We were able to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles once again with “beach, breeze and sea,” as we say in Colombia. The Hilton Garden Inn hotel, located in the bay of the city of Santa Marta, on the north coast of the country, opened its doors to us. The total number of attendees this year was 64 including five children and three people from the United States: Aaron Dominguez and David and Cathy Salek. Additionally, this year we streamed services for some who were unable to attend the Feast.

As it was our first time staying here, we were a little uneasy about how things would turn out. However, as the days passed, our worries quickly dissipated. The hotel staff was very attentive to everyone; their professionalism in serving guests was truly remarkable. Although the hotel does not have very large spaces, the section of the meeting room assigned to us was sufficient for our activities, both for services and for social events.

Each day we gathered according to the commandment to receive the Word of God through inspired messages that emphasized the urgency of redoubling efforts to grow in grace and knowledge and, above all, in love for each other. This year the spirit of camaraderie and unity was particularly noticeable during the eight days. We enjoyed several social activities in which the joy of being able to share this wonderful Feast was evident. One highlight was the ladies’ afternoon. Everyone enjoyed it, starting with a dynamic illustration to get to know each other better (are you a rock or a feather), continuing with a review of the topic of the role of women from the biblical-Hebrew perspective and ending with an activity of human sculpting in which they learned how to sculpt and how to be sculpted by God.

A new activity was a spokesman’s club session. There are not enough men in each of the five congregations in the country, so we took advantage of being all together to lay the foundations with plans to hold a session every two months during the year, at least virtually.

At the end of the Eighth Day, we all said goodbye with the joy of having celebrated another year and with the great hope of being able to meet again, perhaps in the same place, to celebrate as God's chosen people. As always, we are expectant of what His will is and that He shows where He will place, once again, His holy name.