Ten Years of Shining - SBC Hispanic Women Celebrate a Decade of Retreats
By Jennifer Lloyd
“Woman! Arise and Shine!” Hispanic Women from California, Texas, Oregon, Guatamala, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic celebrated ten years of retreats with this “shining” theme from Isaiah 60:1. The retreat, held September 18-20th at Jenness Park Christian Camp, hosted 487 women. A corresponding retreat, held at Tahquitz Pines (a southern California location), hosted 160 women August 7-9th. During the retreats, ten women made first time commitments to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Women from the Campamento Femenil Bautista de California (CAFEBAUCA) organization have voluntarily planned energizing, motivating, Bible-based seminars and messages for Spanish-speaking women for a decade. This year, the group’s director, Lennie Lockward de Guerrero was appropriately afforded the opportunity to be the keynote speaker for the main sessions. Lockward de Guerrero had two focus questions for the women. She remarked, “I want women first to ask, ‘Do I have the light of Jesus in my life?’ Darkness is the absence of light. So women who are experiencing a life of darkness are experiencing a life without a close relationship with Jesus.” The first message focused on the plan of salvation, Genesis chapter one and Isaiah chapter sixty. Lockward’s second focus question asked women, “What will you do with the light?” Her key passage for this question was Isaiah fifty-nine.
A highlight for the women was a gala dinner complete with linen table-cloths and candle-light. The speaker for the celebration evening was Noemí Vera, a missionary with the California Southern Baptist Convention from Fresno, California. Vera led the women in a time of thanksgiving for the last ten years and challenged the women, “We need to wait on the Lord to do great things because He is the lifter of our heads.” Along with giving the celebration address, Vera also provided Bible studies for the women during the retreat.
A number of special guests graced the weekend of events. Reverend Salvador Ramirez, President of the SBC in the Dominican Republic, and his wife, Juana Teresa Ramirez President of the WMU, shared a testimony from their ministry in the ghetto areas of the Dominican Republic. The Ramirezes have developed a program of literacy and training for children and women who are living in unimaginable levels of poverty. This mission-minded couple traveled to the Jenness Park retreat to personally thank CAFEBAUCA for their partnership with the Ramirezes and the literacy program.
Diana Valdepeña, a well-known musician and recording artist from San Bernardino,CA, shared her sparkling vocal talents during times of special music. Lucia Ramirez, a missionary with Misiόn Hispana de Radio from Spain, dazzled the audience with poems, writings, and interpretive dances with a Spanish flavor. Author Dámaris Fernandez from Fountain Valley, CA, lead a conference and presented her book of skits and poems centered around the themes of women and families. She was also available to sign copies of her book, Dramas Breves para la Mujer y la Familia.
The women were also excited about a presentation made by Yolanda Calderon introducing a ministry entitled, “ConPaz,” a one year-old non-profit organization that has been launched to help women in abusive and/or violent situations. Calderon is in the process of partnering with churches in order to recruit and train leaders to assist abused women in finding victory over their situation through the help of Jesus Christ.
The CAFEBAUCA leadership team anticipates the blessing that these messages will have on people throughout the world. “God is using the internet to reach people all over the globe,” remarked Lockward de Guerrero. She announced, “Neil Gandara, a radio and television-broadcasting missionary from Florida attended the retreat and made video and audio recordings of many of our sessions.” Gandara is producing 52 weeks of Bible studies for women using the conference materials and messages, and he will make these recordings available online at www.MisionHispanadeRadio.com.
As the CAFEBAUCA team anticipates God’s guidance for the next decade, they want to invite women to next year’s events. The speaker for the 2010 retreats is Shelly Cook Volkhardt, a noted missionary, speaker, and author. The retreats will be held the 17-19th and the 24-26th of September, 2010, at Jenness Park Christian Camp. Anyone interested in contacting the leadership for CAFEBAUCA can do so on Facebook/CAFEBAUCA or by phone: 951-735-8030.
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