A time to seek the face of God: World Vision International, Ghana’s FY19 Spiritual retreat

World Vision International, Ghana’s annual retreat is a time set aside for all staff across the country to come together and seek the face of God concerning the organization, as well as the spiritual well-being of the staff. It is a unique opportunity that provides an avenue for prayer, deep reflection, and strategic sessions. 
The FY 19 spiritual retreat, held from 27th May to 31st May, was under the theme: “What competes for your heart of love: God or Mammon?” . Each day of the retreat was filled with sessions that tackled aspects of the theme with an emphasis on our Christian identity, as well as our position as stewards of the funding that donors have entrusted into our hands. The programme was graced by special guest speakers such as the West African Regional Leader, Carla Denizard, who led the team through discussions on leadership and the different examples of great leaders in the Bible. According to her, having a positive attitude, faithfulness, integrity and excellence are some of the virtues of a good leader. 

Reverend Aaron Fant, the founder and president of Calvary Gospel Crusades, one of the main speakers for the programme, preached on the need to be good stewards. He explained that working in World Vision International, is a ministry, and should be done wholeheartedly. According to him, “service to man is service to God” and as such, he admonished the staff of World Vision to work with the utmost integrity. Mr. Esperance Klugan, former senior director of operations (SDO) for the West Africa Region, also led the group through morning devotion sessions, in which he passionately narrated the history of World Vision Ghana, it’s accomplishments, challenges and triumphs. In his oration, he narrated the stories of World Vision staff who began at lower levels of the organization and rose to higher positions because of their faithfulness, perseverance and hard work. He ended his presentation with a strong admonishment to staff “Ghana is back and we must keep it that way”.

An integral part of this year’s spiritual retreat was the staff enhancement session. The full day event, led by the Senior Leadership Team, was a review of our progress over the past year and an avenue for staff to be heard on matters concerning them. Other activities during the spiritual retreat included sports and games; where staff from the southern, northern and head office, engaged themselves in a friendly game of soccer, lime and spoon race and 4 by 100 relay race, among other activities. There was also an awards night and dinner to recognize the hard work of staff, and a medical screening. 

Overall, the FY 19 spiritual retreat was one that left staff empowered, motivated and refreshed, ready to continue the good work of caring for the most vulnerable children.