CIC youths attend ‘Persons are Gifts’ programme

Apr 26, 2024

By Yuhanes Noel Raj
The youth group of the Church of the Immaculate Conception (CIC), organised the Persons are Gifts (PAG) programme at their parish recently. Originally put together by the late Fr Ignatius Huan while he was based in St Theresa’s Church, Melaka in the late 80s, the PAG programme has continued to touch hundreds of lives ever since.

The PAG typically caters for 12 to 15-year-olds. The three-day, two-night live-in programme was an opportunity for young people to discover themselves and others as gifts. Using the analogy of the gift, participants learn that the person is more important than appearances and that people come in different shapes and sizes with their own unique characteristics and gifts.

The whole PAG weekend was packed with sessions facilitated by Jason Joseph and Annabel Loh, which involved learning from small group sharings, scripture reflections, activities that centred on community, fun games, music, prayer, and lots of affirmation and love. Through the sessions, participants recognised their gifts, talents, and the people in their lives who are gifts.

Feedback from the participants

“I learned that I can make other people’s lives better by sharing my talents and gifts that God has given me... I will always use my talents to change other people’s lives and make them better to keep this experience going...” – Chastan

“PAG taught me to appreciate the people that I am surrounded with because we are all gifts and we should be treated equally. Besides this, it also taught me to appreciate my parents. Even though sometimes our parents do tend to approach us in the wrong way, we have to understand that they’re also learning.” – Pauline

“I have discovered my talent that is public speaking … Although my talent is simple but I still appreciate what God has given to me... my contribution is to my parish to keep this experience going, that is, I hope that every one of them will get to know what is a gift to them.” – Angelica

“The sessions that touched me greatly was the Parent and Child Relationships and God’s Love. It’s extremely eye opening for me when I realise how I’ve always took my parents and God’s love for granted. My friends and I that have participated in the PAG camp decided to get more youths to join us in being servants of God and to build a strong community and spread the good news. ” – Trinity

“Throughout the PAG, I’ve discovered lots of things about myself, know how much God loves me and also to appreciate and love myself more. I’ve truly understood the meaning of strong friendship and to appreciate everyone’s gift, especially my family.” – Eva

“PAG did a turning point of my life as it made me remember God’s infinite love for us. The best part of the camp was that everyone was showing love to each other through affirmation notes and hugs after the night prayer. It helped everyone turn over a new leaf.” – Catherine

“It changed the way I saw life. After the camp I learned many things. One of the things that I liked in the camp was The Outside Wrapping vs The Inside Gift because it really changed my view of myself. I also got closer with my parents, changed myself a lot.” – Gwen