KUCHING — 19 youths from the BSC Chinese Youth Ministry joined their annual youth camp at Bunan Gega, Serian from 1 – 3 June 2019.
After Fr. Felix Au gave his blessings to the participants, they began their journey from Blessed Sacrament Church to Bunan Gega at 8am. The aim of this retreat is to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Holy Spirit through experiencing the Alpha Weekend Away.
After arriving at Leopold Memorial Centre, the youths were greeted by Fr. Berchmans before they headed to the Gethsemane Pilgrimage Centre to re-enact the Stations of the Cross. The youths then had their lunch and their 1st Alpha Weekend Away Session titled: How Does God Guide Us?
On the same evening, the youths were given the privilege to join Fr. Selvan in the celebration of ‘Hari Gawai’ together with the locals at Kampung Tebun Lebat. Dinner was a vast array of native delights and after everyone had their fill, the youths were invited to the community hall to join in the fun of dancing.
The next day, the youths attended Sunday Mass in Bahasa Bidayuh at St. Jude’s Church. Though the Mass was not in their vernacular, it was an experience for the youths of the universality of the Catholic Mass where the difference in language does not divide the communion of the faithful in the Eucharist.
The youths then continued with their 2nd Alpha Weekend Away Session titled: Who Is the Holy Spirit? In this discussion, they concluded that the Holy Spirit is the best gift from God. The youths were also given the opportunity to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Fr. Berchmans after the 2nd Session.
The third and final Alpha Weekend Away Session was How to be Filled with The Holy Spirit? After a fruitful discussion, the youths enjoyed a game session at the field across the Memorial Centre where they shared lots of fun and laughter.
On their last evening at the Memorial Centre and having gone through the three Alpha Weekend Away sessions, a pray over session was conducted by Sister Joyce, Brother Chris, Brother Gary and Brother Kevin to invite the Holy Spirit into the lives of the youths.
Before departing Bunan Gega, the youths had a group photo with Fr. Berchmans and the BSC Chinese Youth Ministry presented a token of appreciation to Fr. Berkmans. They left Bunan Gega with abundant joy and feeling it had been a fruitful experience.
Michelle Chua
