– by Luis Diego Carranza
This last 23rd to 26th of July, the North Zone of Kairos Ibero-America experienced a very grace-filled and spiritually igniting event. Almost 450 people from all ages and from from 13 different communities in Mexico, the Caribbean and the United States were gathered in the city of Tampico with the purpose of renewing and strengthening their relationship with the Lord, forming new relationships to reinforce their community life and to promote unity through vision and formation.
What happened in Tampico 2018 were two simultaneous events: a conference for university aged young people of the zone (similar to the regional conferences that take place every five years) and a family fellowship, never before seen in our zone. Both events included fraternal sharing, workshops, recreational events, festivals, formation and very spiritually anointed prayer meetings.
The main theme of the conference was taken from John 15:15 “Abide in me.” There were talks about how God alone with his grace will allow us to keep the fire for holiness, for conversion, mission and, overall, the daily transformation of our lives. “Apart from me you can do nothing,” is a solemn declaration that we depend on him, even when we give our best. God alone is capable of saving us, keeping us alive and maintaining us encouraged for his Kingdom.
This unprecedented experience for our zone took two years of planning and effort that were backed-up by the Lord with many blessings. Only a few days before the event, we were given the blessing from the Lord to be able to have exclusive use of the hotel for the event. That meant that you could be sure that everyone you saw – except for the hotel staff – was a community member. This created an environment of good relationships and fellowship amongst all participants.
This experience was a strong testimony of how the Lord works in the hearts of his people. We expect God to keep working in our zone and help us to abide in him. May we live, even more, with a total dependency on Christ, knowing that we can’t do anything apart from him.
Praise the Lord for his work in the midst of his people!
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Luis Diego Carranza is a member of the Jesed Community in Monterrey, Mexico. He is currently a volunteer missionary in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, for 6 months.
