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Evins Epiphany Retreat Another Success!

EDINBURG, Texas – Twenty-four youth volunteered to participate in a three-day Epiphany weekend retreat at Evins Regional Juvenile Center this summer. “This is a remarkable number of youth that decided to stay for the whole program”, said Evins Chaplain Luis Alvarado. Community Relations Coordinator Fidel Garcia added, “When you see this number of kids saying, ‘I like what I see and it keeps me focused and entertained while,’ that is a good thing.” Epiphany weekends are non-denominational retreats for the youth and are scheduled twice a year. The days are long, usually 12 hours of in-depth spiritual programing combined with music, singing, skits, meditation, scripture reading, board games, arts and crafts, and lots of different types of snacks and food throughout the retreat.

Eighteen-year-old Andrez who participated for the first time, said, “I think it was wonderful. People showed me they cared about us. These people don’t even know us and they showed us love. When it was over, I felt different; it moved me in a different direction and brought me closer to God.” Another  8-year-old, Brando, said, “I would thank them for showing me that I am loved and that people are caring for me and that God’s love is unconditional. I loved the games and the songs, and I even wrote a song and sang it to them. It is called ‘Shining On Me’ and it expresses my testimony of my life and my past and how God has forgiven and saved me.” Lastly, a 16-year-old from San Antonio who cannot be identified because of his age, said, “At first I went for the food. This one kid told me that there would be lots of food. So, I went. By the second day I was very interested in what they had to say and what was going on, and it was not about the food anymore. So, I stayed the three days. The whole thing just felt good!”

“I loved it! The boys were great! I'll be back again!”
-- New Epiphany Volunteer Diane Bleibdrey

Evins Superintendent Tamu Steptoe said, “I thank the volunteers for their unconditional dedication regarding helping these young men understand what they want, what they need, and feel who they are. That's an Epiphany.” A new volunteer to the group was Diane Bleibdrey who said, “I loved [the retreat] it! The boys were great! I'll be back again!”

This year, the lay director was volunteer Jeff Eaton assisted by Lay Director Olga Lozano and about 30 other volunteers. Volunteer Pastor Graciano Castaneda is the leader of the Church of Acts organizing the weekend retreats with the assistance of Epiphany Ministries of Texas. After the retreat,  he volunteers will follow up with the boys once a month until the youth is home.

The next volunteer retreat is an Acts Retreat in November sponsored by the Catholic Dioceses of Brownsville and the Christ on the Cross group from our Lady of Sorrows.
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