Day 5 is always such a GREAT day, because we head out on a private boat and explore other places around Lake Como!

We started the morning in the music room of the hotel for morning devotions, since it was a bit cool outside. We read through Day 4 “How can we be Found Faithful in our World Today?”  and I have to admit that it’s always hard when I know the women come from all different denominational backgrounds, and sometimes they are not Christians, and that’s fine b/c I always say everyone is welcome, but this is what we will be doing… But when I am speaking on very clear scripture that goes against the culture/worldview of our day I know I may get some people upset.

How can we be found faithful today in a world that goes against God‘s Word? This is a very important topic and one that we need to have sound doctrine to stand on. It goes against the “put myself first” culture we live in today, and sadly it’s even in the Christian church with so many pastors/teachers/authors teaching this and veering from sound doctrine.

But God… He has called me in this job/ministry to direct women back to Jesus. To point them to the Author, Creator and Sovereign Savior who wants to be first in their lives in such an incredible way! And that first and foremost is through the word of God. So I talk about the things that we all struggle with, we go through Scripture that helps us stand firm on the truth of God’s Word, and my hope and prayer is that I can encourage everyone to draw close to the Lord, trust and obey in His will for their lives, and they go home renewed in their faith, ready to live lives that show His power and glory to a world that so desperately needs to see Jesus.

After devotions, we met up with Rita and got on a private boat to explore the lake. Rita showed us the history of some of the villages on the lake before we headed to Villa Carlotta for a different tour this time. I usually take everyone to Villa Balbianello on this day… but more on that in a minute.

As we were walking the beautiful gardens with Rita, I was getting a bit weak since I was still recovering from being sick, so I decided to walk back towards the Villa to rest on a bench and wait for the rest of the group. But instead, as I was walking back, I saw two of the women in our group, helping someone that way laying on the ground… and it was one of our sweet ladies! She had passed out!

It is a big responsibility to host these retreats so far from home, and I always know there is a chance that something like this can happen. I pray every time for the ladies traveling to my retreats, for safety and health… but I’ve had a couple times where we’ve had something happen and it’s always a scary situation to know what to do in the moment. Shannon had been dealing with some vertigo issues the past two days and wasn’t feeling well this morning and as we were walking through the gardens she felt the verdigo coming back and she passed out as we were walking from one area to another. Thankfully the two other ladies who were walking with her noticed she wasn’t feeling well and we able to catch her on her way down so she didn’t hit her head or have any other issues from falling, praise God!

We were able to get help right away and they called for a Medical team to come and assess the situation. They called an ambulance to take her to the hospital, and with the language barrier it was a bit stressful to make sure they knew all her medicines and allergies to things. It was about 30 minutes of waiting and trying to figure out what needed to be done, but in the end they decided to take her to a hospital a little farther away that specializes in neurological issues since she had made them aware of some of her health issues and they thought it best to go to that hospital.

Here’s where the sovereignty of God was so evident and what I want to share.

I normally take everyone to Villa B on this day and I didn’t know anything was going to happen, I just thought it would be a nice change. I didn’t know this was going to be a testimony again to the Lords faithfulness AND faithful provision this week. But it was in a BIG way.

Here’s why: If we had been at Villa B, it would have been almost impossible to get her the help she needed this quickly. Villa B is only accessed by boat, there are no roads to get there!

So what I had thought and decided would be a nice change was actually the Lord’s sovereign plan to work all things out for good! Thank you Jesus! The fact that we were at Villa Carlotta (which in on the other side of the lake with the main road right outside the villa) allowed the ambulance to pull right up to the entrance and was come to her aid within minutes! Villa Carlotta was also much closer to the hospital than Villa B.

What an incredible blessing to realize God’s provision in this situation. We were able to trust that she was in good hands at this hospital, she was with her friend who came to the retreat with her, and the rest of the group was able to finish the Villa tour with Rita and head to our lakefront lunch afterwards.

Even though it was so hard to have this happen, the responsibility of caring for everyone at my retreats was so seamlessly taken care of. It truly felt like the Lord was providing everything we needed in such a evident way. My dear friend Rita, the people at the Villa, and all the medical team were so quick to help and so kind to all of us! The ambulance even allowed Shannon’s best friend to ride in the ambulance, which they usually do not allow! And, we were able to communicate with both of them the whole time they were in the hospital.

Rita was even kind enough to offer to pick them up and take them back to Bellagio when they were done, but they ended up staying for over six hours so instead Rita organized a driver to pick them up on that side of the lake, drive them to the ferry, and drive them all the way back to their apartment in Bellagio! What a blessing to see it all work out. Shannon was able to get the necessary fluids and help she needed and with some rest she felt well enough to finish the retreat and go on afterwards to Venice! What a blessing that was!

Just like we had learned that morning, we live in a difficult world with hard things that are going to happen. But God… He is calling us to trust him, to stand on His Word, to pursue holiness, and know without a shadow of a doubt that He is always faithful. That are “awe” in this life can be, and should be, centered on Jesus Christ and His Word.

Let us grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus friends! We have everything we need to go forward in faith, boldly sharing the truth of the gospel message, and I hope these stories this week have inspired you, blessed you and given you hope!

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, look unto Jesus as the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
Hebrews 12:1-2

Have a GREAT weekend everyone! I’ll post a little more from the final day to our Venice add-on trip next week. If anyone is interested in joining our next retreat in Italy, June 22-29, 2024 we have 4 spots left, and we’d LOVE for you to prayerfully consider joining us.

Hugs to all,

Laura

P.S. There’s a great book by Paul David Trip about the Awe of God that I would highly recommend reading. It’s called:
Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say & Do