Emmaus youth camp integrates local history with spirituality

KOTA KINABALU – The 8th Emmaus Youth Camp (EYC) integrated local history with spirituality for its 47 participants at the Catholic Student Centre here on 8-21 Jan 2017.

Organised by the Parish Youth Ministry Team under the Archdiocesan Youth Commission, the annual programme was attended by the youth (17-19 years old) from parishes within the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese.

Input sessions on (1) self-disovery (Imelda Soidi);  (2) Salvation History (Sr Juanah Saliun);  (3) Gift of Life (Nelson Fernandez);  (4) Youth Spirituality & Nationalism (Lester R Rubintinus);  (5) KITA (CMO & Anne Baltazar; (6) Local Church History (Neil Mah); (7) Personal Grooming & Resume Writing (Suzanne Dennis); and (8) Church Social Teaching (Sr Anita James) were given in the morning followed by reflection, sharing and creativities in the afternoon.

For the exposure section, the participants went to St Dominic Tombulion Kota Belud to learn about its history and to get acquainted with its youth ministry.

The participants also made a field trip to the Double Six Monument, Petagas War Memorial and the Jabatan Perpaduan Integrasi Nasional in order to broaden their understanding and appreciation of their local history.

Other activities included daily Eucharist, common prayers, daily chores, exercises and recreation.  The participants also had a day of recollection (Day 13) to help them reflect and process their experiences, learnings and discoveries during the entire camp.

The programme aims to strengthen the participants’ Christian identity, to enable them to live out their faith in the world, and to ignite their awareness and sense of responsibility towards the society. – Imelda Soidi