throw out your faith and believe God for the miracle to come back in return. Dawn had a friend from Australia, Yadja, who did a video from the land down under. Yadja    shared wonder-full insight about this amazing continent, and she even read scripture to us in her beautiful Aussie accent!  Dawn also shared her pesonal testimony on God’s healing power. She was suffering from an incurable condition and God miraculously healed her! It was a powerful testimony that inspired others to believe God for healing in their lives as well!

I wonder what it would be like to be royalty:

The flight then took us to the great city of London and the Royal Family! Paula Stevenson, who wore a beautiful crown of jewels on her head, took us on a journey of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Paula cited the royal steps of the coronation process and likened it to how we are royal daughters of God! She shared how God has brought us through His coronation process and accepted us into His royal family. On video and in pictures, Paula showed all of the royal crown jewels and their symbols and meanings: the gold robe, the crown, the orb, the ring, the scepter, the sword. She clearly explained that our King has given us these royal treasures as we accept Him as Lord of our life.  She then gave everyone a small gold bag filled with royal treats. It was truly a very royal moment!

I wonder if I matter to God:

After a quick break from our travels, the ladies returned to the flight which then took them to Asia with Teri Bagwell! This continent was introduced with a special Cambodia dance, by Jennifer Peterson. Jennifer’s costume and presentation left all of us in awe. Teri then began her outstanding teaching about “Kintsugi,” which is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the cracks with gold. She illustrated with one of her beautiful china teacups. She explained how we start in life as a beautiful teacup, but then as life happens, we get hurt, wounded, and cracked. Teri told us that just like the practice of, “Kintsugi,”  God fills the cracks of our lives with His gold and repairs us! A presentation of lovely tea cup favors with honey sticks was given to illustrate her wonderful message. Also, an update on the ministry that Teri and Pastor Aaron founded, Expect Hope (expecthope.com) was given with added video coverage of the many countries they work in. This exceptional ministry has multiple orphanages in which they feed and care for many children in need. Teri shared how a new sewing school has just opened in Kawasoti, Nepal. This school helps women at risk and trains them with life skills as an alternative to trafficking, and to give them a tool to better their situation. It also presents them with the Gospel.

As lunch drew near, the flight attendants served the passengers a wonderful box lunch from Metropolitan Grill, who catered the lovely food. They served wonderful turkey, roast beef, and chicken salad sandwiches, along with chips, a side of pasta salad, and a yummy cookie!  After the ladies ate and fellowshipped for a bit, it was time to arrive to the next destination for the day.

I wonder if I can really rely on God:

It was exciting South America with April Jones! A room full of fog from a fog machine and the sound of birds chirping created an atmosphere of anticipation. April was dressed as a tour guide for South America and she talked about meditating on God’s wonderful nature as she encouraged the women to enjoy His creation. The videos of the rain forest with lightning and thunder caused April’s message to come alive as she challenged the ladies to overcome the sounds of storms in their lives with listening for God’s voice. As a practicing attorney, April, was able to connect with the audience about the struggles of a woman’s life. She used the scripture, John 8:1-11about the woman caught in adultery. Her understanding of women’s issues caused the listener to receive the true heart of God for His women.  April had her beautiful Hispanic friend, Edda Polinsky, read the scriptures in the lovely language of Spanish.

I wonder if I can make a difference:

The plane then took off once again with Vicky Crosby-Attipoe as the guide through Africa! She also showed us some beautiful footage of Africa and God’s wonder-full world. She took us through different places in Africa as well as the best places to live on this continent. Vicki also taught the ladies about how enthusiastic the people are in their worship of God in Africa. They literally have a church on every corner and you can hear the sounds of worship 24/7! Vicki’s beautiful friend, Anita Yeboah, was dressed in pretty and bright clothing from this large continent. Anita assisted Vicki with special give-aways for ladies who could answer questions about Africa. Then the women were taught that they are the salt of the earth and that they can make a difference on the earth. Vicki handed out the blankets to be made by all the ladies for the 2 charities listed above.  She also encouraged the ladies to have godly women around them and having mentors is of the utmost importance. Vicki stressed that together women can connect and serve God’s people!

I wonder where God is when life is hard:

The ladies took off once again having to bundle up to go to Antarctica with Lisa Dragan! Even though it is very cold there, life still exists, and some great creatures can still be found in this extremely cold continent. Lisa handed out a pretty pendant to every lady with a reminder of God’s love on it.  She then played a beautiful video of Antartica and soothed us with a special reading on how God comforts and helps us in the cold frigid times of our lives.  She also taught about how the Lord is Jehovah Shammah—the Lord who is present through whatever they go through in life. Lisa is a great teacher and she exhorted with great wisdom on how to believe and trust God when life is hard and sorrowful. She told us that sometimes when you have prayed and prayed and see nothing, to stand strong and keep praying and keep believing. God is with us through it all! His plans will come to fruition!

The ladies enjoyed one last snack and break before boarding their flight for the last leg of the journey!

I wonder what’s ahead for me:

The last part of the flight was led by Pastor Gayla as she took us to North America! After arriving back home to our great continent, an impacting video of “America the Beautiful” was played and every lady sang her heart out in unison. America is a land of dreams, and Pastor Gayla encouraged the women to reignite their dreams! She sited how Martin Luther King had a dream, and how many others have thrived in dreams coming true in America. In the bible, Joseph was a dreamer, and Pastor Gayla shared how the Lord wants us to dream. Prov. 29:18 says, “Without a vision, the people perish.” She guided us how to have a strategic vision and a plan. Learning how to figure out “where” we’re going in life caused Pastor Gayla to inspire the women to dream!  She gave each lady a packet of seeds signifying that God has put “dream seeds” in each believer’s heart. She emphasized that there are things that a “dream seed” needs. She also read to us about the life of Dorcas in the bible, as well as the story on what she called the “field of dreams” in the book of Ruth. It was a very “dreamy” lesson as all of us were filled up to over flowing after a full day, and feeling a good kind of tired.

The tour through the seven continents was enlightening and inspiring! All of the passengers exited the plane refreshed and ready to give their dreams life. They were encouraged to meditate on the Lord and His big, beautiful, Wonder-Full World! It was an awesome trip!