Over the course of three days, approximately 70 women, ages 16 to 92, attended the first annual Maui Women’s Retreat.
Using “Unity” as their theme, the women from the three churches of Lahaina, Kahului and Kihei on the island shared their love of Jesus and became sisters in Christ. Both Adventist and non-Adventist women participated in the weekend events as Michele Seibel, director of the prayer ministry for the Hawaii Conference, challenged the women to not fall into the trap of “playing church,” but to take the time to fall in love with their Savior.
Plans for the weekend began a year ago when two sisters, Emma Ramos-Shipe and Evy Wyrostek, along with the women’s ministry group of the Lahaina church, began dreaming of a program that could have a long-term impact on attendees. “So many women lose themselves when they get so busy taking care of their family, children, husband and work, that they sometimes forget to take care of themselves,” explained Ramos-Shipe. “We want to help.”
The ladies created an acronym from one of the beautiful flowers of Hawaii, LEHUA, as their slogan — Ladies Embracing Heavenly Unity Always. This slogan became a reality by the time the weekend was over. Not only did camaraderie develop among the women, but they also chose to include their families and other church members on Friday evening with a potluck and vespers.
The Lahaina men’s ministry group of Corey Char, Sean Ramos and John Terada led the group in praise music on Thursday evening. One of the highlights of the weekend was casting off Lahaina Harbor on Trilogy I to the island of Lanai with a beach church service at Manele Bay. This praise song-filled ride was complements of Jeannette Coon.
The women of all ethnic heritages, ages, sizes, paths of faith and life came together in unity and fellowship to praise God. As women shared their stories and testimonies, their new sisters in Christ laughed together as well as shed many tears of empathy and understanding. However, the women also were treated to two unexpected miracles that let them know that God had His hand in this weekend.
One miracle happened several days before the retreat began. As Ramos-Shipe passed a young lady in the parking lot of her local post office, something inspired her to turn around and ask if the lady would be interested in attending a women’s retreat that her church was hosting. The young lady stopped suddenly and asked if Ramos-Shipe was a Christian, to which she replied, “Yes!” The young lady dropped her mail and hugged Ramos-Shipe. Through her tears, she explained that she was just then praying to find a church.
Then, on Saturday morning, a 29-year-old man tussled between going to church or surfing. He decided to head to the beach. Both he and his friends noticed the large number of women headed for the picnic area. One of his friends dared him to walk up to the women and say hello. Little did he know that some of the women in the group knew him from when he used to live on Maui and attended the Lahaina church.
After being given an aloha welcome and sharing the excitement of seeing familiar faces, he shared some of his personal struggles. He was quite sure that the presence of the group that morning was a message directly from God to him. Not only was he extremely touched by the situation, he asked if he could sing a song that he had written. It was a song of God’s unconditional love.
“When Grandma Abby held my hand so tightly during prayer, I was amazed not only at this 92-year-old’s physical strength and zest for adventure, but also her spiritual vigor and energy,” said one participant. “It reminded me of how Jesus will never let us go and is forever with us. He has the most amazing adventure waiting for us.” Plans are already in the works for follow-up retreats. The LEHUA women want to have a mother-daughter and a couple’s banquet next year.
