Intermissions Conference 2020

This past weekend we attended the yearly Intermissions Conference in Panajachel, Guatemala.  Intermissions is a community group for all English speaking evangelical missionaries serving in Guatemala.  The last weekend in February they have a retreat for everyone.  It is a time to come together for worship, fellowship, networking, and rest.  We love attending and look forward to it each year.  The boys especially love it because they get to spend the weekend with other English speaking missionary kids. They always have a blast!

Church groups come down from the States to lead the conference.  This year our guest speaker was Stan Key from Kentucky.  He did a wonderful job of teaching and challenging us.  We enjoyed a worship team from Avenue Church in Waxahachie, Texas.  The children and youth programs were led by Clayton King Ministries in Anderson, South Carolina.  The preschoolers were led by Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.  A counseling team and a singles ministry team come each year from Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas.  We are always blessed by the free services offered by Christian Fellowship Church in New Holland, PA.  They have been coming for 20 years.  This year their group offered manicures, haircuts, foot reflexology, and back massages.  We each get to sign up for one service.  This year I chose a manicure.

In addition to all of that we also have workshops offered.  This year the sessions were on: Contextualizing Ministry for Mayans, What Now? An Overview of Guatemala's Immigration Law, Managing Anxiety and Depression in a Stressful and Confusing World, The Top Ten Things Your Children Will Tell Me In Counseling,  The Joy of Ministering in Guatemala, and Easy Things You Can Do Today To Raise More Support.

It was a great conference.  We loved the English worship times and Bible study.  We enjoyed getting to see some familiar faces (many we only see once a year at the conference).  This year was special because we got to enjoy fellowship with several of our homeschool co-op families.   We did not even know most of them before joining the co-op even though we had all been attending the conference together for years.  It was especially good for the boys who felt like they had friends there that they already knew.  It was sweet to watch them all hang out together.  God has blessed them with some great friendships this past year.

I did not take many photos over the weekend.  I wish I had done better.  Here are a few I did take.

On the drive there we always stop at the lookout for a bathroom break and family photo.  You can see Lake Atitlan and one of the volcanoes in the background.

another view from the lookout

A view from our balcony.  All rooms at the conference hotel have balcony views.  It is so beautiful to look out and see the lake and volcanoes. 

a sunset view on Friday night

Saturday morning.  I have taken this same photo of them every year they have attended the conference. 

breakfast is our favorite meal there

I had the first appointment on Saturday morning for a manicure.  What a fun way to start the day.

Another thing we love about the conference is the book exchange.  Everyone takes books they no longer want or need and we swap them with each other.  We all make several stops by the book tables during the weekend. 

another beautiful sunset view on Saturday night

If you serve in Guatemala and have not been attending the conference I encourage you to go.  You will be blessed.  Next year's conference dates are February 26-28.  We are already looking forward to it.