God’s Call, Our Answer
by Giles Armstrong | President
Reading through God’s Word, it doesn’t take long to realize that it is filled with God’s call to join Him in His mission. His call goes out to all kinds of men and women. The question is how will we respond? Will we be receptive and listen like Samuel, “Speak, your servant is listening.” Will we not just hear but heed his voice like Isaiah, “Here I am. Send me.” Sadly, we often treat God like He is here to do our bidding instead of us doing His. If we are not careful, our prayer life can reflect our view of God as more of a genie than the all-powerful God. Through the ages, God’s call has rocked the lives of many: from Abraham, who was told to go to a land I will show you, to the Disciples, who left their livelihoods to follow Jesus. But the greatest call is the one we recently finished celebrating, the call of Christmas when Christ came to earth. Talk about stepping out of your comfort zone! Jesus stepped out of eternity and into time, He went from a throne to a trough. But what if Jesus had not responded to the Christmas call? What if he had stayed where it was comfortable? Instead of the sacrifice of the Savior, we would be stuck in sin.
Over the years, SonScape Retreats has ministered to countless men and women who have said yes to God’s call. A call that often comes with a cost, just as it did for Jesus. That is why SonScape exists, to minister to the ministers who so often experience the pain and heartache of serving. All of us are called to serve Jesus. The question we have to answer is how will we respond. Will we obey or object? Six months ago, Angel and I said yes to God’s call to come to SonScape as the new president and retreat leading couple. It was a call that involved leaving family and what was familiar. His call often involves choosing faith over the familiar.
We’ve come to SonScape after 26 years of ministry. We spent four years in a group home taking care of wayward youth and 22 years serving in the local church in a variety of roles (youth pastor, pastor of a small rural church, family pastor, executive pastor, and finally lead pastor of a growing church with a large staff). Throughout our 26 years of ministry, Angel and I have been blessed to serve as a team, with Angel serving in a variety of volunteer and paid roles (worship leader, children’s coordinator, administrative director, and counselor).
In 2006, while serving in our third ministry, we attended a SonScape retreat where we discovered life giving teachings that provided a healthy pattern for future ministry. As two-time alumni, our passion is to see those in ministry become healthy and whole. Having walked the ministry path, we understand the need to listen to Jesus’ call in Matthew 11:28 to come away with Jesus to a quiet place and experience His rest in order to trade our burdens for His blessing so we can serve out of a place of renewal.
Having myself grown up oversees and Angel having gone on mission trips throughout high school and college, we have a heart for missions and are excited, not only for our stateside retreats, but our international retreats as well. We are thankful and blessed to serve alongside Larry and Barbara as they mentor us through this transition.
Angel and I want to say THANK YOU! To our alumni for telling others about SonScape, our amazing host couples for being the hands and feet that serve our guests, our many ministry partners for your generous gifts that enable us to bring rest and renewal to God’s ministers, and our prayer partners for faithfully unleashing the power of prayer. THANK YOU for responding to God’s call. You are making a tremendous difference in many lives!
Angel and I are thrilled to work alongside such a gifted staff and are excited for the future of SonScape.
Expanding our Reach
by Rob and Shini Abraham | International Retreat Leaders
We begin 2020 with deep gratitude as we celebrate five years of expanding SonScape’s reach internationally with over 165 missionaries and pastors from 27+ nations served through our international retreats!
We have come a long way since our 2015 experiment in Colombia for the Spanish-speaking world. With yearly retreats already in place in Pereira, we expanded our reach in 2019 to include two more cities – Medellín and Bogotá. We are grateful for our excellent Spanish-speaking team, for reliable retreat centers located, and for various nations represented in our bi-lingual retreats.
Although we rent venues for our international retreats, we are able to ensure effectiveness by remaining true to SonScape’s model and values. Hospitality, teaching, personal sessions, safe space, and emphasis on rest and renewal all remain the heart of our retreats. We enjoy seeing the Lord use this model in doing deep work in people’s lives regardless of which nation or culture they come from or serve in.
A pilot retreat in São Paulo last fall provided opportunity to explore possibilities in Brazil for the Portuguese-speaking world in South America. One of our guests said, “This retreat was the healing balm and ointment of hope my deeply wounded soul needed! It was so good to know that I’m not the only one who gets beat up in ministry! The fellowship with retreat leaders and others in the retreat was deeply encouraging.” Pray for us as we explore possibilities for developing a Portuguese-speaking team too.
From Dubai to Tajikistan, from Mexico to Argentina, we continue to get invitations to take SonScape retreats across the globe. As we carefully explore each possibility, we also remain committed to solidifying our Latin American focus and being a part of what God is doing in the Spanish-speaking world. We continue to explore opportunities to develop new teams and locations with long-term goals in mind.
Thank you for supporting us as we serve the often forgotten and under-resourced missionaries and pastors who faithfully serve overseas.
More Life Change
by SonScape Alumni
Tony Jackson
SonScape Retreats is an amazing experience. Giving myself permission to intentionally slow down…to stop…has brought refreshment and joy and peace. Reconnecting with my heavenly father is something I desperately needed. Removing the distractions of “normal” life can reveal very quickly what is truly important. SonScape is designed to do exactly that. Reconnecting with my wife is icing on the cake. The SonScape experience is so well thought out. It is designed to maximize time and location and teaching and counseling. Group meals become times of fellowship and friendship. If you need rest, retreat, re-centering, SonScape is the place for you.
Tammy Jackson
I feel a new confidence and strength blossoming that I pray God blooms into something beautiful in the very near future. So grateful beyond words what this place allowed to happen in my heart and in my countenance on this mountaintop experience. I highly recommend SonScape Retreats to all who are open to let God meet you here.
Heather VanHaitsma
This week has been a life-altering time for me. To steal from one of the staff devotions, this has been a place “where there is time and space, new thoughts and interactions,” where my perspectives were challenged and changed for the better. My soul was truly cared for this week. I have experienced everything that I needed, without realizing what all I needed! I will go down from this mountain with so much still to process but with a profound understanding of God’s deep love for me. I have reconnected with the lover of my soul! Thank you!
Want to learn
more about supporting
your pastor?
Try the seven-day bible study on the YouVersion app (or at bible.com) based on the book “Pastors Are People Too” (go to Plans, then search for Pastors Are People Too). Then invite your whole church to participate for Pastor Appreciation month in October.
