-
RetreatsSix-day retreats providing a place to reconnect
with God and work through personal and ministry challenges
Upcoming Retreats
To find out upcoming retreat dates, please contact Bob Armstrong:Phone (604.832.6792)
or Email [email protected]
Retreat Dates
Due to the overwhelming popularity of Oasis Individual Focused Encounters in 2018 we are pleased to announce that in 2019 we are making Oasis Individual Focused Encounters our primary offering. Because of this decision we have been able to create space to facilitate additional Individual Focused Encounters. If you are considering an Oasis Individual Focused Encounter please contact us at your earliest convenience with a suggested date and we'll do our best to accommodate you. .A SAFE PLACE TO REFRESH
In a safe and confidential environment, Oasis offers four-day/3-nightĀ retreats designed to provide a place and time to reconnect with God and work through personal and ministry challenges.
For the past 20 years, nearly 1500 participants ā from over 62 denominations and missions agencies across Canada, USA and 33 other countries ā have found a healthy balance of relaxation, interaction, counselling and instruction at an Oasis Retreat. Professional and caring staff provide tools and strategies that serve to strengthen and enhance relationships and areas of service.
Cost: $3495
What others have to say about our retreats
Very personable...felt safe to open up and express ourselvesā¦wonderful to rest, nap, walk, wind down and be refreshed in the afternoons...thoroughly enjoyed accommodation...perfect, private, comfortableā¦; amazing, delicious food; teaching sessions were wonderfulā¦we delved into areas that we didnāt know how to unlock; perfect balance...great content...skilled leadersā¦blown away with Brentās presentation...words cannot express...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great combination of people...so obviously friends...wise...compassionate...not afraid to get involved (get hands dirty)...1-5 scale 6 ...gave permission and opened us up to feel: loss, tragedy, sadness, joy, peace in chaos...perfect balance of sessions; Accommodations were perfect, private, comfortable...Excellent balance of sessions/time off...Dr. Johnās topic was brilliantly presented...a sensitive and deeply informed communicator...appreciated interaction...absolute GOLD!; Ronās session was a great reminder; Pennyās session on Burnout brought clarity to my condition and provided hope that I could make it through; Brentās session was a powerful use of words of imagery...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great team!...Sensitive ,supportive and appropriate...wonderful times of worship and tasteful video clips...this retreat came at a crucial and strategic time for us...while distracted and hurting from our recent crises, we have received a very special care package of love, sensitive and wise counsel, spiritual and emotional support and encouragement, and especially renewed hope in returning to normal, productive life...it has been a powerful, intimate, safe, and refreshing 6 days...thanks so much...youāre working on an excellent formula, keep it up...Oasis is an amazing, much needed ministry...Blessings on the team for responding to the call to provide it...I experienced safe community, felt loved and ministered to...the schedule was organized very well in that it felt safe by the time we were to tell our stories...accommodations were wonderful, so comfortable and tastefully decorated, felt pampered...quality, variety and verbal description of the food was amazing...really appreciated the openness, relationship and vulnerability of Bob, Penny, and Susan...Very skilled, great big hearts, very real, youāre an amazing team; felt poured into, validated, embraced and given good information and strategies to move forward...really appreciated couples counselling.

Accommodation and Meals: Way more than expected!; outstanding; felt pampered; beautiful and comfortable; the location is so much a part of the healingā¦couldnāt pick a better place!ā¦it was meaningful to have our own space to go away to as neededā¦own bathroom tooā¦awesome.
Teaching sessions: great info and presentation style, very informative, excellent content, engaging and energetic, charts/diagrams helpful to visualize the process, created a great environment for conversation, cleared up so much for me, a real eye opener, very easy to follow and relate content to my life, very relevant, the visualization was excellent.
Facilitators: very friendly and welcomingā¦made the environment always a safe one; Wow, they are not only great, but they have inspired me to be a kinder more dedicated guest service person in my own settingā¦they are incredible!; easy to talk toā¦good to hear they are human too, and enjoyed hearing how they worked through thingsā¦appreciated their genuine care and kindness; Penny and Bob are great working with participantsā¦you have wonderful gifts for thisā¦Susan is a breath of fresh airā¦I love how you were all available to usā¦thank you for loving me in my dark placesā¦your reflections after everyone shared their stories were powerful; great hostsā¦the two of you are a great teamā¦kind and prophetic!...look forward to staying in touch! Thank you!; genuinely accepted and lovedā¦it has to be a strain on each of you to be engaged for so many days in a row and it isnāt unnoticedā¦thank you.
Effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your spouse (if married): Has helped us to see the areas that we are suffering or struggling inā¦has given us hope and encouragement for whatās to come; it has brought us as a couple close again and it has given me a better outlook on life; I donāt think I can ever go backā¦I finally had my wife with me, thatās a first!!!; it has been good to hear things together and be able to talk things through as a couple; Iām excited by your ministry and believe it has the potential to do deeper and greater ministry in the healing and forming of leadersā¦I have experienced wonderful affirmation personally and for my ministry; allowed break-through for us to stand together and remove the barriers between us and face out battles together; powerfully helpfulā¦great insights and some new directionā¦the personal counseling may have been the highlight for us; for one of the first times we have finally felt heard and understoodā¦we are thankful for a strong marriage right now so it was refreshing to come together and be loved and supported together during a time of need; much needed turning point in a rather dark, hopeless time.

Great accommodation and amazing meals; excellent at revealing things about what I was going through; loved how John would pray as led by the Holy Spirit; excellent counselingā¦tools for anger and grieving; excellent information and relatableā¦process of forgiveness was very helpful; really liked the meditative exerciseā¦great balance between cause, effect, and recovery; thanks for speaking honestly from your heartā¦it is incredibly helpful to hear what burnout is, your honesty about how it has affected you, and your honest journey of working through it; very practicalā¦thank you!; very creative and powerful; very insightfulā¦found some rest and peace within my spiritā¦the journey allowed room to breathe in chaos; insightful and propheticā¦some of verses spoken to me will stick and helpā¦most powerful: God is giving me treasures that can only be mined in darknessā; thanks for being real, for calling the tough calls and for holding me in honour yet with grace; very sincere; I am so thankful I cameā¦God has met me here and worked powerfully in me; thank you to all for the welcoming and caring spaceā¦appreciated Bobās wisdom and strengthā¦Pennyās understanding and experience with loveā¦and Susanās, compassion and tenderness; we experienced peace and restā¦I may not see the ālightā at the end of the tunnel, but now there is a ālightā in the tunnel; I came in feeling like I was not coping well to this retreat but am leaving with something newā¦hope; Iām still processing information for myselfā¦feeling more at peace than I have in monthsā¦renewed hopeā¦observed some transformations already in my spouse; had a wonderful experienceā¦donāt wonāt to go.

Feedback from participants:
Beautiful facility, genuine and caring hosts, amazing meals; appreciated the interaction, transparency, real examples of the presenters, loved the heart and spiritual content of the presentersā¦how they would just stop and prayā¦appreciated the opportunities to ask questions and dialogue, very practical and very helpful.
āPlease donāt stop doing what you are doingā¦there are hundreds of us who need thisā¦I have been to a lot of conferences which were informational and inspirational, but this retreat was informational, inspirational, and transformational.ā
Facilitators: Bob/Penny/Susan Comments:
You guys opened your heart and life to usā¦thank you so much for that gift!...I really appreciated your generosity, genuineness, thoughtfulness, and the way you guys āeasedā us into a deeper level of openness and transparency, which I feel to me happened faster than I thought it would, and yet not forced or over uncomfortable; a very accepting, affirming, environment was createdā¦very, very good to hear your story at the front endā¦this opened the door for everyone elseā¦awesome support and wisdomā¦thank you!; Bob and Penny really set the foundation when they shared their story, Thank you!...You made us feel so comfortableā¦the atmosphere you all created made us feel that we were heard and we were among friendsā¦Susanās love for the Lord and her understanding, nonjudgmental way was so welcomingā¦.I felt as if weād know you all for a long time!; Great listenersā¦Great servants of God with Big Hearts filled with love and compassionā¦they truly understand the life of pastorsā¦they truly model the heart of Jesus; lovelyā¦thank you so much for your ministry and being faithful servants.
Describe the effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your mate (if married):
I came burdened with a mess of feelingsā¦trying to make sense of what happened and afraid to trustā¦I had been badly hurt by community and here in this place God used community who understood , heard even my unspoken words, loved me, affirmed and prayed for me, and extended healing and hope for future trust; the retreat was a time to tell our story, to be affirmed, to be renewed, and help with changes that need to be made going forward regarding self-care and setting healthy boundaries; it has given us some ideas as to how we can be more intentional with self-care; lots of awesome information⦠sharing our story was hard but important and the prayer support was amazing!...definitely helped us with how to approach the next part of our journey.

Powerful, great insight, sensitive, painful, releasing, enlightening and hopeful are all the words we would use to describe our experience. Your warm, understanding and accepting attitudes helped us let down our guard and engage in the process. Your God-focus insight throughout helped you correctly read where we were at and what we needed. We feel like now that we are aware of what is inside us, we can choose to acknowledge it and continue to work it out. Thank you for helping us to get to this place of awareness, empowerment and hope.

Very personable...felt safe to open up and express ourselvesā¦wonderful to rest, nap, walk, wind down and be refreshed in the afternoons...thoroughly enjoyed accommodation...perfect, private, comfortableā¦; amazing, delicious food; teaching sessions were wonderfulā¦we delved into areas that we didnāt know how to unlock; perfect balance...great content...skilled leadersā¦blown away with Brentās presentation...words cannot express...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great combination of people...so obviously friends...wise...compassionate...not afraid to get involved (get hands dirty)...1-5 scale 6 ...gave permission and opened us up to feel: loss, tragedy, sadness, joy, peace in chaos...perfect balance of sessions; Accommodations were perfect, private, comfortable...Excellent balance of sessions/time off...Dr. Johnās topic was brilliantly presented...a sensitive and deeply informed communicator...appreciated interaction...absolute GOLD!; Ronās session was a great reminder; Pennyās session on Burnout brought clarity to my condition and provided hope that I could make it through; Brentās session was a powerful use of words of imagery...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great team!...Sensitive ,supportive and appropriate...wonderful times of worship and tasteful video clips...this retreat came at a crucial and strategic time for us...while distracted and hurting from our recent crises, we have received a very special care package of love, sensitive and wise counsel, spiritual and emotional support and encouragement, and especially renewed hope in returning to normal, productive life...it has been a powerful, intimate, safe, and refreshing 6 days...thanks so much...youāre working on an excellent formula, keep it up...Oasis is an amazing, much needed ministry...Blessings on the team for responding to the call to provide it...I experienced safe community, felt loved and ministered to...the schedule was organized very well in that it felt safe by the time we were to tell our stories...accommodations were wonderful, so comfortable and tastefully decorated, felt pampered...quality, variety and verbal description of the food was amazing...really appreciated the openness, relationship and vulnerability of Bob, Penny, and Susan...Very skilled, great big hearts, very real, youāre an amazing team; felt poured into, validated, embraced and given good information and strategies to move forward...really appreciated couples counselling.

Accommodation and Meals: Way more than expected!; outstanding; felt pampered; beautiful and comfortable; the location is so much a part of the healingā¦couldnāt pick a better place!ā¦it was meaningful to have our own space to go away to as neededā¦own bathroom tooā¦awesome.
Teaching sessions: great info and presentation style, very informative, excellent content, engaging and energetic, charts/diagrams helpful to visualize the process, created a great environment for conversation, cleared up so much for me, a real eye opener, very easy to follow and relate content to my life, very relevant, the visualization was excellent.
Facilitators: very friendly and welcomingā¦made the environment always a safe one; Wow, they are not only great, but they have inspired me to be a kinder more dedicated guest service person in my own settingā¦they are incredible!; easy to talk toā¦good to hear they are human too, and enjoyed hearing how they worked through thingsā¦appreciated their genuine care and kindness; Penny and Bob are great working with participantsā¦you have wonderful gifts for thisā¦Susan is a breath of fresh airā¦I love how you were all available to usā¦thank you for loving me in my dark placesā¦your reflections after everyone shared their stories were powerful; great hostsā¦the two of you are a great teamā¦kind and prophetic!...look forward to staying in touch! Thank you!; genuinely accepted and lovedā¦it has to be a strain on each of you to be engaged for so many days in a row and it isnāt unnoticedā¦thank you.
Effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your spouse (if married): Has helped us to see the areas that we are suffering or struggling inā¦has given us hope and encouragement for whatās to come; it has brought us as a couple close again and it has given me a better outlook on life; I donāt think I can ever go backā¦I finally had my wife with me, thatās a first!!!; it has been good to hear things together and be able to talk things through as a couple; Iām excited by your ministry and believe it has the potential to do deeper and greater ministry in the healing and forming of leadersā¦I have experienced wonderful affirmation personally and for my ministry; allowed break-through for us to stand together and remove the barriers between us and face out battles together; powerfully helpfulā¦great insights and some new directionā¦the personal counseling may have been the highlight for us; for one of the first times we have finally felt heard and understoodā¦we are thankful for a strong marriage right now so it was refreshing to come together and be loved and supported together during a time of need; much needed turning point in a rather dark, hopeless time.

Great accommodation and amazing meals; excellent at revealing things about what I was going through; loved how John would pray as led by the Holy Spirit; excellent counselingā¦tools for anger and grieving; excellent information and relatableā¦process of forgiveness was very helpful; really liked the meditative exerciseā¦great balance between cause, effect, and recovery; thanks for speaking honestly from your heartā¦it is incredibly helpful to hear what burnout is, your honesty about how it has affected you, and your honest journey of working through it; very practicalā¦thank you!; very creative and powerful; very insightfulā¦found some rest and peace within my spiritā¦the journey allowed room to breathe in chaos; insightful and propheticā¦some of verses spoken to me will stick and helpā¦most powerful: God is giving me treasures that can only be mined in darknessā; thanks for being real, for calling the tough calls and for holding me in honour yet with grace; very sincere; I am so thankful I cameā¦God has met me here and worked powerfully in me; thank you to all for the welcoming and caring spaceā¦appreciated Bobās wisdom and strengthā¦Pennyās understanding and experience with loveā¦and Susanās, compassion and tenderness; we experienced peace and restā¦I may not see the ālightā at the end of the tunnel, but now there is a ālightā in the tunnel; I came in feeling like I was not coping well to this retreat but am leaving with something newā¦hope; Iām still processing information for myselfā¦feeling more at peace than I have in monthsā¦renewed hopeā¦observed some transformations already in my spouse; had a wonderful experienceā¦donāt wonāt to go.

Feedback from participants:
Beautiful facility, genuine and caring hosts, amazing meals; appreciated the interaction, transparency, real examples of the presenters, loved the heart and spiritual content of the presentersā¦how they would just stop and prayā¦appreciated the opportunities to ask questions and dialogue, very practical and very helpful.
āPlease donāt stop doing what you are doingā¦there are hundreds of us who need thisā¦I have been to a lot of conferences which were informational and inspirational, but this retreat was informational, inspirational, and transformational.ā
Facilitators: Bob/Penny/Susan Comments:
You guys opened your heart and life to usā¦thank you so much for that gift!...I really appreciated your generosity, genuineness, thoughtfulness, and the way you guys āeasedā us into a deeper level of openness and transparency, which I feel to me happened faster than I thought it would, and yet not forced or over uncomfortable; a very accepting, affirming, environment was createdā¦very, very good to hear your story at the front endā¦this opened the door for everyone elseā¦awesome support and wisdomā¦thank you!; Bob and Penny really set the foundation when they shared their story, Thank you!...You made us feel so comfortableā¦the atmosphere you all created made us feel that we were heard and we were among friendsā¦Susanās love for the Lord and her understanding, nonjudgmental way was so welcomingā¦.I felt as if weād know you all for a long time!; Great listenersā¦Great servants of God with Big Hearts filled with love and compassionā¦they truly understand the life of pastorsā¦they truly model the heart of Jesus; lovelyā¦thank you so much for your ministry and being faithful servants.
Describe the effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your mate (if married):
I came burdened with a mess of feelingsā¦trying to make sense of what happened and afraid to trustā¦I had been badly hurt by community and here in this place God used community who understood , heard even my unspoken words, loved me, affirmed and prayed for me, and extended healing and hope for future trust; the retreat was a time to tell our story, to be affirmed, to be renewed, and help with changes that need to be made going forward regarding self-care and setting healthy boundaries; it has given us some ideas as to how we can be more intentional with self-care; lots of awesome information⦠sharing our story was hard but important and the prayer support was amazing!...definitely helped us with how to approach the next part of our journey.

Powerful, great insight, sensitive, painful, releasing, enlightening and hopeful are all the words we would use to describe our experience. Your warm, understanding and accepting attitudes helped us let down our guard and engage in the process. Your God-focus insight throughout helped you correctly read where we were at and what we needed. We feel like now that we are aware of what is inside us, we can choose to acknowledge it and continue to work it out. Thank you for helping us to get to this place of awareness, empowerment and hope.

Very personable...felt safe to open up and express ourselvesā¦wonderful to rest, nap, walk, wind down and be refreshed in the afternoons...thoroughly enjoyed accommodation...perfect, private, comfortableā¦; amazing, delicious food; teaching sessions were wonderfulā¦we delved into areas that we didnāt know how to unlock; perfect balance...great content...skilled leadersā¦blown away with Brentās presentation...words cannot express...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great combination of people...so obviously friends...wise...compassionate...not afraid to get involved (get hands dirty)...1-5 scale 6 ...gave permission and opened us up to feel: loss, tragedy, sadness, joy, peace in chaos...perfect balance of sessions; Accommodations were perfect, private, comfortable...Excellent balance of sessions/time off...Dr. Johnās topic was brilliantly presented...a sensitive and deeply informed communicator...appreciated interaction...absolute GOLD!; Ronās session was a great reminder; Pennyās session on Burnout brought clarity to my condition and provided hope that I could make it through; Brentās session was a powerful use of words of imagery...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great team!...Sensitive ,supportive and appropriate...wonderful times of worship and tasteful video clips...this retreat came at a crucial and strategic time for us...while distracted and hurting from our recent crises, we have received a very special care package of love, sensitive and wise counsel, spiritual and emotional support and encouragement, and especially renewed hope in returning to normal, productive life...it has been a powerful, intimate, safe, and refreshing 6 days...thanks so much...youāre working on an excellent formula, keep it up...Oasis is an amazing, much needed ministry...Blessings on the team for responding to the call to provide it...I experienced safe community, felt loved and ministered to...the schedule was organized very well in that it felt safe by the time we were to tell our stories...accommodations were wonderful, so comfortable and tastefully decorated, felt pampered...quality, variety and verbal description of the food was amazing...really appreciated the openness, relationship and vulnerability of Bob, Penny, and Susan...Very skilled, great big hearts, very real, youāre an amazing team; felt poured into, validated, embraced and given good information and strategies to move forward...really appreciated couples counselling.

Accommodation and Meals: Way more than expected!; outstanding; felt pampered; beautiful and comfortable; the location is so much a part of the healingā¦couldnāt pick a better place!ā¦it was meaningful to have our own space to go away to as neededā¦own bathroom tooā¦awesome.
Teaching sessions: great info and presentation style, very informative, excellent content, engaging and energetic, charts/diagrams helpful to visualize the process, created a great environment for conversation, cleared up so much for me, a real eye opener, very easy to follow and relate content to my life, very relevant, the visualization was excellent.
Facilitators: very friendly and welcomingā¦made the environment always a safe one; Wow, they are not only great, but they have inspired me to be a kinder more dedicated guest service person in my own settingā¦they are incredible!; easy to talk toā¦good to hear they are human too, and enjoyed hearing how they worked through thingsā¦appreciated their genuine care and kindness; Penny and Bob are great working with participantsā¦you have wonderful gifts for thisā¦Susan is a breath of fresh airā¦I love how you were all available to usā¦thank you for loving me in my dark placesā¦your reflections after everyone shared their stories were powerful; great hostsā¦the two of you are a great teamā¦kind and prophetic!...look forward to staying in touch! Thank you!; genuinely accepted and lovedā¦it has to be a strain on each of you to be engaged for so many days in a row and it isnāt unnoticedā¦thank you.
Effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your spouse (if married): Has helped us to see the areas that we are suffering or struggling inā¦has given us hope and encouragement for whatās to come; it has brought us as a couple close again and it has given me a better outlook on life; I donāt think I can ever go backā¦I finally had my wife with me, thatās a first!!!; it has been good to hear things together and be able to talk things through as a couple; Iām excited by your ministry and believe it has the potential to do deeper and greater ministry in the healing and forming of leadersā¦I have experienced wonderful affirmation personally and for my ministry; allowed break-through for us to stand together and remove the barriers between us and face out battles together; powerfully helpfulā¦great insights and some new directionā¦the personal counseling may have been the highlight for us; for one of the first times we have finally felt heard and understoodā¦we are thankful for a strong marriage right now so it was refreshing to come together and be loved and supported together during a time of need; much needed turning point in a rather dark, hopeless time.

Great accommodation and amazing meals; excellent at revealing things about what I was going through; loved how John would pray as led by the Holy Spirit; excellent counselingā¦tools for anger and grieving; excellent information and relatableā¦process of forgiveness was very helpful; really liked the meditative exerciseā¦great balance between cause, effect, and recovery; thanks for speaking honestly from your heartā¦it is incredibly helpful to hear what burnout is, your honesty about how it has affected you, and your honest journey of working through it; very practicalā¦thank you!; very creative and powerful; very insightfulā¦found some rest and peace within my spiritā¦the journey allowed room to breathe in chaos; insightful and propheticā¦some of verses spoken to me will stick and helpā¦most powerful: God is giving me treasures that can only be mined in darknessā; thanks for being real, for calling the tough calls and for holding me in honour yet with grace; very sincere; I am so thankful I cameā¦God has met me here and worked powerfully in me; thank you to all for the welcoming and caring spaceā¦appreciated Bobās wisdom and strengthā¦Pennyās understanding and experience with loveā¦and Susanās, compassion and tenderness; we experienced peace and restā¦I may not see the ālightā at the end of the tunnel, but now there is a ālightā in the tunnel; I came in feeling like I was not coping well to this retreat but am leaving with something newā¦hope; Iām still processing information for myselfā¦feeling more at peace than I have in monthsā¦renewed hopeā¦observed some transformations already in my spouse; had a wonderful experienceā¦donāt wonāt to go.

Feedback from participants:
Beautiful facility, genuine and caring hosts, amazing meals; appreciated the interaction, transparency, real examples of the presenters, loved the heart and spiritual content of the presentersā¦how they would just stop and prayā¦appreciated the opportunities to ask questions and dialogue, very practical and very helpful.
āPlease donāt stop doing what you are doingā¦there are hundreds of us who need thisā¦I have been to a lot of conferences which were informational and inspirational, but this retreat was informational, inspirational, and transformational.ā
Facilitators: Bob/Penny/Susan Comments:
You guys opened your heart and life to usā¦thank you so much for that gift!...I really appreciated your generosity, genuineness, thoughtfulness, and the way you guys āeasedā us into a deeper level of openness and transparency, which I feel to me happened faster than I thought it would, and yet not forced or over uncomfortable; a very accepting, affirming, environment was createdā¦very, very good to hear your story at the front endā¦this opened the door for everyone elseā¦awesome support and wisdomā¦thank you!; Bob and Penny really set the foundation when they shared their story, Thank you!...You made us feel so comfortableā¦the atmosphere you all created made us feel that we were heard and we were among friendsā¦Susanās love for the Lord and her understanding, nonjudgmental way was so welcomingā¦.I felt as if weād know you all for a long time!; Great listenersā¦Great servants of God with Big Hearts filled with love and compassionā¦they truly understand the life of pastorsā¦they truly model the heart of Jesus; lovelyā¦thank you so much for your ministry and being faithful servants.
Describe the effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your mate (if married):
I came burdened with a mess of feelingsā¦trying to make sense of what happened and afraid to trustā¦I had been badly hurt by community and here in this place God used community who understood , heard even my unspoken words, loved me, affirmed and prayed for me, and extended healing and hope for future trust; the retreat was a time to tell our story, to be affirmed, to be renewed, and help with changes that need to be made going forward regarding self-care and setting healthy boundaries; it has given us some ideas as to how we can be more intentional with self-care; lots of awesome information⦠sharing our story was hard but important and the prayer support was amazing!...definitely helped us with how to approach the next part of our journey.

Powerful, great insight, sensitive, painful, releasing, enlightening and hopeful are all the words we would use to describe our experience. Your warm, understanding and accepting attitudes helped us let down our guard and engage in the process. Your God-focus insight throughout helped you correctly read where we were at and what we needed. We feel like now that we are aware of what is inside us, we can choose to acknowledge it and continue to work it out. Thank you for helping us to get to this place of awareness, empowerment and hope.

Very personable...felt safe to open up and express ourselvesā¦wonderful to rest, nap, walk, wind down and be refreshed in the afternoons...thoroughly enjoyed accommodation...perfect, private, comfortableā¦; amazing, delicious food; teaching sessions were wonderfulā¦we delved into areas that we didnāt know how to unlock; perfect balance...great content...skilled leadersā¦blown away with Brentās presentation...words cannot express...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great combination of people...so obviously friends...wise...compassionate...not afraid to get involved (get hands dirty)...1-5 scale 6 ...gave permission and opened us up to feel: loss, tragedy, sadness, joy, peace in chaos...perfect balance of sessions; Accommodations were perfect, private, comfortable...Excellent balance of sessions/time off...Dr. Johnās topic was brilliantly presented...a sensitive and deeply informed communicator...appreciated interaction...absolute GOLD!; Ronās session was a great reminder; Pennyās session on Burnout brought clarity to my condition and provided hope that I could make it through; Brentās session was a powerful use of words of imagery...Bob, Penny and Susan are a great team!...Sensitive ,supportive and appropriate...wonderful times of worship and tasteful video clips...this retreat came at a crucial and strategic time for us...while distracted and hurting from our recent crises, we have received a very special care package of love, sensitive and wise counsel, spiritual and emotional support and encouragement, and especially renewed hope in returning to normal, productive life...it has been a powerful, intimate, safe, and refreshing 6 days...thanks so much...youāre working on an excellent formula, keep it up...Oasis is an amazing, much needed ministry...Blessings on the team for responding to the call to provide it...I experienced safe community, felt loved and ministered to...the schedule was organized very well in that it felt safe by the time we were to tell our stories...accommodations were wonderful, so comfortable and tastefully decorated, felt pampered...quality, variety and verbal description of the food was amazing...really appreciated the openness, relationship and vulnerability of Bob, Penny, and Susan...Very skilled, great big hearts, very real, youāre an amazing team; felt poured into, validated, embraced and given good information and strategies to move forward...really appreciated couples counselling.

Accommodation and Meals: Way more than expected!; outstanding; felt pampered; beautiful and comfortable; the location is so much a part of the healingā¦couldnāt pick a better place!ā¦it was meaningful to have our own space to go away to as neededā¦own bathroom tooā¦awesome.
Teaching sessions: great info and presentation style, very informative, excellent content, engaging and energetic, charts/diagrams helpful to visualize the process, created a great environment for conversation, cleared up so much for me, a real eye opener, very easy to follow and relate content to my life, very relevant, the visualization was excellent.
Facilitators: very friendly and welcomingā¦made the environment always a safe one; Wow, they are not only great, but they have inspired me to be a kinder more dedicated guest service person in my own settingā¦they are incredible!; easy to talk toā¦good to hear they are human too, and enjoyed hearing how they worked through thingsā¦appreciated their genuine care and kindness; Penny and Bob are great working with participantsā¦you have wonderful gifts for thisā¦Susan is a breath of fresh airā¦I love how you were all available to usā¦thank you for loving me in my dark placesā¦your reflections after everyone shared their stories were powerful; great hostsā¦the two of you are a great teamā¦kind and prophetic!...look forward to staying in touch! Thank you!; genuinely accepted and lovedā¦it has to be a strain on each of you to be engaged for so many days in a row and it isnāt unnoticedā¦thank you.
Effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your spouse (if married): Has helped us to see the areas that we are suffering or struggling inā¦has given us hope and encouragement for whatās to come; it has brought us as a couple close again and it has given me a better outlook on life; I donāt think I can ever go backā¦I finally had my wife with me, thatās a first!!!; it has been good to hear things together and be able to talk things through as a couple; Iām excited by your ministry and believe it has the potential to do deeper and greater ministry in the healing and forming of leadersā¦I have experienced wonderful affirmation personally and for my ministry; allowed break-through for us to stand together and remove the barriers between us and face out battles together; powerfully helpfulā¦great insights and some new directionā¦the personal counseling may have been the highlight for us; for one of the first times we have finally felt heard and understoodā¦we are thankful for a strong marriage right now so it was refreshing to come together and be loved and supported together during a time of need; much needed turning point in a rather dark, hopeless time.

Great accommodation and amazing meals; excellent at revealing things about what I was going through; loved how John would pray as led by the Holy Spirit; excellent counselingā¦tools for anger and grieving; excellent information and relatableā¦process of forgiveness was very helpful; really liked the meditative exerciseā¦great balance between cause, effect, and recovery; thanks for speaking honestly from your heartā¦it is incredibly helpful to hear what burnout is, your honesty about how it has affected you, and your honest journey of working through it; very practicalā¦thank you!; very creative and powerful; very insightfulā¦found some rest and peace within my spiritā¦the journey allowed room to breathe in chaos; insightful and propheticā¦some of verses spoken to me will stick and helpā¦most powerful: God is giving me treasures that can only be mined in darknessā; thanks for being real, for calling the tough calls and for holding me in honour yet with grace; very sincere; I am so thankful I cameā¦God has met me here and worked powerfully in me; thank you to all for the welcoming and caring spaceā¦appreciated Bobās wisdom and strengthā¦Pennyās understanding and experience with loveā¦and Susanās, compassion and tenderness; we experienced peace and restā¦I may not see the ālightā at the end of the tunnel, but now there is a ālightā in the tunnel; I came in feeling like I was not coping well to this retreat but am leaving with something newā¦hope; Iām still processing information for myselfā¦feeling more at peace than I have in monthsā¦renewed hopeā¦observed some transformations already in my spouse; had a wonderful experienceā¦donāt wonāt to go.

Feedback from participants:
Beautiful facility, genuine and caring hosts, amazing meals; appreciated the interaction, transparency, real examples of the presenters, loved the heart and spiritual content of the presentersā¦how they would just stop and prayā¦appreciated the opportunities to ask questions and dialogue, very practical and very helpful.
āPlease donāt stop doing what you are doingā¦there are hundreds of us who need thisā¦I have been to a lot of conferences which were informational and inspirational, but this retreat was informational, inspirational, and transformational.ā
Facilitators: Bob/Penny/Susan Comments:
You guys opened your heart and life to usā¦thank you so much for that gift!...I really appreciated your generosity, genuineness, thoughtfulness, and the way you guys āeasedā us into a deeper level of openness and transparency, which I feel to me happened faster than I thought it would, and yet not forced or over uncomfortable; a very accepting, affirming, environment was createdā¦very, very good to hear your story at the front endā¦this opened the door for everyone elseā¦awesome support and wisdomā¦thank you!; Bob and Penny really set the foundation when they shared their story, Thank you!...You made us feel so comfortableā¦the atmosphere you all created made us feel that we were heard and we were among friendsā¦Susanās love for the Lord and her understanding, nonjudgmental way was so welcomingā¦.I felt as if weād know you all for a long time!; Great listenersā¦Great servants of God with Big Hearts filled with love and compassionā¦they truly understand the life of pastorsā¦they truly model the heart of Jesus; lovelyā¦thank you so much for your ministry and being faithful servants.
Describe the effect that this RETREAT has had on you and your mate (if married):
I came burdened with a mess of feelingsā¦trying to make sense of what happened and afraid to trustā¦I had been badly hurt by community and here in this place God used community who understood , heard even my unspoken words, loved me, affirmed and prayed for me, and extended healing and hope for future trust; the retreat was a time to tell our story, to be affirmed, to be renewed, and help with changes that need to be made going forward regarding self-care and setting healthy boundaries; it has given us some ideas as to how we can be more intentional with self-care; lots of awesome information⦠sharing our story was hard but important and the prayer support was amazing!...definitely helped us with how to approach the next part of our journey.

Powerful, great insight, sensitive, painful, releasing, enlightening and hopeful are all the words we would use to describe our experience. Your warm, understanding and accepting attitudes helped us let down our guard and engage in the process. Your God-focus insight throughout helped you correctly read where we were at and what we needed. We feel like now that we are aware of what is inside us, we can choose to acknowledge it and continue to work it out. Thank you for helping us to get to this place of awareness, empowerment and hope.
