The CFCI Youth Intake Camp was held at Dasya Holistic Retreat Centre in Porvorim from the 28th to the 30th of April, 2017, the theme being ‘Bringing in a new generation‘ or ‘BANG’. This camp focused on helping the youth of today experience God’s love and mercy, thereby bringing in a new generation of youth who can be God’s light to all those in darkness. The camp comprised of 34 participants along with a camp team of 10 youth and couple formators, and other members of the community who offered their services.
The Team leaders Wayne Barretto and Dalreen Fernandes along with the rest of the camp team kicked off the camp at 2:30 pm on the 28th of April with registration and the allocation of rooms. Alongside the parents were briefed by the youth formaters Tito Joshua and Tita Blossom Noronha. The icebreaker dance “As we walk” was played, soon after which the music ministry began teaching songs. With an opening prayer, the first talk ‘God’s love and his plan for us‘ was given by Weinschiel and Carol who beautifully managed to convey how God has an amazing plan for us and how vast his love for us is. After the first group discussion and the teaching of a song, came the second talk on ‘Who Jesus Christ is to me?‘, by Dalreen followed by a testimony by Charissa. Through their talk and sharing, they were able to convey who and what Jesus was to their lives. The participants could relate to them and also realized how Jesus was not just God but also their brother. After the next GD came the delicious dinner, post which began the first entertainment night with games like ‘Berlin wall‘ and ‘Bed sheet ping pong‘ that got the crowd excited and exhausted. Most of the youth retired for the night with the exception of a few who were still too excited to get any sleep.
The first activity held the following day was the faith walk and faith fall, coordinated by Wayne Barretto. Through this activity participants received a practical explanation on having faith that their friend would guide them safely, so also they should have the same faith in Jesus. After breaking the fast with a prayer, meal and song, the camp entered into the third talk on ‘Repentance, Faith, Healing and Forgiveness‘ by Rahul Philip along with testimonies by Carol and Dalreen. The personal sharing by both the girls showed everyone attending the steps essential to ‘Cross‘ the divide sin creates between us and God. After the teaching of worship songs, the inner healing session was held by Carol which helped the participant’s practice forgiveness and healing in their own lives. Following the inner healing they were taught how to free praise by Andrea. Finally another full stop at lunch for everyone to recharge their batteries. Post an amazing lunch, the attendees learned the importance of confession and how to go through the examination of conscience which was explained by Dalreen. After the talk, the attendees readied themselves for confession and began making preparations for the skit. The fourth talk was on ‘the Power of the Holy Spirit‘ given by Wayne with Carol’s testimony educating everyone on the third entity in the Holy Trinity.
Finally, the highlight of the camp, ‘The Prayover‘. With the help of all the Tito’s, Tita’s and the amazing musicians, all present at the camp were able to surrender themselves to God and receive the Holy Spirit in their lives. Wayne then organized a worship session and testimonies of how the participants felt after the pray over. Each and every participant shared a little bit on their personal thoughts. Post another fantastic dinner, the second entertainment night kicked off, ending the second day with a Bang!
The third day began with the participants being given tips on personal prayer by Weinschiel and then another superb breakfast. With the teaching of a song and worship, the participants began writing letters to members of their family mainly their parents. To get the sleep bugs out of their eyes, there were a few water games that helped cool off in the summer heat and get everyone awake. Finally, the last talk by Andrea on ‘How to grow in the Spirit‘ had participants briefed on how to go about life post the camp and what lies ahead. Following the talk, all the youth attended their last camp GD. The final lunch was as tasty as it was sad but it was followed by a surprise when parents suddenly showed up to visit their children. It was a beautiful sight as tears rolled down the cheeks of some and the others laughed with joy after spending time with their parents. What little may have remained unsaid was finally conveyed and love filled the venue.
Lastly, a lovely mass celebrated by Fr. Oscar was attended by all during which everyone learnt about their duties as members of the Church and also lifted up the lives of the participants. The camp ended with a Praise Fest lead by Carlton where participants and the camp team showed the parents God’s love which they experienced during the camp. There was some bonding with parents and attacking of the snacks that were serves out for everyone. Truly the camp ended with a BANG! Praise God!
Leave a Reply