Youth Alpha programme at Taiping Catholic Church

Apr 06, 2015

By Gerry Pereira
The thunderous “Yes” by the participants in responding to the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Jude’s question, “Do you want the same team to do your confirmation camp?” summarized the weekend held 14-15 March 2015.

Led by Terence Andrew and his team, the participants had fun and experienced learning about the Trinity and the plan God has for their lives from members of the Alpha team who were not very much older than they.

For all participants it was a first time experience. The testimonies by the participants only confirmed their experience over the weekend and the desire to continue the journey of becoming witnesses of Jesus in their daily lives through the reading of the Word of God and a prayer life.

The Youth Alpha programme was the conclusion of a six week Bible study programme which was conducted by the parish team for the Forms Three, Four and Five as part of the preparation programme for confirmation this year and the years to come. The preparation will include in the course of the year, Theology of the Body and How to handle stress and emotions so as to equip confirmants to be accountable and responsible for their faith journey and their daily lives.

The parish takes this opportunity to thank the Alpha youth team for nurturing the seeds of faith planted in the lives of the participant through baptism

TESTIMONIES

I did not take my faith life seriously and attended church as a weekly routine. At the camp I experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit working in me and have a desire to know and grow closer to God. -- Praaveen Ron (17 yrs)

The Alpha youth camp was an eye opener to me. Not only did I have lots of fun but I have also learned many things from it. First, Jesus is always forgiving no matter how big our sins are. This doesn’t mean that we must sin all the time. Second, I came to the realization that if I wanted to live a peaceful life and walk in the right path I need the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Finally prior to the camp I thought that God did not listen to my prayers. These thoughts changed during the session on prayer. I discovered that God is always listening to our prayers. I need to be patient and wait for God’s timing. All in all I didn’t expect the camp to be fun but it was and I really hope to attend this camp again. -- Avitra Usun (15yrs)

I began the camp with negative thoughts but as I sat through each session, I felt God was with me. During the repentance session when my facilitator Patrick was praying for me, I felt God saying. “Do not fear my son for I am with you always.” During and after the camp I desired to and am spending time with God. I also noticed that I unconsciously said a prayer before doing things, something I never did before. Thank you teachers, the facilitators from Taiping, the Youth-Alpha Team and also my dear friends for helping me experience Jesus in my life. -- Alvinus Bryan (16yrs)

This Youth Alpha camp was really an amazing camp. It was also the first camp that I had to facilitate. It was really scary initially as I had no experience in facilitating. On the first day, the sessions were lively and interesting but when it came to the group sharing, I started to freak out as everyone in my group was shy and hesitated to share. Thank God I had another facilitator to help out. After a few group sharings my team members began to open up and share. They shared some deep insights. We had a deep and fulfilling experience as we prayed for each other for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. After the praying over the team members were more relaxed and more responsive. You could sense a change. This made me happy and I was no more scared. Thank you to the Youth Alpha team, Teachers, Father Jude and Deacon Clement for this amazing camp! -- Patrick Lazaroo (18 yrs )

I attended the Youth Alpha camp out of obedience to my mum, after having tried all excuses to avoid attending the camp. My obedience reaped its blessings. I was impressed with the presentation of Who is Jesus? and it kept me wanting to know more about Jesus. In anticipation of discovering God’s love for me I began participating in the praise and worship sessions. While doing the “sin paper” I began to repent for my sins and without realizing it tears of sorrow began to flow. I braved myself and went for confession feeling God was close to me. This experience was further strengthened when we prayed over each other for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The weekend has instilled in me a desire to read God’s word and to spend time in prayer with God. I thank the Alpha team for journeying with us. -- Sheldon Ezekiel, (16 yrs)