The CFCI-Youth Siolim intake camp was held at the Xavier Retreat House, Baga from 12th to 14th May 2017. The camp theme – “Bread and More” referred to Jesus as the living bread as well as the aspects of fun, freedom, faith and friendship. The programme consisted of 5 sessions held over a three day duration and was attended by almost 25 youth.
The three day camp began with an orientation program for the parents, followed by a couple of ice breaker activities and gospel songs where the participants got to know each other. The first session given by Carol D’Souza, which talked about God’s love, made the participants aware of how much He loves us and the wonderful plans He has for us. All the sessions were accompanied by life sharing’s. The second session ‘Who is Jesus Christ to us?‘, urged the participants to build a stronger relationship with Christ. Every session was followed by a group discussion (GD) where the participants broke up into groups, guided by their respective GD heads, who encouraged them to share how God was working in their lives. The participants gelled well with each other through the activities, action songs and games held later that night.
The second day of the camp which began with ‘aeropraise‘(praising God through exercise), saw 2 more sessions spaced out. The participants were briefed well on personal prayers and praising God and they enjoyed spending time in doing so. The third session on ‘Repentance, Faith, Healing and Forgiveness‘ was followed by a time of inner healing and confessions. The participants were also led into ‘one to ones‘ with their respective GD heads, which they saw as an opportunity to share their areas of struggle.
On the same day, a centenary Eucharistic celebration was held at the retreat house to inaugurate the recently erected grotto of Our Lady of Fatima in their campus, commemorating the 100th year of Her apparition at Fatima, Portugal. The participants along with a few locals were a part of this celebration.
Through the fourth session- ‘Power of the Holy Spirit‘, the participants got to know who the Holy Spirit really is and how He can work in their lives. The anointing session held later in the day, allowed the participants to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and many experienced comfort and healing.
After every session, the service team members would come up to share about how God is working in their lives. In addition, a “SHAREit wall” was put up, where the team members were allowed to share the same.
The final day of the camp started off with a praise and worship session, which was followed by the last talk on ‘Growing in the Holy Spirit‘. The talk focused on the various tools that aid our spiritual growth and hence help us develop a deeper relationship with God. The participants were also guided through writing a letter of appreciation, showing their love and gratitude to their parents, who joined in the final Eucharistic celebration.
The camp came to a close with an amazing Praise fest which saw the participants energetically singing, dancing and praising God!
Through the camp, the participants as well as the team learnt a lot about God, built new friendships and indeed, it was truly a faith-building and faith-enriching experience!
Report by Swelesha Colaco
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