November 7-9, 2025

What could be better than a weekend at beautiful Sandy Cove Retreat, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, with 13 ladies from Neffsville Mennonite Church (and 300 others from various locations and groups)? We all checked in at 4:00 pm on a lovely Friday afternoon.

The theme of the weekend was “Renewing Our Strength: How to Become a REAL Wonder Woman!” The speaker was Ellie Lofaro. She has a national ministry as a speaker, author and retreat leader. She kept our attention with her laugh out loud humor, New York rooted confidence, passion and grace. We had four sessions, one on Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The four sessions were titled: She Works Out, She Waits Well, She is Renewed and She is an Overcomer. We were encouraged to: Stand on the Word of God, Seek the will of God, Be Sure in the Worship of God, Be Steadfast in the Work of God and Submit to the Ways of God. Ellie leaves you inspired with God’s word and practical ways of confidently living out your faith. She leaves no doubt that God is alive and is working all things out in His time.

Our worship leader was Gwen Smith. She is a worship leader, songwriter, author and speaker. She did an excellent job of leading heartfelt worship with joyful energy and fun enthusiasm. Her voice could bring you to tears.

Saturday afternoon came with many options: walking or sitting, soaking in the lovely view of the bay on a beautiful, sunny day, zip line, indoor pool and hot tub, an escape room, decoupage jewelry class, canvas painting class or napping (or if you didn’t want to admit you were napping, you could say you were “contemplating your circumstances”).

Friday night after the session we played some games. Saturday night there was a talent show. Our talented Bentch sisters, Eszter and Emma sang a fun song. I think they were the best!

The meals were wonderfully provided, and a good time to connect with our group. We left Sunday afternoon. I was feeling refreshed, relaxed and inspired to stand strong with God’s love and renewed strength. A sincere thank you to the Women’s leadership group for organizing the weekend for us all and for introducing me to lovely Sandy Cove!