Youth Explosion 2010

Bienvenidos!  Welcome to Roca Blanca.
All through the month of March, the Roca Blanca campus people have been preparing for the coming Youth Explosion scheduled for March 30th - April 2nd .

They are expecting close to 6,000 people, mostly youth. Many hours of labor have gone into clearing and cleaning the adjoining open fields of coconut trees. Coconuts have been harvested, dead branches pulled down, bush-hogging and mowing have followed the burning of the dead materials. Palm branches were pulled down to make tamales, temporary toilet and shower stalls, and to roof the top of lifeguard stands and fast food stalls. Chalking is in many of the fields to designate parking and walking areas. Many trips have been made to town for supplies and many more have been made far and wide to bring in donated equipment such as wiring, freezers & refrigerators, tents, four wheelers, cattle for butchering, big pots, and much more. Companies are delivering and erecting large tents and sound systems. Porta-potties are trucking in. Wiring is being strung from tree to tree to add outside lights and plug-ins. The acreage around the campus is being quickly transformed. Inside the hotel, hours have gone into deep cleaning of every corner and cabinet and ceiling including all the storage rooms. Every piece of wicker furniture has been re-oiled and every room refrigerator has been restocked to ensure happy guests. The medical clinic has been stocking first aid supplies and lots of rehydration powders. Several of the language students currently studying Spanish are also planning to sleep and help in the clinic through this event. They will get plenty of opportunity to practice the Spanish they have been learning. One student is a registered nurse (from France) who is planning to practice here in Mexico. She will get to practice her Spanish and her profession before reaching her post.

The week is now upon us. Campers are piling in from everywhere in buses, cars and trucks, and on foot. Suburbans are going to the airport to pick up the speakers’ families and musical guests. Everywhere, food is being prepared. We have an outdoor cafeteria in the acreage off the campus for the campers and another one on the campus for the workers. We have outdoor fast food stands where you can buy tacos, enchiladas, playudas, tostidos, cold drinks, popsicles, and much more. Then, we have the hotel kitchen with extra workers for the 25 guests and Joyce’s kitchen, full of baked goodies for the hotel coffee shop.

The meetings started Tuesday night with around 2,500 but by Wednesday, the meeting tents were completely full and overflowing. Each meeting lasted 3-4 hours and were held 3 times a day. There was a 3 hour free period in the afternoon when many enjoyed playing soccer and volleyball on the beach or going swimming in the ocean. It is rather hard to say anyone was swimming because the waves and currents are too strong and many were from inland cities and mountain villages where they have no pools or beaches. There were many lifeguards, one or two boats beyond the swimmers with lifeguards, and two four-wheelers traveling up and down the beach all day for security purposes. Much precaution was taken because there was loss of life in one of the previous years. We did have one close call that was rushed to emergency in the nearby town of Puerto but, most of the casualties were minor injuries or were related to heat exhaustion. There were teams of security guys all throughout the day and night to keep the campers and campus guests in their respective areas and to discourage trouble. We thank the Lord for His watch and care over the campers and workers throughout the week.

We praise God that through the wonderful music and speaking ministry, many hearts were revived and reborn. Throughout the camp meeting, services began at 8am till 10:30-11:00 then they ate breakfast. The next meeting began around 11:30-12pm and lasted until 3-3:30. Lunchtime followed with some free time. The evening meeting usually started about 6:30pm and finished around 10-11pm. Then, they would get their evening dinner. The fast foods stands and the three snack shops were always open for business. On the last day, one of the main speakers came dragging back into the hotel sopping wet, very sandy, but grinning from ear to ear. When asked why he had been in the beach, he replied he had been baptizing about 500 people. He was so overjoyed he was dancing most of the evening service, along with all the other happy campers. But then dancing was what they did for an hour or more every meeting. The worship was vivacious and full of boisterous singing. The speaking was passionate and powerful. It was hard to believe on the last night that after many hours of meetings, and three and a half days in the heat and humidity, they still had the energy to dance and sing strongly for almost two hours.

It is interesting to note the special offering taken in this week. It was for the poor and needy village we found on our last medical outreach trip. We will have the privilege this month (April) to go back to that village and take beans, rice, and a few other staples. The offering that was taken will help tremendously to ensure they get the food that they need, plus, more trucks to haul it up the arduous journey through the mountains. We pray that this will help to open wider the door of that village to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your many prayers that covered this Youth camp. We pray this update will encourage you as your prayers encouraged and supported us and all who were here.