What happened that weekend was simply extraordinary. Over 300 people gathered for three days, united by a single purpose: to transform lives and bring hearts to Christ.
Definitely, it’s not something you see every day. No other community has ever done it this way. Thanks to the tireless support of Father Jesse, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the donors who believed in the dream, and the tireless efforts of hundreds of volunteers with hearts on fire for God.
All this took place at Mary Immaculate Parish from April 11 to 13. A weekend that will remain marked in heaven… and in every soul that was there. And each soul had a different story, a unique journey that led them to this encounter.
One of those stories is the story of Nabor Del Angel:
Two jobs. Accumulated debts. A car crash that ended up making everything worse. Nabor’s finances fell apart. The bills piled up, and the day-to-day weight became harder and harder to bear. And it was right in the middle of that chaos when he received the invitation: he would be the assistant director of Search Retreat #13 for adults.
“How can I say yes?” he thought. The position demanded more time and more commitment… and he could barely make do with what he already had. After his first job, he would drive as an Uber driver by the hour, just to try to balance his economy and be able to pay off the debt left by the crash of his car. He would return tired, with his mind full of worries, to the retreat preparations.
Anxiety wore him down little by little and took away his peace. And although his body was present at the service, his heart was troubled; he was not giving his one hundred percent. Until one day, God got into his car.
It was just another trip. A passenger got in who, just by looking at him, Nabor judged as someone dangerous. But in a few seconds, his prejudices crumbled: that man was carrying a pain greater than his own. The brother of that ”dangerous man” was struggling between life and death in a hospital room.
That encounter was a shock. A reminder. An invitation to love. ”We call ourselves believers, servers, people of faith…but all it takes is one storm to shake our trust in God,” Nabor thought. He realized that he had been so focused on his own problems that he had stopped looking at the pain of others. That encounter was a call to surrender. Let God take the wheel, not only of his car but of his life. From then on, everything changed. Not magically, not without struggles. But it changed. Because Nabor remembered that he was not alone. God had shown himself to him in a passenger, in his wife, in his children, in his friends, in every person around him, even in his boss who, without hesitation or warning, offered to borrow money to pay for the expenses of his car crash.
Search Retreat number 13 was for Nabor more than a commitment: it was his healing. He used his God given virtues to accompany others, to lead them to an encounter with Christ. And in that process, it was he himself who encountered God’s love anew. Today, Nabor says with certainty that there is no tribulation in which God is not present. He is always there, even if sometimes we do not see him at first.
And you who are reading this, maybe it’s not your turn to be the assistant director of a retreat. Maybe your role is different. Maybe what you give: your time, your resources, your prayer, your experience, is what allows others to encounter God.
Because a word can change a life. Because a gesture can spark a transformation. Just as the sorrow shared by a stranger transformed Nabor, you, too, can be part of someone else’s story. Just as Nabor’s life has changed, the Search retreat has transformed hundreds of lives since its beginning. This weekend, more than 300 lives were transformed. All this is thanks to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who inspire others to serve selflessly amid life’s difficulties by their example.
This weekend, more than 300 lives were transformed. Imagine how many more we could transform together.
Would you like to be part of changing someone else’s life?
Would you like to live an experience that transforms your life completely?
Thank you for supporting the Search movement. Thank you for believing.
Together, let’s continue to lead lives to Christ.
One at a time. One step at a time. Transforming as God does: with LOVE.
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