EL RETO 2023 WEEK THREE

Week three started with a memory game as we showed a series a specific colors and the teams had to work together to remember them in order. In the end, the blue team won as they out-remembered the green team. This was to give time for the rest of the staff to get to their stations as we continued "The Race"...

Instead of starting the teams off staggered according to their arrival time last week, we decided to add their time at the end in order to get out the door quickly. Their first job was to unlock a padlock in order to get their clue inside for their next activity. Two teams were unable to remember how to open them and had to buy the instructions.

Their instructions led to throughout Cofradia to four different stations. Two teams one way and the other two teams another way. Once completing the four stations, they would return to the church for a team photo (to make sure everyone was there).

At the San Marcos Centro Station, they had two activities: 

Place 6 boards together with matching colors.

Piece together the words of EL RETO 2023's theme verse

At the Cofradia Centro Station, the had to perform the traditional "Coke Race", a race we started to do in 2007. Two team members are carrying another team member who is fed coke from a coke bottle by another team member and carries the coke in their mouth to another team member with another coke bottle to fill it up. The team that is able to transport the most coke, wins...

At the Mission Base Station, the teams had another two activities:

Eat an apple hanging on a string without your using your hands

Situate numbers 1 through 9 on a 3x3 grid where all directions equal 15 up, down, and diagonal

At the High School Station, the teams had another two activities to accomplish:

Put in order the books of the New Testament

The whole team had to work together to guide a ball into a bucket using 1/2 pieces of PVC pipe.

Once they got to the church, the race was over. They arrived in this order:

"The Raptured"

"The Elect"

"The Believers"

"The Set-Apart"

At the church, we had our annual "RETO AUCTION"...

All the teams received a note with the amount of points they had accumulated until then. With those points, they were able to buy certain items in the auction. This year, items went real cheap. They never know what they were buying. The items were: Pizza, Retrieving points lost through "fines", Soda, Cake, Candy and Chips, Chores (no one likes to have this one), and finally, a clear clue to the Hidden Treasure. Between the blue and green team everything went to them, except the White team bought the clue to the Hidden Treasure, which they had already found, but not many knew about it. Again, this is what they got, no one knew what they were buying with their points. Some teams like the red one, don't like to spend anything if they think they have enough points to win at the end. The red team has been ahead during the whole event.

Off to "The Refuge", then voting time, and dismissal...

Luis Vazquez, Jr.

This is our former youth pastor's son, Luis Vazquez, Jr. He filled his dad's shoes well and preached a phenomenal message to the youth. EL RETO has always been an opportunity for people to grow and learn. (His dad is our pastor that passed away a couple years ago from COVID). Luis did an excellent job and I'm proud of him!

Thank you to all who have donated towards this event. If you would like to give to help reach youth and make opportunities for students to learn about God, please click here and make a donation to EL RETO. Thank you.

SEE THE REPORTS ON:

EL RETO WEEK ONE

EL RETO WEEK TWO

Cofradia Kitchen Kids 2023-11

The Cofradia Kitchen is back up and running!

After a couple months of dealing with some health issues, Mati is back organizing and serving breakfast to the children each morning before they go to school...

Follow the instructions here in order to contribute to the feeding of the children at the "Cofradía Kitchen".

EL RETO 2023 WEEK TWO

Week two started right away with some bible trivia giving the staff opportunity to get to their locations for the activities. Once the teams answered three questions, they received instructions on how to open a box with a combination padlock attached. Inside the box were instructions to the beginning of EL RETO RACE.

Each team had to make their way to Cofradia's man-made lake following the signs along the way. Mixed in the signs were different signs of the end times written on signs...confused yet?

On their way to the lake, the first stop was for two of their participants to swim out on boogie boards and retrieve two balloons with clues to their next stop.

As they arrived at the first race-pausing destination. The teams all gathered for a couple of relay races...

Upon finishing the two games, each team had to RETURN to the church where they would write out the signs of the end times they saw along the way.

After all the activities, each week we have "El Refugio" (The Refuge) where all the teams get to hang out in our youth room and we have Worship and a Word.

Then, it's off to the voting room to vote for another team to have to do chores...

After reading the votes, everyone is dismissed.

This week involved many different ways of teaching each of us the Love of God. Through our journey of life...not everything is easy, sometimes it feels like you're crawling through mud, we were exposed the "signs of the end times" along the journey, and we learned how to work as a team as each of us have an individual part to play within the body of Christ. 

Blessed time! If you would like to partner with us, please follow the instructions here and indicate that it is for EL RETO. Thank you!

See the report on EL RETO WEEK ONE

EL RETO 2023 WEEK ONE

After three years of not having been able to have our annual Student Ministries Outreach, EL RETO (The Challenge), The Return of EL RETO is here!

The Return is the theme this year. As we Return EL RETO, we also focus on The Return of Christ. So, our teaching this year will be focused around Christ's second coming.

Nearly 60 students came out as we started with four teams:

The Raptured

Captain: Angel

The Believers

Captain Luis

The Chosen 

Captain Emma

The Set Apart

Captain Aidé

After each captain presented what their team's name was and the design they made on their flag, they immediately left the church and ran to the Mission Base where some staff had hidden 50 really small jars with a numbered piece of paper inside that indicated how many points they received. 

Leaving the church...

Searching at the base...

There was a variety of different numbers and the results were:

The Raptured    3,250

The Believers    1,700

The Chosen       1,600

The Set Apart       300

From there, they had to RETURN to the church where the rest of the staff were waiting to serve them a meal. Not a normal meal, but the traditional RETO BANQUET! This was the first time we had the Banquet the first week, no one was expecting it.

On the menu was:

"The Beginning" (Gerber baby food)

"The Following Dish" (Cauliflower bathed in Mayonnaise)

"The Flag" (Jalapeño Pepper filled with cream cheese and hot Takis chips covered in hot sauce--The Mexican flag's colors are Green, White, Red)

"Together" (Two cucumbers with two team members)

"Tangled Up" (Pesto cooked in olive oil and basil)

"Dessert" (A real Cupcake with sour cream frosting)

"The Dawning of the Day" (Black Coffee disguised in a small bottle of coke)

Upon finishing the Banquet, we all went up to THE REFUGE. The Refuge is upstairs in the youth room where we all come together as one team. This past year, your donations have allowed us to purchase a Foosball table, Ping Pong table, and a Basketball game.

Ping Pong!

Foosball

Basketball!

Getting ready for Worship!

Caleb and band leading

Pastor Chuy speaking

Caleb led worship, Pastor Chuy preached, and then each team made their way one by one to the voting room where they voted for another team to do chores (setting up chairs for Sunday's service and cleaning up the Youth room after the service).

EL RETO is filled with unreached youth in our town and region. Over ten cities and towns are represented in this event. At minimum, 90% of these kids won't go to church. This is our privileged opportunity to share the gospel with them. During the voting time, I took the opportunity to share with each team, on a more intimate level, a simple message of the gospel. Most of the kids shared a desire to make Jesus their Lord! Praise Jesus!

These are seeds we're planting. Please pray the seeds will fall on good soil. Please pray that seeds will grow. Please pray we will have wisdom on how to love and follow-up on these students.

We do not charge any of the students to come to this event. It is an event that costs us $2,000 US Dollars which goes towards all materials and props, gas and transportation, shirts for staff and captains, drinks and snacks for the students. Please pray about being a partner with EL RETO and help us get the gospel out to these unchurched students! Thank you so much!!

Make a contribution indicating that it is for EL RETO here.

Joven a Joven

"Youth to Youth" is the name of the camp our students went to this month where over 800 bodies gathered from all over Mexico. Fortunately for us, the camp is only a few hours away near Puerto Vallarta in a small beach town called Chapala.

For three days/two nights, our students played games and listened to different speakers throughout the event. One of the girls from our church in Rosamorada made a decision to be baptized. Praise the Lord.

On our way to Riviera, Nayarit, on Friday, we stopped by the camp to say hello to the students and see how they were doing. They were all having a great time and look forward to next year's "Joven a Joven".

Pastor Amado and his family with the girl who was Baptized (middle)

Everyone stayed in tents...hot tents.

A group of students hiked up the mountain both mornings

The ladies standing in the "shade" (look closely)

Sunset in Chacala

COMING SOON! EL RETO 2023!

EL RETO (The Challenge) is our annual Student Ministry Outreach. It has been a couple years since we've done this due to COVID and the passing of Pastor Luis who took over this ministry for me in 2011. It will take place every Saturday of November. 

As EL RETO returns, the theme for this year will be appropriately named, "The Return", with an emphasis on Christ's return for His people. Our annual budget for this outreach is $2,000 which will pay for a snack for the students each week, staff and captain t-shirts, travel expenses, and all the materials needed. The students can attend for free because of your contributions. This is a wide open door for students to hear about God's love for them and give them purpose in life.

This is part of your Investment in the Kingdom. If you would like to contribute to reaching out to students this way, please indicate "RETO" and follow the instructions here.