Guest Testimonials

from Jesse...

I have been blessed to be the pastor of a strong, thriving, and growing church in the Willamette Valley, just south of Portland, Oregon. Even though my ministry has been successful, I have quietly struggled with deep issues for years.  While preaching grace, I have often felt ashamed and hypocritical. There has been a growing pessimism within.  Hope of experiencing God’s peace and hearing His voice again was draining away.  My strength for sustaining spiritual disciplines was depleted.  My confidence in my own leadership and decision making was fading fast.  I gave considerable thought to leaving the ministry.

But God did not leave me there.  He sent me to Nicaragua where I unexpectedly met with two men.  God used the first man to help me to see that I needed help, and the second man, out of the blue, told me about Whispering Cove.   He had just returned from there and was deeply encouraged with what God had done in his and his wife’s hearts.

I am a seminary graduate, I have had counseling at various times in my life, I have read a number of books on psychology and Scripture but I have never come close to understanding what I now understand about life.

Now several months later, we are about to leave Whispering Cove Retreat.  I join my friend in saying that Emily and I, too, have been changed.  The retreat was very difficult at times but essential for me working through my painful issues. I have come to understand now that part of my struggle was concealed in avoiding a healthy grieving process as I lost my wife and two kids in a car accident 10 years ago. Bill and Jenny were very patient and loving as they helped me through this process.

I believe in the vision of Whispering Cove because I experienced it for myself. Emily and I needed the rest, the freedom not think about meals or the logistics of daily life, and to come away to the quiet where we truly met with the Lord for the first time in a long time.  We needed to be with people who felt more like family than just being ministered to because it’s their business. We also needed those who understood that we have been pretty beat up and knew how to care for us. But most of all, God used Bill’s personal growth experiences and the integrated teaching material to reveal God’s transforming truths to our hearts. I am a seminary graduate. I have had counseling at various times in my life. I have read a number of books on psychology and Scripture, but I have never come close to understanding what I now understand about life.

During my time at Whispering Cove Retreat, God spoke to my heart and hope was born anew. I am very clear that the landscape of my heart is all new, colored by the love of God rather than the lies of self protection and coping mechanisms that were engaged throughout my life.  I leave lighter than when I arrived, free from the fear of living the rest of my life under the burden of stress that I have carried so long.