Saturday, July 13, 2013
Hola from Cochabamba!
Today was our retreat day! It was another bright sunny day with a clear
blue sky. We were up early and we all
piled into the van to drive to the seminary on the outskirts of Cochabamba. The
seminary was a beautiful facility for our retreat. Shortly after we arrived at the seminary, in
pulled a brightly painted bus overloaded with members of the Florida Norte
Church. The bus was filled to the brim with
about 60 people of all ages. By now many
faces were filled with familiar smiles. We
shared handshakes, hugs, and kisses of welcome with everyone as they came off
of the bus. When they were all out, I
was not quite sure how they had all fit in!
But they had and we were all happy to begin our retreat. As we all stood in a circle and sang praises
to God together, tears filled my eyes.
As I looked around at the weathered faces of the older women to the
round young faces of the children, I felt so humbled to be praising God with
these precious people. Their warmth and
love continually amazes me.
Pastor opened the retreat with a talk on
church unity and using our spiritual gifts to build the church of Christ
wherever we live. Mateo then lead the
congregation through a spiritual gifts questionnaire that culminated in each
person signing their name under one of the seven key ministries at Florida
Norte Church. It was a joy to see those
attending chatting together as they shared their results of the spiritual gifts
survey. To shake things up a bit, Marcos then took everyone outside for some
fun and energetic team building games.
Much laughter and learning was enjoyed by all. The games were followed by a delicious lunch
of pork, chicken, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes. The flavorful food and
cheerful conversation were a pleasure to enjoy! In the afternoon we celebrated the accomplishments
of the different ministries at the Florida Norte church during the past
year. The day ended with more fun games
that reinforced the importance of listening to others while working
together. The day was truly blessed by
the Lord and I believe everyone was uplifted and reminded of the great love of
our Heavenly Father.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I am so
looking forward to worshiping together with my new brothers and sisters in Christ!
Please keep those prayers for good
health and successful sharing of the gospel coming!
Blessings!
Connie
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