Me? A Conference Speaker?!

Yep, that's what is going to happen this week...Friday, in fact!  Not only am I going to attend a ladies' retreat, I am also presenting the craft (remember these cute little boxes?) AND I am one of the two 'conferencistas', or speakers.  Oh, and I will be giving the final reflection at the end of the retreat.  It has been a really, really neat experience to work together with the ladies on the leadership team in the planning of this event...it has been a great cultural experience.  

Have I mentioned that I have never been a speaker at a conference or women's retreat?  This is a first for me, but I'm not really surprised because a few months ago, I sensed God calling me to be ready for this...just didn't think it would happen so soon!  I've only been in Puebla for a month!  

Did I mention that this retreat is for Spanish speaking women?  Yeah, so not only is this my first time speaking at an event like this, I will be doing it in my second language.  Granted, there will be some ladies there who speak English and who can help me if I get stuck, but I a perfectionist and I tend to have the attitude of doing it right or not at all.  That's probably pride, though, so if I mess up, I will be humble enough to ask for help.  And if I mess up royally, well, I will just chalk it up to experience and learn from it!  I'm really hoping that won't happen, though...

The other reason I am feeling a bit nervous is that I am planning to be open and transparent...and that makes me feel vulnerable.  And a bit insecure, I think...what will they think about what I have to share?  Will I be accepted or rejected?  My hope is that my example of taking off a mask and opening up will encourage others to do so as well, but that doesn't always happen.  But then I think of how long it took me to be able to take off the masks and I know that God will use what I have to share for something, in some way, whether I see evidence of that in my lifetime or not.  

Homeschooling has taken up a lot of my time lately, so I am very thankful to Miguel today for taking over the teacher role in order to allow me some (almost) quiet time upstairs to finish writing my notes...apparently Mom is still the 'go-to' person for questions when Dad is subbing!  I finally just locked the door and that worked a bit better...now the house is quiet since he took the kids out to run some errands.  

Anyway, so that's what I'm up to this week...I'll be giving the first speaking session of three on Friday afternoon, followed by the craft.  Ironically, I found out I have a few things in common with the other speaker who will be giving the other two sessions...we're both named Becky, we're both MKs, we're both married to Latin men and we're both missionaries in Mexico.  Can't wait to meet her!