This week I was blessed to have the opportunity to serve in a different capacity than normal. Jess and Chelsie (leaders of Students International's women's sports site), Raul Canela (leader of our men's sport's site), Heidy (leader of our Los Higos social work site) and Jerry Cabot (youth pastor at my church) combined forces to put together a 3 day purity retreat for 60 Dominican Youth. And so from Monday-Wednesday of this week, our base was filled with the laughter, joy and tears of youth from our communities.
Don't get me wrong, I love when we have American teens scampering around our grounds....but there was something so special about having the base filled with Dominicans.
The retreat focused on teaching the importance and value of marriage and glorifying the Lord with our minds, hearts and bodies. The leaders got down and dirty as they tackled difficult questions and many of the youth had to confront broken images of family as marriage is not widely valued with many Dominicans.
Games were played, seminars were taught, testimonies were shared and lastly the weekend terminated with a marriage ceremony in which we went through a mock wedding and the youth had the opportunity to "casate conmigo" or make intimate declarations of purity in front of their leaders, community and the Lord.
It was so much fun to be running behind the scenes and filling in the gaps and encouraging each participant as they took charge of such an important area of their lives that is so often overlooked in all societies.
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| Each girl was given a rose |
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| The chapel at the base was all ready for a wedding! |
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The students signed a declaration with
various commitments |
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| to be married with Christ :) |
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| Raul prepping the guys for the importance of this decision |
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| The girls all dressed up walking down the aisle |
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| Each guy gave a girl a rose and escorted her to her seat |
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Waiting to walk down the aisle. Yup that's Caroly my assistant
in the white! She was a leader on the retreat. |
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| Wedding Cupcakes! |
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| 60! |
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Heidy, Jess and Chelsie praying with each girl that
committed herself |
The purity retreat was a great way to start Holy Week. It was an amazing time to reflect the importance of giving up all of ourselves to the one who gave it all for us.
I hope and pray you have a wonderful Easter weekend and are reminded of the huge sacrifice made for all.
Update: Milagros had her surgery (parotid gland tumor removal) in Santo Domingo yesterday. I haven't heard how it went, but please continue to join me in praying for a safe and healthy recovery.
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