Rest Retreat
Based in Thailand, this retreat center provides rest, encouragement and sabbath at little to no cost to weary cross-cultural workers and their families.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Rest Retreat Leadership
Our Story
When Tammy arrived in India, the country allowed foreigners to be involved in ministry. She raised the children of K-Family as her own, assuming she would be there for life. In recent years, India and other countries in that area of the world have become more hostile to the Gospel. It has become increasingly difficult for foreigners to live and work there long-term. Heartbreakingly, Tammy and her youngest daughter were forced to leave India and can no longer live or work in the country she has called home for 23 years.
Tammy has continued to pour into her children via Zoom - meeting with different kids online every day. They have also arranged several in-person reunions in nearby countries. Simultaneously, Tammy processed and debriefed among her community in the US, using the time to heal and rest. During this reflection, in 2023, God began giving her a new vision. Full -time cross-cultural ministry has a unique set of challenges and needs.
As Tammy reflected on these challenges and the need for cross-cultural workers to periodically leave their host countries in order to renew their visas, a new ministry idea was born. In her words, “As I think back on what I needed and wanted during those exits, I wanted AC, a comfortable bed, good food, a place to rest, a hot shower and most of all a seasoned missionary to invest in me, pour into me and help me process life on the field. While I often had the first few things on that list, I never really had a seasoned cross-cultural worker to speak life into me. But I can give that to others.”
Tammy’s new vision is to pour into others who are pouring their lives out for God’s Kingdom in the world, providing a home-like retreat center where cross-cultural workers can rest, be refreshed, and receive spiritual and emotional encouragement from someone with years of similar experience. God has made a way for her to open this retreat center in Northern Thailand in a location that is an easy flight from many metropolitan cities. This accessibility will allow weary cross- cultural workers from many surrounding nations to come and be refreshed. It is also an ideal place for meeting with her own older children (many of whom are now in full -time ministry themselves) without scrutiny.