I had the privilege of preaching at a youth retreat this past weekend. I was so thankful for the opportunity which was presented to me. I prepared to preach 4 different messages on Evangelism over the weekend. The three messages were 1) Our Great Salvation, 2) The Gospel Messenger, 3) Preaching the Gospel, 4) Examples of Gospel Proclamation in the Scriptures.
Awesome Retreat Housing
The youth message was well received by the majority of the youth at the retreat. I heard that one of the non-Christians repented during the retreat and that many of the Christians were challenged by the different messages.
Breakfast at the Beach
I enjoyed the various beaches we were able to visit while at the retreat. I had a wonderful time at the great beaches with the youth group. One of the cultural takeaways for me from the weekend was how much Brazilians enjoy their beaches.
Beach Day
I also enjoyed talking with all of the youth at the retreat. I was reminded of how much progress I have made in my Portuguese language skills and also how much farther I still need to grow. It was frustrating to not be able to communicate at times and how I could only understand some of the general conversation topics and not all of the specifics. One of the encouraging parts was listening to the translation and being able to understand most of the translation.
Bonfire Preaching Opportunities
Beautiful Beaches in Santa Catarina
Benjamin's Burden 
Congratulations,Benjamin! So glad to hear that your preaching went well. I am pleased that you can see both the progress you’ve made as well as the progress still to be made. Isn’t that just like our walk with the Lord – it is never perfect or worthy of just letting it slide – it begs for work each day. However, we have the Holy Spirit within us to power us thru the journey upon which we trod every day. The beaches were beautiful. Can’t believe the gorgeous sand and the basic flatness of the beach sands. Love and prayers, Auntie Carolyn