For the 10th year, the Hotel Friendly Vallarta, an all-inclusive beach and Spa resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, welcomed us with open arms to hold the Feast.

There were 660 brethren in attendance from five different countries (Mexico, U.S., Canada, Chile, Guatemala and Colombia). The numbers allowed us to have the exclusive use of the hotel, its staff, activities and meals (all foods were clean according to biblical specifications) making it very relaxing and enjoyable, especially for wives who didn’t have to cook or clean up during all those days. Six restaurants (including a pizza oven to serve custom-made pizzas and a new hamburger and sandwich outlet) served Italian, Mexican and American meals free of charge.

The brethren commented on the uplifting spiritual messages, also directed toward our youth and filled with encouragement (all Spanish services were translated into English). We had a taste of what the Millennium will be like to maintain the hope that one day we will be part of it and a review of the fundamentals of the Kingdom of God.

We had an ABC orientation class given by Nathan Albright, and Ben Light gave a teen and young adult interactive Bible study with breakout sessions that included over 50 teens and young adults. There were also eight baptisms, all from Mexico.

On the social side, we enjoyed the peaceful, sunny place and its abundant meals—basically, an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord. The new large restaurant by the beach was a big hit as was a new covered pool and grill. Activities included a folkloric Mexican dinner show with fireworks at the end. Another highlight was the children’s costume party in which actors dressed as Spider-Man, Superman and other personages did some acrobatics and met the kids.  We also had the opportunity to release around a thousand baby turtles on the beach, hoping that many of them will survive to return to Banderas Bay and breed.

Toward the end of the Feast, we had a number of COVID-19 cases and so switched to virtual services and piped the messages to the lobby and the patio areas. Thankfully, all were able to return to their countries without further problems.