When
the end of another year comes around I often find myself looking back
and thinking "WOW, what a great year" and being surprised with all that
took place. This year I reminded myself that of course it was a great
year ... God went before us, was beside us and hemmed us in from the
back. When we walk with God be rest assured it's going to be GREAT!
On October 22nd
we spent the day at Calvary Chapel Rosarito's One Day Information
Seminar on Why we use Celebrate Recovery materials and what a wonderful
day it was. Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by Alex and Olivia who
were manning the Welcoming Table. Their genuine smiles and heartfelt
laughter was a welcome sight for all. They gave us our brochure for the
day and a meal ticket and pointed us in the direction of the
Information Table.
Karla and Lorena were the ladies with the answers.
If
you had a question regarding Celebrate Recovery; these ladies were
ready to give you an answer in Spanish or English. T-shirts, books and
study guides were available for purchase, postcard invitations were
handed out and information brochures were all available. Lorena also
shared her testimony with us – it's wonderful to see how God works,
moves and shapes us for His glory.
Jesse was our MC for the day.
He welcomed us, shared how the day was going to proceed and introduced our speakers for the day.
Rod
Hoople was our main speaker. He walked us through the 12 steps and the
8 Principles of Celebrate Recovery; sharing with us from his own
personal experiences. He shared passionately about the ministry that he
and his wife, Cheryl, have been called to lead. We had the opportunity
to experience a small group setting where our facilitator lead us
through Step 1. This was harder than we all thought it was going to be
but it was definitely worth it. There was a question and answer time
and we closed the day off with saying the Serenity Prayer in Spanish and
in English.
The
One Day Celebrate Recovery Seminar was a great day. It was filled to
the brim with smiles, laughter, warm hugs and opportunities for prayer.
We encourage you to check them out on Thursday nights at Calvary Chapel
Rosarito for Open and Share groups starting at 7pm.
Thank you Celebrate Recovery Team!
A Testimony from one of "Our Girls" on the Inside: Beatrice
My name is Beatrice, I am a believer in Jesus Christ in recovery and I battle with anger, sadness and doubt.
Before my recovery I had a lot of resentment towards my family because I was rejected due to my disability. My self-esteem was low because I did not received love or protection and didn’t understand why God made me this way.
I married a man who loved and treated me good; he even let me go to church. I didn’t know God and was easily dominated by the things of this world and that is why I failed. Not only did I fail God but also my husband as I had an affair. The lowest point in my life was when I neglected my daughter to the point that she died. Her death is the reason I am in prison.
Today although it doesn’t make sense I thank God for being here because I have been able to really get to know Him. I was invited to the Celebrate Recovery Program and I realized I wasn’t the only one suffering, I identified with all the participating inmates. I have been able to forgive and the communication with my family has gotten better. I have learned to trust and know God, I know He loves me and I am important to Him. Principle 2 says “Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover.”
I thank God for the Celebrate Recovery Program because my heart is being restored little by little. I thank God for my group and the sisters from YUGO because they come with lots of love not only to share the lesson but because they strive to provide us with our basic needs.
Thank you for letting me share.
Feliz Navidad
