by Jeanette Raine

PALMERSTON NORTH, NZ (BNc) — The church in Palmerston North, New Zealand has been hosting a Ladies’ Challenge for a number of years, with the goal of providing a special time for Christian sisters to join together and revive their spirits.

We have been blessed with amazing lessons from our sisters from overseas and locally. A few of our overseas talents have been Betty Choate, Cindy & Hannah Colley, Cynthia Guy, and Nicole Whitacre, Cathy Whitacre and Christina Barkley, a mother-daughter, daughter-in-law team who were passionate Bible class teachers. We have had New Zealand talent, some presenting their first ever lessons at the Ladies’ Challenge.

The team effort by the ladies in Palmerston has been inspirational in itself in that we’ve watched ladies who were timid being nurtured to step up and volunteer for various responsibilities in organizing the event. We’ve seen those who were struggling in their Christian walk rise to become active role models.

A bonus to all this great team work was the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of staying at a motel with a buffet breakfast included, providing us with a true weekend of pampering!

This year’s 2010 challenge theme was taken from the book of Esther, “Becoming all that you’ve been created to be”. Attendees said that this was one of the best! There were a total of nine congregations and approximately 64 ladies in attendance.

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