They take home JESUS
Daniel Chinedu, a Nigerian studying in President College was invited to participate in Campus Alpha held recently at Visitation Formation Centre.
Dec 24, 2014

SEREMBAN (Herald Malaysia): Daniel Chinedu, a Nigerian studying in President College was invited to participate in Campus Alpha held recently at Visitation Formation Centre. He was hesitant for various reasons but was persuaded by a good friend to tag along. After the weekend experience, he was to testify that the talks were meant for him, especially those on the Holy Spirit. During ministry time, Daniel was obviously touched, and is now eager to bring his African friends to the next Alpha.
Daniel’s testimony of being touched by the Holy Spirit was shared by many others. Leonard Valentine from Keningau, studying in Multi Media University, shared that he was filled by the Spirit for the first time. Yet another student was to tell that she never believed in God but during the time of prayer, she was overwhelmed by guilt and went on to make a good confession. Having encountered Jesus, many were led to examine their conscience and thereafter, they made peace with themselves, and with God, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Fr George Harrison, parish priest from Church of the Holy Family Kajang was the prime motivator for this round of Campus Alpha. He encouraged more than fifty students to participate alongside those who had signed up online. Apart from just encouraging the students, Fr George, together with Fr John Gnanapiragasam, parish priest of Visitation Church, also made themselves available to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Another priest, Fr Justin, SJ from St Francis Xavier’s Church, Petaling Jaya, took time off to spend most of the weekend with the students. Hopefully, he will find time to support the students, especially those who are from East Malaysia as they are vulnerable in their surroundings and any support that can be given to them by the Church will indeed be valuable. Fr Justin, in celebrating the Eucharist before the weekend came to a close, summarized all the talks in Alpha for the benefit of the students, to affirm that the Lord is ever present in their midst.
Terence Andrew, who just a week ago was in Kuching for Alpha Belia, was humbled by what he had experienced. He took responsibility for this camp in Seremban and worked with a dedicated team of speakers and facilitators. He was especially inspired by the sharing in the small groups and by the friendship that was built during the weekend.
The young speakers in Terence, Aaron, Jameson Tan, Karen Tan and Damian Khaw delivered the talks in Bahasa Malaysia and English. Credit must be given to them for they took time to study the scripts and to give their all. Facilitators and their helpers in the small groups did marvellously to ensure confidentiality was respected. The worship band led by Terence, from Our Lady of Lourdes was in top form and in the process, uplifted many with their powerful delivery of worship hymns.
Fun loving Aaron Bradley had many in stitches during break time and time out for lighter moments. Put East Malaysians together in a room with some catchy music, and in no time, they will take to the floor and dance away. Such was the scene after the heavy sessions and dinner was over. The singing and the dancing was so contagious that Fr George himself decided to join them on the floor, albeit for a short while.
Put aside all the fun and laughter, Youth or Campus Alpha have made many people realize that they could go out and infect others with the Joy they found in Jesus. Those who experienced such joy could not contain their excitement and they await eagerly to bring their friends to the next camp. They want to share their experience of being touched by the love of God in the campuses they come from. Fr George believes that they can do wonders. He is certain that the youths can be equipped with the necessary tools and be sent out.
The same contagion was experienced in Kuching recently after close to 80 participants, mostly young people, with a handful of priests and religious sisters attended Alpha Belia or Youth Alpha. That weekend in Kuching was made possible because one person took it upon himself to spearhead it after permission was granted by His Grace, Archbishop John Ha. Fr Vincent Chin, parish priest of St Peter, Padungan, put together a local team and worked with the Alpha Asia Pacific Catholic Team, headed by Fr John Gnanapiragasam. The 80 participants were mostly youths from the Archdiocese of Kuching, a team from the parish of Mary, Immaculate Conception, Kapit as well as a team from the Diocese of Miri. The outcome was the commitment by numerous parishes ready to take on Alpha.
Meanwhile, a team from Kuching, and another from Kuala Lumpur, are preparing to travel to Kapit in January 2015 to help conduct Alpha Belia. In the midst of organizing the various events, friendship flourishes between priests and lay Catholics from the different dioceses. With the help of the internet, communication tools such as Line App allow interactions with relative ease. The strong networking and the empowerment by the priests allow many young people to go out of themselves and into the peripherals to bring the Good News to those in the interior of Borneo, exactly what Archbishop John Ha has been praying for as he was to exclaim, while giving his blessing, “At last Alpha is going to the interiors of Borneo!”
A course as simple as Alpha has the ability to transform lives, as it gives people an opportunity to discover the meaning of life and to encounter Jesus. At the last count, more than 24 million people have attended Alpha in 170 countries. Alpha has been translated into 70 languages. Many Catholic dioceses in the world have adopted it as a tool for evangelization and re-evangelisation.
In short, each time Alpha is conducted, the guests take home with them JESUS …
Young people, don’t you want to COME & SEE?
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