The weekend, with the theme of “The Power of Encouragement” was hosted by the Garden Grove congregation. The theme was chosen from a survey with 10 possible ideas e-mailed to over 120 attendees over the past couple of years—and this theme was the runaway winner.

Many arrived Friday afternoon or evening and settled in to relax. Over 20 walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant to enjoy time together with new and old friends. On Sabbath morning Jim Tuck, the pastor in Arizona, set the tone with a thought-provoking message—how would we encourage Job in his heavy trials? The sermon was preceded by exceptional special music selections, including a 10-member women’s ensemble.

The theme was expanded in the Sabbath-afternoon sessions. Joan Tuck opened the afternoon with “The Path of the Encouraging Way,” followed by Deborah Barr with “The Ultimate Encourager,” which pointed to God.

After a short break, Sheryl Nakashima shared “What’s in Your Mailbox?” which focused on sending cards as a prime method of encouragement. Carolyn Greinke then moderated an interactive discussion by tables, each discussing different aspects of encouragement with short summaries by a representative from each table.

A delicious Mexican buffet together capped off the day.

On Sunday morning, six ladies (Linda Api, Karen Efthyvoulos, Rocio Gonzalez, Jacqueline Milner, Tanya Olivarria and Jeanne Taber) shared personal examples encouraging us with their lessons.

On Sunday afternoon, after lunch and fellowship, Dianne Clark shared more aspects of giving and receiving encouragement. LeeAnn Luker capped off the day speaking on gratitude. Sylvia Kennedy expertly wove the presentations together as our moderator, and Judy Dyches provided elegant table centerpieces to set the physical tone.

To help encourage others, we held a fundraising raffle with over 30 donated items. We were able to donate a total of over $1,200 to Good Works and LifeNets.

Our ladies left our Women’s Weekend on a very positive note, feeling inspired, encouraged and ready to more fully apply the “Power of Encouragement” to others.