Shalom Center Stories

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

I wish to express all the wonderful experiences I have lived while at the Shalom Center. It has been of much blessing and restoration; I truly lack words to express so much love, peace, and joy that the Lord has given us. The Lord has given us the opportunity to unite in one body and to seek the well being of those who are near us.

Pentecostal Church of Chile

The nicest thing I have lived through in this place has been the koinonia and the joyful environment in which the Lord has touched each of us. Together we all praised the Lord in infinite peace that we had never experienced before. The Lord, during the evenings, gave us the opportunity to contemplate the stars in an almost absolute darkness.

The Lord would also guide our path and would walk beside us restoring our lives, strengthening our souls, and moving us to move forward without fear. The Lord challenged us to give real meaning to our lives through service so that we could be a blessing to our families, friends, and all who need to be blessed.

Paola
19 years
Pentecostal Church of Chile Tomé

Every day I become more and more aware of the wonders of the Lord. I doubted before and said: Does God really exist? Why I am here? And if He exists, does He love me? Sometimes when I felt very lonely I would say: Why? Why? Why must I go through this? I felt very lonely and that the Lord did not listen to me. I have been going to church since I was a baby and I had not understood the things of God and today I am aware that I am not alone, and that through the simple things of life He tells us He loves us: with rain, with an ocean breeze, or a simple bird singing. This center has helped me become aware of what God does for us. Without a doubt I do not leave as I came, and if someone feels as I did, I would tell them that God is good and is always near us and will console us and cry with us at this precise moment.

Shalom Center is something precious, something special that makes us feel beautiful things. The great peace one feels here is incredible and I would like it to never end, and I would like to feel forever what I feel today. Our counselors and all who minister here made me feel as if I was at home with my family whom I love dearly. I wish they can continue this ministry so other youth can feel as I feel right now.

Thank you God for giving me this opportunity and I pray this may be a means to a blessing for all my family.

May the Lord bless you all greatly and thank you for what you do to help us truly meet God.

Nicol Andrea
15 years
Pentecostal Church of Chile Tomé

Dear God: I want to give thanks for being here and for this great blessing. I give you thanks for life. What I liked most of the Shalom Center was learning new things and I wish I could learn more. For all this I give you thanks and ask you always protect the people of Shalom Center who do wonderful things. I am so grateful.

Nicolás
12 years
Colegio Cristiano de Curicó

Through this letter I want you to know that the Ministers Children’s retreat was one of the most gratifying experiences I have experienced; and where all the retreats and camps at Shalom Center are special and extraordinary, this retreat was more special because it was a place where we could share our experiences with others who have lived similar lives.

I wish you could all have the opportunity to live through what I have lived through in this place; not only does it minister to me while at the Shalom Center but it also ministers to me wherever I go.

If you have the opportunity to come to Shalom Center you will see how marvelous it is and how this placed renewed our strength. All I have seen has made me grow spiritually and emotionally. I invite you to give the opportunities to your daughters so they can go through what I have gone through, and I truly believe they will be most grateful.

Acsa
20 years
Pentecostal Church of Chile, Los Queñes

This is my second time at Shalom Center and I reaffirm that among many voices, noise, pressures, and responsibilities, this is a place that allows you to really hear God’s voice which, as with Martha, is lost in our daily routines and tasks and which does not allow us to understand that what we really want is to have some quiet moments at the Lord’s feet, like Mary, hearing what He has to tell us.

If I could compare it, I would say it is the sentiment the disciples had on the Mount of Transfiguration, and that makes us want to stay here always; and like the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, return with the experience that remains so that you begin to see things differently.

I had the opportunity to return to a specific place where, during a previous retreat, I had buried a rock that symbolized my fears and where I could recall how different and prosperous my life had become. Without a doubt there is no worse slave than one that does not know they are enslaved! This place helped me discover that sometimes we are not as good as we think we are, nor are we living as we should.

In this retreat I was intrigued by a tree called coihue that began to rot from the inside out and its bark did not give evidence to its internal condition. As years passed the tree appeared healthy and strong, but its insides were fragile against the winds and storms.

It is better to be an arrayán that live only close to water. Thank you for this experience. Each step from now on is a challenge and commitment to what is yet to come.

Miriam
Pentecostal Church of Chile, Tomé

For information on Shalom Center projects, go to:
Shalom Center and Campground
Shalom Center Restroom Project

Prepared by: Office of Resource Development
Global Ministries
P.O. Box 1986
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Tel: (317) 713-2555
Fax: (317) 635-4323
Email:

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