God’s presence was truly felt at the "Refresh" Young Adult Ministries Retreat at Camp Alamisco during the weekend of April 12-14. For 100 first timers and returning attendees, the camp offered a sense of spiritual renewal and the promise of strength beyond the weekend.
“God is moving in the Gulf States Conference!” exclaimed Pr Marcelo Mansur, Young Adult Ministries director.
First-time attendee Na'veh Matthews found the weekend to be a true blessing, especially considering how she arrived at the camp. “When I got here, I was in really bad spirits and the Holy Spirit was trying to speak to me to heal me, but I had such a bad attitude I just didn’t want to hear. But the ministry -- hearing the singing, the fellowship, the people and the atmosphere -- revealed to me the love of God and the fact that He wants me to be healed. This really opened me up and lifted my spirits.”
Engage Worship from Southern Adventist University led the attendees in worship. Erika Peralta, vocalist with Engage said, “People think that we’re here to bring worship to them, but the truth is that we're all getting together as one to participate as one whole to worship Christ. It feels really nice to see everyone coming together to fulfill that mission and that desire.”
The messages for the retreat were presented by Tim Kosaka, founder and president of Adventist Young Professionals. In reflecting on the weekend, Tim shared, “I really appreciated the opportunity to share my testimony and my perspective of spiritual gifts, leadership and discipleship with the young adults here this weekend. I really enjoyed getting to connect with so many of them to hear about their life stories and to just make some friendships out of the weekend. It's been such a great group of people from all over the Conference, and it's just so exciting to see how passionate they are about Christ and about renewing and refreshing their life in Him.”
Collectively, the worship, fellowship and nature spoke deeply to those in attendance and provided them with the opportunity to go deeper in their relationship with God.
Jaziel Soto, from Engage Worship at Southern Adventist University felt the power of the Holy Spirit throughout the weekend saying, “This is my first time in Camp Alamisco, and I really felt so blessed – the songs, the people, everything! God was here. We worshiped Him and just met incredible people. Being part of something bigger -- that is worshiping God -- I feel like nothing else can give me the same feeling.”
Adding to the ability to connect spiritually was the group of people in attendance.
For returning YAM camper, Joenid Acevedo, every year she returns it feels like the camp is getting better and better. She explained saying, “There were a lot of people here from different backgrounds, different schools, different professions and it's been really fun. I really needed a weekend away to kind of relax and rest and spend time in worship. I would recommend it for any other young Adventists out there.”
Pr Marcelo shared the hope he has for young adults in the Gulf States Conference, saying, “Young adults are not leaving their calling, but they're coming to places where there's something amazing being offered. So we'd love to see this ministry being spread all over the Gulf States Conference where young adults should know that there is a place for them. They should know that there is a purpose for them, and they should know that God is moving in their lives!”
View events photos here.