Women of all ages are invited to a five hour retreat entitled “Who are you and why are you here?” on Satuday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

The retreat will be held at Nidaros Lutheran Church, 18844 Nidaros Church Drive in rural Clitherall.  There is no charge and lunch will be provided by the Nidaros women, who are sponsoring the event.

The retreat will be led by Susan Vitalis, M.D., who has faced many events and obstacles that continually changed the path of her vocation, her calling and her passion. With each stumbling block, some life threatening,  along her pathway, she has ultimately found her way to a place of feeling for God’s presence and love.

Dr. Vitalis is a resident of Battle Lake. She is a medical doctor, author and speaker, who has a passion for helping the helpless, bringing hope to the hopeless, and empowering those who feel  powerless.  It is her passion for sharing her experiences of meeting obstacles that changed her life which she will share with us  during the retreat.

Dr. Vitalis split her her time as a doctor between Minnesota and other parts of the world,  including Africa, Asia and Europe, specifically in  Kenya, Somalia, Southern Sudan, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Mongolia and Tibet.

“Still Listening” is the title of one book she has authored. The foreward to the book in part reads  “Susan Vitalis is one of the most extraordinary physicians I know, and I know an extraordinary number of physicians as CEO of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, the largest professional organization of its kind in the world.  I first met Susan when she came to Tenwek Hospital in Kenya for three months in 1990…she was part of the team to relieve suffering of people in Mogadishu, where people were dying due to lack of basic healthcare more than they were starving from a fearsome famine or of being murdered in the street-to-street fighting of their civil war.” 

As David Stevens, M.D., M.A.  writes  in the foreward to Susan’s book, “The key to unlocking your full potential is to seek His will, grasp His calling, and exercise faith by trusting Him. Go out on the proverbial limb, and then hand God the saw to cut it off so you are only dependent on Him. That is what Susan did, and God used her to change the world in ways she never imagined…Susan went down the road less traveled and is eager to show you the way. Relish the journey. You will be delighted you took the trip (reading the book).”