My visits to the 5th Asian Youth Day (AYD5) and the ICPE Mission centre were both very encouraging and blessed. It was great to see so many young people from different parts of Asia coming together for the purpose of knowing each other and to experience God. I was assigned to facilitate a workshop on Worship. After this event, I served the ICPE Mission by giving talks and workshops on worship leading. Amidst the busy schedule, I also met many friends and made new friends in both events. Truly, God has been very kind and I could see His blessings all the way.
The Mission trip started as I was at the airport in Kota Kinabalu. Sr. Terry had kindly connected me with a full time youth coordinator from the diocese Kuching. She was also flying to the Philippines to facilitate one of the workshop at AYD5. Her name is Stephanie Ng. We spoke about the joy and excitement of working with the youth and some of the common challenges that we encounter with the younger generation and other bodies in our church. After much sharing and discussion, we exchange contacts and are determine to see how we can network to encourage and support each other in our work.
As soon as I arrived at the event centre, the participants were given the possibility of receiving the sacrament of reconciliation. That was such a gift from God and I went. One that I needed to do for a long time.
Workshops were planned for the 1600 people that were there. In every workshop, there were about 20 participants. I gave a workshop called the “Heart of Worship”. Many of the participants who came were not so involved in worship leading nor have they experienced what we know as “charismatic worship sessions”. However, what I had prepared was to talk about the basis of understanding worship – taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It was well received and I felt that they were taking it in and were encouraged. Many feedback from the participants in the end also confirmed that conviction was happening as I was sharing.
Other than the workshop, I also connected with people from different parts of Asia. I could encourage them in their spiritual journey and also spoke about possibilities to network together in the future.
The time with the ICPE Mission was also a good experience for me. The 3 day seminar on worship was divided in 2 parts. The mornings were filled with teachings and discussions. The afternoons were practical and workshops. It was good to hear the feedback from the participants that they were both stretched and encouraged. I spent the rest of the time connecting with others. Even did some coachings... It was all very positive.
No comments:
Post a Comment