Nevada-Utah Conference

TOP LEFT: NUC President Carlos Camacho and NUC Youth Director Rudy Alvir were able to speak several times during the weekend. TOP MIDDLE: Pastor Neat Randriamialison, pastor of the Sparks church, demonstrates his passion for youth ministry in his talk. TOP RIGHT: Friday night music is just the beginning of an event filled with singing, testimonies, and prayer. BOTTOM RIGHT: Young people from across the conference respond to an altar call after a weekend filled with inspiration and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Where Two or Three are Gathered

Here I Am” was the theme of the Youth and Young Adult Retreat hosted by the Sparks and Riverview churches. In addition to the young people from the Salt Lake City area,

Las Vegas area, and Reno area, the Holy Spirit showed up in a big way. Because the Nevada-Utah Conference (NUC) is the largest, geographically, in the Pacific Union, it has been a challenge to create events that everyone is able to attend. After a lot of planning and even more prayer,

Delberth Castillo and Neat Randriamialison, both from the Reno area; Kevin Barrientos, from Provo; and

Lorraine Descutido, from Las Vegas, worked together to plan and organize a beautiful weekend filled with testimonies, Bible studies, and music. With only two exceptions, the presenters and music leaders were youth and young adults from around the conference. The two exceptions were NUC President Carlos

Camacho and one of the newest additions to the conference, Children, Family, and Youth Director Rudy Alvir. Both pastors spoke several times throughout the weekend, and each time their passion for God and love for His family was clear. “My experience at this event was a blessing,” Alvir said. “I was most impressed with the Spirit manifested by the young people that attended. They just had a different attitude that I have not seen often. They were there to bless and be

“ blessed. They were all very friendly and approachable; we made new friends. The testimonies on Saturday afternoon were very powerful!” For Sabbath School, questions submitted anonymously by attendees were answered by a panel of pastors. Although the panel only had time for a handful of the submissions, the questions started some very open and honest discussions. Sabbath afternoon’s breakout sessions were focused on practical application. Titled “How to Study Your Bible,” “Living in Ministry,” and “How to Study Daniel and Revelation,” each of the sessions was packed, and all the attendees came away with a better understanding of how to make Bible study and the Christian walk a part of their daily lives. Pastor Camacho expressed his delight with the outcome of the weekend. “Even though the weekend was targeted for the youth and young adult age range, it was attended by elementary through retirees, with every person coming away blessed. I was especially impressed with the personal testimonies of the young adults. They made themselves very vulnerable and were a great encouragement to the listeners. I am proud of our young people as I see God working through them, and I look forward to more events like this!”

____________________ By Moriah Ward

Nevada-Utah Conference Holds Women’s Retreat

In a continuing effort to bring more unity in fellowship for the members of the Nevada-Utah Conference, NUC Women’s Ministry Coordinator Melody Darrow and Hispanic Women’s Ministry

Coordinator Veronica Zuniga worked together to plan a joint retreat. Instead of a separate retreat for the

Hispanic women, all the women of the NUC were invited to join together at the Renaissance Hotel in Reno for a weekend of camaraderie and spiritual growth. NUC

President Carlos Camacho attended the weekend as translator and gave his thoughts: “We experimented by bringing both the Spanish- and English-speaking women together, and it was a huge blessing to everyone. They want to do it again. We will continue to strive to become one in Jesus!” For the past two years, women have tried to carry out their obligations with heads held high. On top of the typical responsibilities of career, family, and church, the additional challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have left many Christian women overwhelmed and exhausted. For some, these duties have skewed schedules, leaving little time for more than a quick prayer for help from above and often allowing feelings of selfdoubt and unworthiness to creep in. “You Are Enough” was the theme for the event, with the guest speakers doing a wonderful job of presenting an irresistible Jesus. Yaqueline Tello shared, “My passion is to support those human beings who are interested in learning to live with happiness and in peace. My biggest dream is to meet Christ face to face.” Her presentations on the mechanics and physiology of the mind were fascinating.

“Sister Tello’s talks focused on a subject that is often seen as taboo—mental health,” Brissa

Castillo reported.

“Sharing how God created us to NUC President Carlos Camacho served as translator for the women’s retreat, joined here by NUC Treasurer Karen Schneider (middle) and NUC Women’s Ministry Coordinator Melody Darrow (right). Women from several of the NUC Hispanic churches sport the event soccer shirts, with the theme in Spanish on the front and English on the back. be enough for His love despite our insecurities, trauma, and sinful nature; making the familiar Bible stories more applicable to today; encouraging us to take mental health breaks, spend time with our Creator, and seek help, if needed, to overcome difficulties in our lives that have impacted us or others in a negative way.” Tamyra Horst’s book Enough: Discovering a God Who is Enough When You’re Not was the springboard for the theme of the weekend. Her presentations had a new and refreshing way of bringing to life the stories of the Bible and demonstrating how to pull lessons from the Word to live by today. For example, “When we compare and compete, we can’t care and connect,” and “What is needed: time with Jesus; time to pray; and time to gather with our sisters.” Horst’s desire is to “encourage, equip, and challenge people to grow deeply and serve uniquely.”

The message of God’s love for us being enough came through loud and clear. When asked about their thoughts on the weekend, Veronica Zuniga said, “I loved to see the joy of all participants that comes with the joy of the Lord.” And Mara Verduzco shared, “It was a pure blessing, and on point. Sometimes in church we do things for the wrong reason—today we learned about true service.” That true service is a result of recognizing one’s value as a princess, a precious child of God—the God that will never leave us nor forsake us.

____________________ By Michelle Ward