EL RETO 2023 WEEK THREE

Week three started with a memory game as we showed a series a specific colors and the teams had to work together to remember them in order. In the end, the blue team won as they out-remembered the green team. This was to give time for the rest of the staff to get to their stations as we continued "The Race"...

Instead of starting the teams off staggered according to their arrival time last week, we decided to add their time at the end in order to get out the door quickly. Their first job was to unlock a padlock in order to get their clue inside for their next activity. Two teams were unable to remember how to open them and had to buy the instructions.

Their instructions led to throughout Cofradia to four different stations. Two teams one way and the other two teams another way. Once completing the four stations, they would return to the church for a team photo (to make sure everyone was there).

At the San Marcos Centro Station, they had two activities: 

Place 6 boards together with matching colors.

Piece together the words of EL RETO 2023's theme verse

At the Cofradia Centro Station, the had to perform the traditional "Coke Race", a race we started to do in 2007. Two team members are carrying another team member who is fed coke from a coke bottle by another team member and carries the coke in their mouth to another team member with another coke bottle to fill it up. The team that is able to transport the most coke, wins...

At the Mission Base Station, the teams had another two activities:

Eat an apple hanging on a string without your using your hands

Situate numbers 1 through 9 on a 3x3 grid where all directions equal 15 up, down, and diagonal

At the High School Station, the teams had another two activities to accomplish:

Put in order the books of the New Testament

The whole team had to work together to guide a ball into a bucket using 1/2 pieces of PVC pipe.

Once they got to the church, the race was over. They arrived in this order:

"The Raptured"

"The Elect"

"The Believers"

"The Set-Apart"

At the church, we had our annual "RETO AUCTION"...

All the teams received a note with the amount of points they had accumulated until then. With those points, they were able to buy certain items in the auction. This year, items went real cheap. They never know what they were buying. The items were: Pizza, Retrieving points lost through "fines", Soda, Cake, Candy and Chips, Chores (no one likes to have this one), and finally, a clear clue to the Hidden Treasure. Between the blue and green team everything went to them, except the White team bought the clue to the Hidden Treasure, which they had already found, but not many knew about it. Again, this is what they got, no one knew what they were buying with their points. Some teams like the red one, don't like to spend anything if they think they have enough points to win at the end. The red team has been ahead during the whole event.

Off to "The Refuge", then voting time, and dismissal...

Luis Vazquez, Jr.

This is our former youth pastor's son, Luis Vazquez, Jr. He filled his dad's shoes well and preached a phenomenal message to the youth. EL RETO has always been an opportunity for people to grow and learn. (His dad is our pastor that passed away a couple years ago from COVID). Luis did an excellent job and I'm proud of him!

Thank you to all who have donated towards this event. If you would like to give to help reach youth and make opportunities for students to learn about God, please click here and make a donation to EL RETO. Thank you.

SEE THE REPORTS ON:

EL RETO WEEK ONE

EL RETO WEEK TWO