"Rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner who repents" Luke 15:7

Zip Line at El Refugio

     This last weekend El Refugio hosted an Ecuadorian church for a weekend retreat.    After the weekend was over, I asked one of the facilitators how the weekend had gone.  The following is what he related to me...

     The group arrived early Saturday morning, even before they arrived we knew this group had some particular issues they wanted to address.  Really, they were no different from many of the youth in North America, had the same struggles with sex and alcohol.  The leaders wanted to be very proactive in dealing with these issues because they were affecting the group and their behavior.   

     After dinner, Byron who is on staff with El Refugio took the group to the outdoor chapel and preached to them from 1 John 4:13-15.  These verses say, "We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  and we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If, anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God"  Basically he challenged them by asking a couple of questions, "Would they acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God?" and "Did they want God to live in them so they would be in God?".  He then gave them some time to pray and think about what their response would be.

     After some time had passed, Byron and the facilitators proceeded to take the group up to the zip line.  Remember this is at night, no full moon, completely pitch black.  As each person landed on the other side of the valley, they were asked if they wanted to commit or recommit their life to Christ as their personal Savior.  

     22 people from the group said Yes!  Oh and did I mention it was raining?  What was great about this is, many of the young people were crying and their noses were running, but with the rain you couldn't tell.  So they had complete freedom to repent and confess and not worry what the others from the group would think.  

     Santi, the facilitator I talked too said the difference between the group on Saturday compared to Sunday was like night and day.  We know, as believers that is because of what verse 13 says, "because he has given us of his Spirit."  This was a group that had responded to the call of God in their lives and therefore been extravagantly redeemed.