Pastors Jimmy and Perla have been ministering on Tuesday nights with a group of people who are eager to know more about God and the Bible. Most of those who attend have never been church-goers and many had not been believers before coming to the Bible Study.
After two years of opening up the group, they (the group) decided they would like to have a weekend Family Camp all together. Thirty-two adults came along with their kids and it was an amazing time! Pastor Jimmy shared on Saturday morning to get things going, Pastor Ernesto from "Perdón y Amistad" Church in San Juan de Abajo, Nayarit, gave a very clear message on Identity Saturday night, and I shared Sunday morning about being Unified with Christ through Communion and Baptism. It was a great time as seven people took the step of Faith and were baptized in Water. One of which who grew up knowing about God through traditions, made a decision to make Jesus Christ as her Savior at the age of 86!
This year's theme was "El Desafío", which also means "The Challenge" just like "EL RETO".
David and Goliath was the main story-line as we find out in life that it's not always easy; there are Goliath's in our path that we need to overcome. We can only overcome with the help of the Lord.
Pastor Chuy did a superb job as leader of this outreach for the very first time. It is so exciting to me to see young people who grew up in church, be the leaders of the church today!
At least 120 students participated this year from almost a dozen different towns and cities in our region. A lot of the students' lives were impacted and many made decisions to follow Jesus.
The description in the YouTube video is in Spanish. Here is the English version:
The youth from Centro Cristiano Cofradía United in Cofradía de Cuyutlán, Nayarit, started their "Challenge" on September 7 and finished on October 5.
Four teams made up of various different towns and cities in our region: Cofradía de Cuyutlán, San Marcos, Santa Fe, Las Pilas, Arrayanes, Rosamorada, El Tigre, Zomatlán, Tamarindo, San Vicente, and Tepic, met together every Saturday to compete in physical and mental activities before coming together in "The Refuge" for Worship and teaching from the Word. The final dynamic of the day was to vote for another team to have to do chores...but...wait!...that team would receive a clue to a hidden treasure; which would give them an opportunity to challenge the winning team in one FINAL CHALLENGE.
The winning team (by points) was the Green team. But, the Black team found the treasure that gave them the opportunity to challenge them. In the end, after flinging a ball at Goliath with a sling, the triumphant team was the GREEN team! Congratulations!
But...WAIT!!!...the point to EL RETO isn't the pride of winning in the end, but instead the winners are each person who HAS LEARNED SOMETHING about God's Love, the Word of God, Leadership, or Life in General. Those who learned something, no matter if their team didn't win the RETO FINAL, they are the true WINNERS.
The purpose of this event is to Reach Out to young people, Restore their relationship with God, and Learn something about HIM.
Thank you to all who contributed to this event, especially Magnolia Bible Church in Texas who made it possible for each student to participate and hear God's Word for free!
This is an annual event that we have done each year since 2005. Our budget is $2,500 US dollars that pays for all the leadership training, promotional materials, props, game supplies, transportation, snacks, and prizes for all 5 weeks. Please consider contributing to EL RETO 2025 starting now. Click on the link below to see how and designate your donation for "Cofradia RETO".
The Cofradia Kitchen is back up and running after taking a break during the summer. Each day, the kids receive food for their bodies and food for their soul before they head off to school. Thank you for investing in this ministry.
Shalom Chalet is cute little cottage owned by some Pastor friends of ours in Sequim, Washington, and rent it as an Air B&B. As a gift, they generously offered us a couple of nights there while we were in Washington this summer. It is advertised with "Relax Revitalize Renew" and that is exactly what you get! It was a very peaceful and relaxing stay for Geña and I. We spent a lot of time reading together, we went to Dungeness Park for the day and hiked down to the beach, and enjoyed the view of the bay from the dinning room window as we watched the sea lions bobbing in the water. It is definitely a fine place to consider for those who like to travel and stay at Air B&B's...or to try one out if you haven't before.
What a blessing! What a view! What a relaxing time!
Lion and Lamb Church from Culiacán, Sinaloa, went on a missions trip to the Sierras of Nayarit to minister to the Kuare Indians. They handed out gifts to the children and played with them, gave medical consultations with their Doctor and handed out medicine, as well as sharing the Love of Jesus with them. The first Kuare person who received Christ in past trips, made a decision to get baptized this year.
Enjoy the video:
Thank you for your continued prayers and support of this ministry. Become a partner and join us.
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