When 14-year-old Marlene Meri of San Jose arrived for the girls’ retreat, she wasn’t sure God existed or cared. She regularly attended church, but never read the Bible. During the weekend, “The Holy Spirit let Marlene know that she is loved, and there is a purpose for her life,” says sponsor Rosie Jimenez. “It really sank in.”

“My friends know now that I’m Christian,” says Meri, who attends public school. “I’m inviting my friends to church and praying every night now. I’m almost done reading Genesis and I’ve started reading Steps to Jesus.”

Meri was one of 111 teenage girls that piled into the Soquel Conference Center April 20-22. “We prayed so much that God would send the right girls,” says Leah Hawley, a freshman theology major at PUC, who helped plan the weekend. “He sent us a lot of public school girls, ones who don’t come to prayer conferences and other youth events.” Several girls also brought their school friends.

In all, 164 people attended the second annual event hosted by women’s ministries, the youth evangelism team (YET) and the youth department.

“Our goal was to facilitate a personal encounter with God,” says YET member Debbie Miranda. Praise and worship times were prayerfully planned weeks in advance. Personal testimonies, tips on how to have devotions, and a relevant main speaker gave practical skills for walking with God. Activities such as prayer journal decorating, the "virtuous woman fair" and team-building games based on Proverbs 31 provided take-home tools for becoming godly women.

The Secret Room

Nicole Parker, a happily married mother of three from Lincoln, Calif., spoke about “The Secret Room.” Her practical talks on sexual purity and being friends with God were tied together with her testimony of abuse, chasing guys and finding joy in 100 percent surrender to God.

“Our big burden was to help the girls avoid choices that will damage them for life,” says Janet Page, women’s ministries coordinator. “We also really wanted to get them to spend time with God in His Word.”

“I learned I need to wake up early and spend time with God,” says Lauren Monnier, an eighth-grader from Bakersfield Adventist Academy. “It’s been really amazing. I can feel the difference. Now I go to school and I feel calm, like God is there with me.”

Sabbath evening, Parker called the girls to let God heal their deepest wounds and show them their true self-worth. Though the meeting went late, more than 50 girls responded. “Girls just poured forward, even the ones we thought weren’t listening,” says Hawley. “It was really a God thing.” Afterwards, about 15 girls were anointed as many others stayed for personal prayer and an afterglow of music and testimonies.

“The girls are never going to forget being in God’s presence," says Page.