Hear From Men Who Have Been to the Retreats...
"The power of public affirmation in a man's life is transformative. This is the kingdom of God." Greg Peterson, Fall 2021
"I just wanted to update you men on what's been going on with me since the last retreat. I mentioned to you all that I had a pretty significant breakthrough, and that I was going be starting a weight loss program. What I did not tell you is that I have been physically sick for the better part of 4-5 years. I thought this was from the surgeries that I had, but it goes a lot deeper than that. You see some things came out about my past about that time frame - about 5 years ago. When this came out, my daughter turned her back on me and has not talked to me ever since. I did tell you all about that, and I want to thank you for your prayers. For me, for her and for our relationship. During this 4-5 year period, I held on to hope that my daughter would change her heart towards me. I entered into a deep depression, my health got worse, I became less active, and gained about 100 lbs. Not only was I depressed, but even after accepting God’s forgiveness, I have never really forgiven myself. This became a cancer in my soul. Then while holding on to that, I have not allowed myself to move on. To be happy, to be free, and to fully live the life I know I am meant to live. In the back of my mind, if my daughter saw me moving on - she would hate me, and any chance at reconciling would be meaningless to her unless I suffered. So I have left myself in a state of suffering. This spiritually clogged me and what I have been experiencing physically was a result of that. How do I know this? Just wait, that is coming. During this time while I was holding on to all this, my health really deteriorated. I already have back problems from my youth, but gaining 100 lbs put way to much added pressure on my back. It got so bad that I could not walk more than 500 steps without my back seizing up. I was constantly sick. I have not felt right or good in a long time. I have felt like I had poison running through my veins. It’s been a rare day in the last 5 years when I woke up and actually said “I feel good today”. I have had gut issues, bowel issues, strange rashes, no energy, and with all this going on I was slowly losing hope. 2weeks before the retreat a good friend came into town who is a prophetic deliverance minister. By the power of the Holy Spirit she read my mail and brought me to the table on exactly what I was doing. Lead me to an encounter with God that I was not expecting and got me to a point where I had more breakthrough than I have had in a long time. But I was not ready to place my daughter in God’s hands and forgive myself. I told her that I needed 2 weeks to mourn and in my own way let go. Cut to the retreat 2 weeks later. I still had not let that stuff go, and I knew I was coming up on the deadline I had made for myself and now it was time for me to go to the retreat. Imagine my complete surprise when the theme over the weekend became about letting go. Even the exercise with the ball - for me it was about letting go. This was no coincidence, this was God’s providence and his love for me - what a set up! You 4 young men who prayed and came up with the theme and what we were going to do over the weekend - thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit. I cherish all 4 of you! I felt like the retreat was just for me. I know it wasn’t, but you know what I mean. Praise be to God I let go of these mindsets, asked Papa for forgiveness. and finally chose to forgive myself. Since the retreat I have lost a total of 41 lbs already guys. I am feeling amazing! Everyday I woke up last week I told everyone how good I felt. I have more energy and clarity of mind. Pressure is being lifted off my back and I walked more than 3000 steps on Saturday and my back did not seize up. My spiritual life has started to spring back to life - not that it died - but I found myself going through the motions more times than not because I just could not feel anything. I have so much hope right now and so much to praise God for that I am completely blown away. I now can see that everything I was going through physically was a result of holding onto this junk for so long. So I wanted to say thank you! Thank you for continuing this retreat format, thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit, thank you praying for me and encouraging me, and thank you for being the men of God that you are. I am proud to call you all brothers and I am so looking forward to seeing you all at the next retreat - Lord willing! Bless you guys! I hope you all have the most bless of Holidays this season!" ~ Bob F. 12-9-19 "I think we men sometimes fall victim to the belief that men can't get close. My experiences at the Men of Honor retreats over the years has totally proven that notion to be false. When men stand tall together and are accountable to one another, they honor God, their wives, their families, and their communities." - Steve Martin "Thank you does not begin to cover the depth of my appreciation for inviting me to MOH. I have never experienced the moving of God's great love and healing acceptance as I did this last three days. Moving forward, in His love, I feel freed up to be able to be used by His Holy Spirit as He designed me to be used and not feeling inadequate as the enemies lies had convinced me to be burdened. Your love for me as your friend and brother in Christ has made a difference to me and my family. God bless you brother. " - Denny "My name is James and I have been attending "Men of Honor" for almost 31 retreats. It started back around 1997 with me when God lead me to Tom Trambitas who, at the time, was coordinating "For Men Only" groups at East Hill Church. He, then being lead by the Holy Spirit, formed these retreats at various locations along the Oregon Coast. At that time I was in a bad place after my divorce. It took a few retreats to start to see the value and hope it had for me. I have since realized that getting together with other brothers in the Lord and sharing our lives together was part of my healing. Also, I was always amazed how the Holy Spirit lead the leadership to a new and unique Friday night lesson. They are designed to stretch us to think beyond our limited view of faith. I learned that God wanted me to step up to the plate and take responsibility for my actions. Since those early years and many retreats later, I see that God is a God of faithfulness and steadfastness with His love toward us. Even through the passage of time I have seen dear brothers come and go and change and evolve with the retreats. God, through the Holy Spirit, is leading His men to grow more intimate with one another and with Him. In closing, I would like to honor Tom and others in the early years of the retreat for being faithful and steadfast in being lead by God to form the retreats. As stated in the Motto: "None of us is as smart as all of us." - James "I have seen God do amazing things at every one of the six or seven MOH retreats I've been to, and I believe you will as well. Having been to retreats large and small, from camp-outs to arena events, I had grown skeptical of ever hearing from God in a way that lasts beyond the weekend. I brought that skepticism to my first MOH weekend, but was hopeful for something more, because I was told it was different from most retreats. Let me tell you: It's different from all other retreats! Usually we go expecting to hear a guy talk. Don't expect that at MOH.; expect to hear from the Spirit of God. He'll be there; the only question is, will you? I have seen Him open men's hearts to His voice. I have seen brothers set free to be themselves and get real with Lord. I have seen honesty, courage and sincere brotherly love. I met guys who know what it means to face their weaknesses and find their strength in Jesus. I experienced these things myself and witnessed it in others. God has been at work in astounding ways at these retreats. I wouldn't trade my time there for anything. I hope to see you there!" - Steve D. "I have been to 2 men of honor retreats now , before I went to the very first one , I was very reluctant , Well I went and am glad that I did. It was a time of fellowship and learning that stretched my faith and i grew spiritually. Then after attending my 2nd retreat i was again moved and touched by the Holy Spirit. As Christians , no matter where we are in our knowledge and faith of Christ , we always have room to grow . Thank you for this oppurtunity and may God richly bless those who work so hard to keep this retreat going." - Anonymous "An opportunity to share, learn and recharge spiritually. The most basic yet life changing conference I have attended. Step out and sign up...your family will thank you for it later." - Scott ‘"Men of Honor’ is the first retreat I attended at age 57. While there, I asked God why it took me so long to get the courage to step up, join men who honor God, and open my heart to His Holy Spirit. I believe He told me I was lost in my pride and self-help approaches to life, but that He never left me. I was lifted by the Holy Spirit on this retreat like never before, by placing my faith in God and the men surrounding me on this journey – one that continues today. You see, I am a broken man who in the past succumbed to unrighteous anger, hate, addictions in drug, alcohol, sex, and greed. While these major battles have been won by His help, I still need to put on the armor of the Holy Spirit each day to confront, not run from, the deceiver in this world who wants me to fall back. The ‘Men of Honor’ retreat is a powerful tool that presented me with a safe haven to build my courage up and grab hold of the ‘Truth’. I continue to carry this courage with me by the help of many men from this retreat with whom I have a deep and abiding love for in Christ." - Jim from Vancouver, WA "Rarely do men gather together and be men. And attending a typical men's retreat is fine if all you want to do is sit and listen. But these retreats offer a chance for men to be men with other men. To learn, grow, laugh and enjoy. I have been attending these retreats for almost 13 years and never grow tired of the experience, the experience of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of growing men of honor." - Anonymous "How do you describe something you can only understand by experiencing it? This is how I would sum up MOH Retreat. I was invited to spend time with men but given very little information about what we would be doing. Since I trusted the person who invited me I decided to accept the invite and treat it like an adventure. And what an incredible adventure it was. It was amazing the simple things God used to strip away callouses on my heart and renew a joy in my soul I had not felt in far too long. Building relationships with other men centered around the truth Christ not only preached, but participated in – experienced – was invigorating. The activities were designed to bring us to a place where we were experiencing in our hearts, souls, and spirit what so often is only experienced in our heads. Very simple, non-alarming, non-embarrassing exercises. The downtime with the guys was just as fulfilling as I got to know men on a deeper level than just a first name and what they did for a living. Eating dinner, playing games, or just sitting around and fellowshipping – it was all part of the great experience. I asked my son if he would like to go and with less information than I had he said yes. That was in April of 2014. When we came home I registered us for October and we both went again! It probably won’t surprise you that we are already signed up and eagerly awaiting the next one. Although the venue will be different we are excited about the opportunity to experience God’s great love through His people as we meet again. I have been to different retreats, both Christian and secular, several times over my life but I have never been to one so engaging that I really felt like a changed person when I came home. The ‘high feelings’ didn’t fade away because what was more life giving than just another great time away from home was connecting in meaningful ways with men, developing new relationships while building new ones which have endured. I highly recommend this retreat for men from 18 to 108! I am very thankful to Dave Walz for inviting me and my son. I hope we see you at the next experience!" - Tyler 44 from Vancouver, WA "An amazing experience. There is no better way to describe the retreat. In one weekend you will experience fun, love, brotherhood, God, and the Holy Spirit first hand. With every retreat being a different theme, you'll always get to experience something new and meet new people. I left the retreat with new friends, renewed, and a changed man. It doesn't get better than this." - Anonymous "God saved my marriage through the Men of Honor Retreats! When I was invited to my first MOH Retreat by a close friend and co-worker, I had no idea the Holy Spirit was about to light a spark in my life that would grow to become a raging fire of a greater love for God, my family, friends, and all the individuals God places in my life each day. I accepted my friend's offer (he actually shoved me up against a wall at work and told me it was God's will and I HAD to attend) thinking I'd have a nice weekend at the Oregon Coast with some men of God that I'd never met before, and then return home and be done with it. Instead, the Spirit of God took me by surprise by forming bonds with my new brothers in Christ more deeply than I coukd have ever anticipated at a weekend retreat. Ever since my first retreat all those years ago, I return every six months to experience afresh what my Papa in Heaven has in store for the other men and me. His providential work of orchestrating each retreat stuns me every time as His power, grace, wisdom, healing, love, forgiveness, greatness, and intimacy is manifested in the midst of all the men. Not only does our awesome God work powerfully among us at each retreat, but the bonds of friendships that are formed over those weekends continue to strengthen me in my walk with God throughout the year. Many of the men I've met at the retreats have become some of my closest friends and "battle buddies." It was through these men of God, that in a time of marital crisis (our lowest point ever), God reached down by His Spirit through these faithful brothers and touched me in profound ways that facilitated healing, hope, reconciliation, and restoration with my wife and two teenage daughters. Not only did God save my marriage, He saved my life and changed my eternal destiny through the Men of Honor Retreats. I praise God for His work through the community of the Body of Christ!" - Dave Walz "I’ve been going to these retreats over the last 7 or 8 years. It has truly been transformational in my life. These retreats are unique in that they have no guest speakers, no program, and no agenda other than men sharpening each other in the presence of the Holy Spirit. What I found when I first attended was that I had to get out of my comfort zone, but in doing so, my faith was stretched and God used the other men to show me his love. I realized after attending the retreat that it is possible to have deep, meaningful conversation with other men, that men can open up to each other and be vulnerable. God has used these retreats to speak into my life through other Men of God. The amazing thing about these retreats is that I get so much from them every time I go, and it renews and strengthens my faith in a living God that is active in my life. I can honestly say that I am not the same man I was 6 months ago spiritually, and 6 months ago I would have said the same thing." - David Martin What others have said that have attended the retreats. The treasure of people. I am not alone as I thought I was. I am never alone. I am taking the Holy Spirit home with me. By the grace of God I’m doing great! God wastes nothing – he uses and redeems it/us all. Some are broken, and some are in the process of being broken. These experiences bring us close to Christ. See and experience the brokenness, AND see and experience His joy! I’ll never be the same. I saw and felt hope here. I am not a rogue Christian, I cannot do it alone. I need this fellowship. Firmly planted in Him with you guys. Learned a lot about the Holy Spirit, not just the Father and Son, but the living person of The Spirit! Hearing the voice of truth calling me to live in the light of His freedom – free from the lies, and the daily beating down of this world. He is/was here with us all weekend! Pain was ripped away and love was poured in. I look around the room and see all of God’s gifts! I ‘m going to take ‘blessing other people’ out into the world – beyond this retreat. I realized we are all the cool kids, each one of us. God doesn’t choose any of us to play kickball last. Jesus is alive! I need to learn how to stop doing life on my power, and how to do all of life on Jesus power and love! I feel empowered to go out into the world and be light and salt, blessing people in Jesus name! You are all authentic. I was seriously frustrated with my circle of fellow believers before – now I feel encouraged! He’s the Potter, I am His clay. He continues to mold us. It is not the end. Glory ahead! I’m impressed upon by the Holy Spirit, how He connects with each and every one of us. Time is short, and I want to continue the work of Christ as I go out from here. The redemptive story is playing out right here in front of us! He is connecting the dots in my life. I am still processing this weekend and I know I will be for weeks and months ahead. I am reminded not to be so hard on myself. I am my own worst critic. This retreat was very refreshing. It’s been a very stressful year for me. I need to learn to rest and serve (love) myself. Give hope. Be a hope giver. Transition from a fan of God to a man of God. Spending time with brothers, friends, family – special, very special for me. Real, authentic, open, honest – no hiding. This was all really great! Look at the facts first, then have faith – and the feelings might follow. Most feeling are rubbish, but the facts and faith are not. I want to be Jesus to people, not just serve Him, but to serve others in a way so they are experiencing Jesus. I still have work to do. I heard a lot of facts about myself this weekend which have confronted my identity. I feel safe letting you guys see the worst of me because in your faces and words the Holy Spirit is reflected back to me. You are all ambassadors of Jesus to me! Willing conduits of the Holy Spirit. A circle of healing. I am generally encouraged by the weekend. My perspective on life has been squared up and righted again. I have been challenged to use tools in my life to reach into other people’s lives for Jesus Great appreciation for you all! Jesus is about love, He is love. This retreat is where I experience the most love during my year. I don’t get love like this outside of these retreats. I’m gonna take the love and carry it with me. I love to love, haven’t always, but I do now! God’s love always over comes, everything. You all inspire me with hope. Your stories help me see and know Jesus, and fall more in love with Him. I feel like a guy in the desert crawling towards water. I come to these retreats for selfish reasons – to fill my heart with live, encouragement, blessings… I come here to rearm myself, to recharge, to prepare to get back out there into the battle. I am reminded again of the role of men in the family and the church – to lead. I am reminded of the power of a blessing and affirmation on a man’s heart, the incredible power. So many thoughts and emotions. Seeking genuine ‘transformational fellowship’ and I have found it here! So thirsty for this – every week, not just every 6 months. I want to take this back to infect my church! We’re on the front lines. What kind of Jesus are we reflecting in the world, a judgmental one? A loving one? I am reminded that a stallion is no good until it’s broken. Absolutely delightful! God paired me with someone so rich, but on my own I would not have sought them out. How tender, gentle, and wise of God. I didn’t know, but now that I think about it, God has been preparing me for this weekend (from a 1st timer!). He is telling me/us to be ready, be sober, be vigilant – to get off of the sidelines and to get back in the fight! I love coming to share Life’s Song with all of you. Redeemed, free, the chains have fallen away! MOH Take Aways – Spring 2018 I can trust more and better when I feel valued. I not only want to learn how to trust more and better, but to learn to be more trust-worthy; worthy of others’ trust, and God’s trust. I need to trust that God keeps His promise to redeem broken things. I want to find the gold in others and call it out. I want to encourage others. I learned the ‘boldness in Christ’ in me is received well. I don’t want to leave anyone behind. I want them all to come to Jesus. I need to put myself out there, not wait for someone to come to me. I need men I can rely on. I need a clear plan/path for recovery from addiction. I need to think differently about my situation. I have to get to the bottom of my unbelief. I want to identify with the label of ‘warrior’. We are all miracles of God! I have learned to trust you guys. Everyone has their own stuff they’re dealing with. Everyone needs encouragement. I want to be more involved in people’s lives. I am different than I was a few years ago. A weekend’s worth of this stuff is a month’s worth of processing for me. Hearing your stories I’ve learned a lot of your struggles are the same as my struggles. I don’t really know people until I know them. I need to stop judging the books by the covers. Pain leads to growth if we let it. Before, I would not have set foot in a place like this; men sharing openly with each other. I am grateful God heard my heart – even when I wasn’t asking. These retreats are very impactful and I like that. I can feel the change in me each time. I am continuing to discover myself. First retreat I’ve been to in a while. When you walk away from the campfire you get cold. You forget how hot and vibrant and how warm the fire is. I’ve learned boldness this time and I want to apply it. The Lord wants me to light the fire- to ignite! Look in places in my life where Papa is, rather than looking where He is not. He accepts me for me. I want to be with men who are strong and authentic and vulnerable. I learned how to screwed up you all are – and I am screwed up too! How do I know Jesus is real? I’ve experienced and seen a changed heart. Grace; may you experience grace after the struggle. I have been exposed all weekend to what a man is – laughing, loving, crying, hugging, being just like Jesus. These retreats are no longer an option for me – I must come – it’s life or death for me. I still have lots to learn about trusting Our Lord – in everything. I want to relax in Jesus. Experiencing the power of God thru a group of brothers. I want to engage the Lord in all of my activities as I grow day by day. I am reminded of how loved I am. I’m reminded I am a warrior in Him. I am reminded I have overcome in Him. I’m grateful to have the relationships I have. I am encouraged to pray. I see one man whose prayers have not been answered in years, and another whose prayers were answered this weekend. I, too, want to get to the bottom of my unbelief. Hearing God, but side-stepping His direction because of shame, fear, etc. Only to end up maneuvering into places of isolation, near death, and destruction. I’m going to put little steps of faith into action as I hear God. We are all family; all children of God. I want to be more intentional about being family, like this. I wanna be where God is. God is at these retreats, moving in might ways. I want to keep surrendering myself to Him and being filled with Him. I learned I am a warrior. I can share my boldness. I don’t have to be afraid. I’m gonna run the race well until God takes us home. I pray for wisdom, as instructed in James. God’s gonna go where He wants to go in your life. I need to stop driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake in my marriage. I need his help to just get on the gas with Him and go! I learned it’s not all about me. It’s all about us. Whom shall I send, send me Lord! I’m surrendered to Him. I have touch stones in my life about how God has moved mightily in my life. You guys are a bunch of rocks – touch stones in my life. I wanna live my life from the inside out, from a full heart. The hope is coming back. You have all played a part in that. I’m going to trust God more, and trust my brothers more. What do I see around me? I see brothers in Christ. I see warriors. I see heroes. I see men who have set aside their pride, accepted help, and have overcome! I feel like I’m part of the fold – I feel welcome. I’ve learned again to trust my Papa breaking me, and to trust His leading me. Help me not go where You won’t go, or stay where You won’t stay, so I may serve as You serve. The storms are real, the fears are real, and – Jesus- is right there in the boat with you! TAKE AWAYS FALL 2019 A greater manifestation of God working thru my life, doing His will in me. Looking forward with hope towards the future. Be slower to speak and quicker to listen with others. To seek out conversation with my wife. Be more open with friends, to have more accountability with them. In-to-me-see; I am struggling with intimacy. The Holy Spirit said, It’s okay to let other see in to me. Hopefully they see a glimpse of Christ. No longer need to hold myself in a place of suffering. Getting physically healthy. Leaving here with a lot of hope. Through you and the Holy Spirit, He has surgically removed a lot of junk in me this weekend. Do a better a job of telling guys how much I love them and cherish them, rather than believe the lie that I am bothering men. These retreats carry me thru the next 6 months. God says, Here’s the thing- when I say leave something behind, LEAVE IT! No excuses. Trust me! Just leave it. No more worry for my son, just excitement now. I think I get more out of this weekend than anyone. I will be more deliberate. I am leaving behind passivity. I will cherish my relationships more and choose to tell people how much I love them. I will leave behind this reluctance to tell men how much I love and care about them. I’ll leave behind the insecurity that says, Don’t go talk to them, because I have nothing to offer. I am able to trust more by hearing the stories of other brothers. I’ll lower my shields more. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit truly work here. I have more confidence in Him! Transparency begets transparency. I want to change and continue to model honesty in relationship. I’m not going to hold back anymore. Some folks will choose to lean in or run away from my honesty, and that’s okay. When there’s an opportunity I will take it! Learning to be open, laying all of my cards on the table, leaving anxiety behind, and being all-in! Be more intentional about reaching out and connecting with men. Be an initiator in relationship. How scary it is to be double-minded. My family is everything in the world to me- but, there is this other thing (porn, drugs, alcohol, stuff, etc) – and I am just one bad decision away from blowing everything up. Ask better questions in order to get to know men (their hearts) better. Always on a stage before the world. I am not going to worry so much about how others will evaluate or think about me or what I have done. Leaving fear behind. Not going to let fear own me. Hoping for more scar tissue being broken down so I can be more intimate in relationship with other men. Move beyond simple invite to urging. Intensifying efforts in His service to others. Pay more attention to the influence I have in the lives of others, and be more responsible with that. I’ll carry the men from this weekend in my heart. I was desperate to hear from God this weekend. And, thank you Jesus I did thru all of you! I am pleading for your prayers. I want to see my wife thru God’s eyes, the way He sees her. Reduce distractions and lower unreasonable expectations- so I can pay more attention to the very important. Better situational awareness so I don’t wander too far off The Path. It’s my failure, not her failure, that I am afraid of my wife. It’s time to suck it up, turn off the TV, have a conversation with my wife and pray with my wife. Men of Honor, the circle time, is like a doxology such as the one in Jude. We build each other up in the faith. Holding on to the truth that men have spoken into my life. Decide to listen to those voices rather than the negative ones. Heart is softening again, had been hard-hearted towards the Lord and didn’t even realize it! I didn’t know how to feel anymore. God is giving me a feeling heart of compassion again. I don’t have to understand to trust Him. Do what God says, not like He asked if I wanted to, but like He told me to do it- and then DO IT! Will work on intentionally accepting help from others, and uncovering more stuff I need to heal from. |