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Ready for Winterfest!

You better believe it, only 3 more days till Winterfest. I am really excited about the theme, "Love God, Love Others". We've got a great group going. I really can't wait to see how people will be changed this weekend by our mighty God.

2009 spiritual habits

We are really excited about this year's spiritual habits campaign. We have been blown away by how many teens are taking the challenge, it's pretty awesome. I am curious about how we are all gonna handle drinking only water for 2 weeks. I know it's gonna be tough, but anything that is worth doing in life is tough. We are so proud of all the teens that chose to take on a new spiritual habit this year. Whatever it is you are doing, may God bless you on this new journey as you search for a renewed relationship with our Lord!/ by the way, if you need the link to the e-Bible study blog, here it is, www.jacocyouth.blogspot.com

The life changing power of Jesus

Last Sunday I felt horrible because of a sinus infection and fever I had been battling all of Saturday night. I was really in no shape and did not have the desire to be at church that morning, but I felt compelled to be there because I had class to teach and a parent's meeting to conduct. The medication I had been taking made it really difficult for me to concentrate in class, that made the class kind of weird for me. Towards the end of the class I had begun to feel incredibly sick. As I finished the class some began to talk, others headed out the door, and others came up to me to say hey. As I forced myself to muster up some energy and respond to the conversations and be courteous I noticed one of our teens patiently waiting till everyone was done talking to me. As soon as the last person was done talking, she came up to where I was seated and said "Carlos, I want to be baptized". Wow, that completely took me off guard and my first response was, "What made you decide to want that?". She referred to something that was said at the retreat we had just come back from, here is what she said, "You said that a lot of people don't want to become Christians because they doin't want to give up their lifestyle, but Jesus gave up everything for us so that we would have forgiveness and grace". As she said this tears were streaming down her face. I asked her when shae wanted to do it, and she said, "right now". I asked her to get her parents, but come to find her dad had gone home sick just during services. She really wanted her parents there so we decided to do it that evening. I conducted our parent's meeting and towards the end her dad showed up. He mentioned to me that he was feeling better and that the family was all here ready to be part of their daughter's baptism. We walked over to our auditorium along with some parents and teens that were still there from the meeting. As I took her confession tears still streamed down her face, and there at that moment I was reminded of the life changing power of our savior. That afternoon we were all witnesses of something so amazing and so powerful that it does not compare to or come close to anything in this entire world. May God bless Kara in her new relationship with our loving God that is made possible only through Jesus.

"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Timothy 1: 8-10

It's all about Jesus!

It's been a while since I blog anything on here worth reading, but I am going to attempt to get across how amazing Jesus is to me and how I was reminded of it last month at Winterfest. When I begin to think of the people that have had a direct and powerful impact on my life I begin to think of people like my father, my mother, my wife, my children, mentors I have had throughout the years like Carl James, Luis Estrada, Jack Reece, and others. These are people that have given me love and encouragement, have showed great patience towards me, and in many ways have been pivotal in the shaping and direction of my life. And even though all these people have been so important in my life, they don't compare to the impact that Jesus has had not only on my life, but yours as well.
Please try to understand that there has never been and there will never be anyone that will impact the world like Jesus did and is doing. You see, if we just begin to think about the fact that Jesus had to leave his home to come here, and not even have a place where he could lay his head is just wild to me. Here we have the son of God, and he doesn't even own a pillow. His coming was talked about, written about, and longed for by the children of Israel for a long time. But when He was finally here, in person, so many people didn't recognize Him. So many times I feel as if Jesus is right there, but we fail to recognize Him because we just don't know who we are looking for. Jesus lived His life to love others and died because of his love for others. I am reminded of Paul's words, "When we were still sinners & powerless, Jesus died for us". Jesus came to serve others, and he didn't care if they looked different, smelled different, or even lived different. I love the fact that Jesus came for the sick and the sinners, he would repeatedly remind folks about that by His actions. Jesus was all about what His father had sent him to do here on earth and that was so clear and evident thru Jesus' love for God displayed thru His obedience to his father. What Jesus did two thousand years ago changed the course for humanity relationally. Jesus showed us how much God loves us, and in turn showed us how to love God and others in a way that has never been duplicated before.
Today I find myself living a life that is full of purpose and passion and the only reason for that is Jesus. Yes, the impact and influence that others have had on me is huge, but I realize that they have been an important part of my life because of Jesus living in them. So, either way you look at it, Jesus is constantly impacting our lives. How does a little boy who was born in Colombia, South America, who was raised in the streets of Miami, who grew up in a dysfunctional family, who carries the pain of a disabled son, live a life he never dreamt he would live? Jesus. He came so that we may have life, and have it to the full! It's all about Jesus. Paul said that all he wanted was to know Jesus. I echo the same words of Paul. I want to know Jesus. I want to know him so well that because of my knowing him, he will completely change the way I see people and see God. My desire as a follower of Jesus is to become more like him each day, and that's what it's all about.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Hey, we can't believe it's almost Christmas. If you haven't done so, check out the pics from this year's lock-in. They are incredibly funny, there's nothing like staying up all night long with about 100 teens. We want to thank all the parents, Youth Ministry team members, and volunteers for all the help you have been this year.
We hope you take advantage of this time of the year and make some really awesome memeories with your families. So many times we take family for granted, not realizing that it is one of the most precious gifts God has given us. So please, eat lots of food, give lots of hugs, but don't try doing both at the same time! Peace and love.

Don't call it a come back, i've been here for years!

We hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. Our website is finally updated and I have finally posted another blog!!! I can't begin to tell you how good our lock-in was. We had a great time. There were over 100 people there that night, it was crazy. We had Jason and Jovan's youth group's there, along with Jimmy and the crew. The year is coming to a close, we've got just a few more things left till we hit '08. I know everyone is pumped about Winterfest, that's always an awesome trip each year. Changing gears for a second.
It seems like lately God has been reminding me of how brief life really is. A good friend and brother lost his mom this week due to cancer. She battled it for a year. In one year her life was gone. I don't know about you, but that really changes my outlook on things. I began to ask myself what was really important, who mattered most, and who it was that I was really living for. Life is filled with worries and trivialities, in a blink of an eye, we could be gone. What matters most to you right now as you read this?
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus