After days of travel, prayer, preparation, and anticipation, the moment our Care Crew had been waiting for finally arrived. The women we had prayed for were here!
Our volunteers spent the morning making final preparations, checking details, arranging spaces, and preparing to welcome each woman. But beneath all the activity was something much deeper: a desire for every global worker to know she was seen, valued, and loved.
These women arrived from different parts of the world, bringing years of faithful service, ministry joys, family pressures, cultural challenges, and stories known fully only by God. Some came with excitement, others with exhaustion, and many likely carried a little of both.
As the first gathering began, Adana Cengeri, one of our Care Crew volunteers, shared this beautiful reflection on what she witnessed:
Just three hours ago, we welcomed the women who have traveled from across the world to gather here in Greece.
As we began with worship, I found myself looking at their faces. Some carried the weight of life in tear-filled eyes. Others lifted their hands as though offering a sacrifice to the Lord. Each woman had arrived ready to exhale, yet you could still see it in their faces… they hadn't quite caught their breath.
Not from the travel.
Not from the stories they carry.
Not from all the hustle and effort it took to get here.
These women have poured themselves out in places around the world, and now we are beginning the sacred work of making room for them to simply be.
To be welcomed. To be seen. To be heard. To be held in a space where they don't have to be strong for everyone else.
Today, we began opening that space. A place to lay down the weight, catch their breath, and remember that before they are global workers, they are beloved daughters of God.
And this is only the beginning.
— Adada Cengeri
What a beautiful reminder of why Azmera exists.
Hospitality can be holy. A warm greeting, a prepared room, a shared meal, or simply remembering someone's name may seem small, but God can use each detail to remind a weary woman, "You are seen. You matter. There is room here for you."
Our Care Crew cannot take away every burden these women carry, but they can offer a safe place to rest, listen with compassion, pray faithfully, and point each woman back to the One who knows her completely.
As this haven retreat begins, our prayer is that these women will experience more than a few days away from ministry responsibilities. May they encounter the tender love of Jesus, find freedom to breathe deeply again, and be reminded that their worth has never been measured by what they accomplish for Him.
They are His beloved daughters. And that is enough.