Retreat and Our Retreat

This last week has really reached us emotionally. It is called Retreat, and it is a week where the students of Escuela Caribe lose the rules and structure of daily life and start worshipping (singing songs), talking with the guest speaker about life, and just havin fun by playing games. We were only allowed to come for the FULL days on Wednesday and Saturday but on all of the days we stayed for the evening section of it were the guest speaker stands and talks and tries to help the students. This Retreat was about Changing Your Label. At the start of the Retreat we had atleast 3 atheists and lots of non (or not quite) believers but on the last day it all changed. The last service is just a morning one but instead of the speaker preaching the students go up and say what they have liked or what touched them the most. It started of with a few just saying that they can now forgive various people (sorry if you were one of those people and it seems like i kinda made it like that is not a big deal it is) but then it suddenly went quiet as one of the atheists went up. He cleared his throat looking for words... And said he believed!!! And just before (like 2 days ago) One of the others did! Once he sat down many, many people began to stand up saying that they having been praying for the two athiests and either now there faith is stronger or they now believe too!!! It gets better! After the service the recently-believer-once-atheist got together with the last athiest and started preaching to him, even though he just became a follower of christ himself!! As they are in the bathroom talking, fellow students are crying and talking with staff talking about how changing this week has been. Eventually, after helping a few students we packup and get ready to go on OUR retreat.... Cabarette.. What a sunday!!!
So we pickup Terry (because Jill and the girls are already there) and head down the twisty mountain roads to our hotel on the beach. We get there around 4'oclock, grabbed something to eat and played in the waves in the quickly dimishing light. Once it was too hard to see or we got too tired (I don't remember which) we headed inside and watched tv and talked. (first time watching tv in a LONG time) The next day mom and dad went to the store and got breakfast while we played in the pool or with Hazel and after they got back we ate and Terry, me, and Brodie got in T's car and drove to the surfing beach. We were out there for 2 hours and after catching a couple of waves and catching a ton of sun. We drove back to the hotel and played with the others in the pool. Finally we played a grueling (because of the intense sun) game of tennis, we packed up and headed home.