Nevada-Utah Conference
T
he Moab, Castle Valley and Price, Utah, church district is a very diverse community. The total population of the area is just under 30,000, but covers 9,641 square miles, with the Price and Castle Valley churches 135 miles apart. The Price area is noted for its history as a mining town, and its Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Mormon split population. It is also home to Utah State College of Eastern Utah and its Eastern Prehistoric Museum. The Moab area is recognized as a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts with the nearby Arches and Canyonlands national parks, the Colorado River and the abundant red rock mesas. Although Moab has a population of only about 5,100 RON DRAKE
Fire fall above DayStar Adventist Academy in Castle Valley, Utah.
residents, tourism brings in an additional 1,000,000 people a year. The Castle Valley community boasts a population of 319 people, and is the location of the world-renowned climbing rock known as Castleton Tower — Castle Rock, to the locals.
Dennis Berlin
To this area, Pastor Dennis Berlin, his wife, Lori, and his two daughters, Kara, 12, and Carmel, 9, have recently come to minister after Ryan Hablitzel, who transferred to Ogden, Utah, in September 2013. Local church members are thrilled to have a pastor after more than a year on their own. Berlin is not new to this area. He was raised in adjacent Colorado, and attended Castle Valley Academy (now DayStar Adventist Academy) during his high school years. “I am still pinching myself to see if its real that God just brought me back to the place where the early foundations of my friendship with Him were just forming, not to mention the beautiful location that enchanted me so when I was just 15,” says Berlin. “It was here that I first started discovering God’s undeserved, unmerited, grace, which was a profound transformation for me, so in a way this is a holy land for me, where I have mental ebinezers,” (rocks of remembrance).
DENNIS BERLIN
Benjamin Carballo
Dennis and Lori Berlin with daughters Carmel and Kara will be serving the Castle Valley/Moab/Price district in southeastern Utah.
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BENJAMIN CARBALLO
Pastors Fill Long-Term Vacancies in Nevada and Utah
Pastor Benjamin Carballo also recently joined the pastoral staff of the NevadaUtah Conference, filling the vacancy left by Pastor Jose Garcia in December. Carballo comes from Veracruz, Mexico. He accepted Jesus at age 11. Always longing to be a part of the ministry, he attended
Benjamin Carballo joins the Maranatha church in Las Vegas from Veracruz, Mexico.
the University of Montemorelos, graduating in 1993 with a degree in theology. The summer following his graduation, he married Veronica Zuniga and the new couple began pastoral ministry together. He served both as associate and district pastor until 1997, when he became director of youth and served as an evangelist in the South Veracruzana Association. In June of 2001, he was called to the Hidalgo-Veracruzana Association serving again as director of youth and as an evangelist for five months. He went on to serve as director of youth and family life in the South Mexican Union for nine years. During that time, he earned a master’s degree in family relations at the University of Montemorelos. He served as youth director for the Inter-American Division from July 2010 until joining the congregation of the Maranatha Spanish church in Las Vegas, Nev., as their senior pastor in January. Maranatha Associate Pastor Mario Alvarado breathed a sigh of relief at Carballo’s arrival, as he has been serving without a senior pastor for about two of the last three years.
Michelle Ward