BAU – The Kuching Young Christian Students (KYCS) held the annual Joseph Cardijn Solidarity Camp (JCSC) at Kampung Gumbang, Bau on the 19th-21st of November. The theme for the camp was “Abusing the body: iPrecious, are you?” supported by the bible verse; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. This annual event was attended by 10 schools: SMK St Joseph, SMK St Teresa, SMK Batu Lintang, SMK Green Road, SMK Penrissen No.1, SM Lodge, SMK Sg. Maong, SMK Arang Road, SMK Kuching High dan SMK Lake.
The purpose of the camp was to foster a relationship between YCS’es and to practise solidarity with the locals as well as to commemorate the birthday of Joseph Cardijn, the person who inspired this movement. It also serves as an outlet for the members to encounter Jesus Christ in a more intimate way through staying together with their foster families.
A total of 80 students consisting of both participants and committees took part in this big event while being assisted and guided by teachers and Student Animators. The participant stayed with foster families who took them in with open arms and care for them as their very own.
Each day was filled with various fun-filled activities, sessions, praise and worship and not forgetting Holy Mass, which were celebrated by Fr. Simon on Saturday and Monday and Fr. Adrian on Sunday. Session after session, the participants would learn more and more about the preciousness and the sacredness of the human body. The sessions were led by different speakers following the SEE, JUDGE, and ACT methodology. In addition, the participants and committees took part in Solidarity Night and whole village was invited to the celebration. The night was filled with hilarious sketches and touching songs as the participant literally danced the night away with a “poco-poco” dance requested by the locals and a dance routine by the coordinator, Rex Ling.
The camp was officially ended around 11.30am with a closing mass by Fr. Simon Poh and a token of appreciation was given to the Prayer Leader of the kampong. Although the participants were reluctant to leave, they were also excited to share what they have learnt to their families and friends. All in all, the camp was a big success and we all look forward to the next JCSC.
Prepared by,
ANSELM ADRIAN

SERIAN – The Kuching Young Christian Students (KYCS) Leadership Formation Camp (LFC) 2011 with the theme “Teamwork: You’ll Never Walk Alone” was held at Babuk Leopold Memorial Centre, Bunan Gega on the 16^th – 18^th September 2011. Led by the Student Animators (SA) under the care of Kuching Archdiocesan Commission for Youth (KAYC), this camp was organized annually to gather the new YCS movement leaders and committee members from SM Lodge, SMK Balai Ringin, SMK Batu Lintang, SMK Green Road, SMK Jalan Arang, SMK Kuching High, SMK Lake, SMK Penrissen No. 1, SMK Serian, SMK St Joseph, SMK St Teresa, SMK Sg. Maong and SMK Tebakang, among the 15 secondary schools with YCS movements.

Daily Mass on Saturday was presided by Fr Lazarus Swinnie and Sunday Mass was attended together with the Bunan Gega community, presided by Fr Jerome Juleng. There were also Taize prayers and a session on Praise and Worship, alongside the SEE, JUDGE and ACT sessions with interesting debate and creative presentations. Sessions were conducted by Lucy Gumek from the KAYC and the SA.

A total of 68 participants from 13 different schools participated in this camp, with the assistance of teachers, members from Parish Youth Ministry (PYM) Bunan Gega and friends from Kuching for meals preparation.

James Lai

Testimonies:

Kami telah mempelajari betapa pentingnya kerjasama satu pasukan membuat sesuatu perkara supaya menjadi lebih mudah – Anthony Ujang, SMK Serian

I think this camp is one of the most enjoyable camps in my life. I learned a lot more about leadership and made new friends from various schools. Not to forget about the love of God! – Abner Wong, SMK Kuching High

Saya dapat bertemu dengan ramai peserta dari berlainan sekolah. Saya juga mempelajari tentang kepimpinan and tentang Yesus – Ifyonda Batin, SMK St. Teresa

The camp was SUPERB! It was such a great experience for me. Not only did I make new friends, I learned what it takes to be a leader. It is important to act and help out our friends who need leadership; like Jesus leads his disciples to preach the Good News of Lord. Amen. – Blaise Tan, SMK Penrissen No. 1

This camp was awesome! From this camp, I’ve learnt how to be a better leader. I’ve also learnt how to communicate and mix with other people. Praise the Lord! Thank you – Eleanor Rachel, SMK Lake, Bau

LFC was a great experience. The activities were fun especially solidarity night. I heard the food was great, but I couldn’t enjoy it because of a cut on my tongue. The sessions were interesting and life-changing. The theme this year was “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. They taught us about teamwork and how to work together. Overall, the LFC experience was great even though I was an unbaptised Christian. – Lau Hwai Jie, SMK St. Joseph

LFC was great! I learnt a lot about being a leader and teamwork when listening to the talks and when doing tasks in my team, I also met many news faces whom I had the pleasure of working with. Even though the camp was only for 3 days, the knowledge I gained will stay with me for a long time and I hope I can use it during YCS meetings in school. – Ethel Ping, SMK Batu Lintang

LFC2011 is my first LFC that I’ve been to. I’ve met different leaders from different schools. And other than that, I’ve learned how to be a better leader in the future; e.g. must have faith with each other, trust, sacrifice, etc. And I pray that God will guide me to be a better leader in YCS and also others community. – Patrick Wong, SMK Green Road

Praise the Lord for the success of this camp. I’m glad that I made new friends and got to learn about God more and at the same time, learning to be a better leader. I can’t wait for the next LFC. – Emily Yeo, SM Lodge

This camp is awesome. I have learned to be very sporting and good listener, get to love God more, well-time managing, be considerate more and get to understand each other better – Catherine Sambai, SMK Sungai Maong

Madrid, SPAIN – A total of 21 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Kuching attended the World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, Spain from 16-22 August 2011. A journey of accompaniment with each other, read up more in the September issue of Today’s Catholic. Read on below for some of their testimonials!

“The WYD experience in Madrid is one that I shall never forget. It is amazing to see 1.5 million people taking the effort to come together to celebrate this 1 week long event along with the Pope. And these are mostly young people from all walks of life and different countries gathered together at Madrid. It makes me so proud to be part of this large Christian family in the world. We have shared many stories and experience with the other pilgrims, learning about their cultures, country, personal interests and many more. It is so wonderful to celebrate Mass and attend services with the Pope and the millions of pilgrims together. The fact that we were using the Latin language (The universal language of the Church) makes it all the more beautiful. This experience is only once in a lifetime and I strongly recommend young people to join future WYD events, it is something which you will never regret taking part in.” ~Emmanuel Foong

“It was my second WYD experience after WYD Sydney 2008 and the memories I gathered here is priceless! Joining the Archdiocese of Kuching for this trip was truly amazing! We were all strangers at first but now we have not only strengthened our faith in the Lord, we have also strengthened our friendship bond. I really missed all our times spent together even though the worst part of the pilgrimage… under the scorching heat, crowds and to the point of breaking down… and as the saying goes: every ending is a new beginning, let us grow firmer in our faith and look forward to WYD Brazil 2013!” ~Melissa Lim

“WYD is truly a life-changing experience for me. Millions of youths gathered in Jesus’ name regardless of their nationality, skin colour and background. Yes, I have to admit that the pilgrimage wasn’t a “walk in the park,” we were physically and mentally exhausted but thanks to the prayers of everyone for us, we survived (especially during the Vigil at Cuatro Vientos)! Praise God! Join us at the next WYD in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2013!” ~Valerie Jane Bakri

Definitely full of trials and challenges – a test of patience, communication skills and heat tolerance! Nonetheless full of wonderful experiences, memories and self-learnt lessons about God, love and forgiveness. Meeting people from around the world with the same faith is simply exciting and worthwhile too!” ~Louisa Joyce Lim

“WYD has been an eye opening experience for me. It has shown me how the group pulled through the good and bad times while keeping God in our minds. Meeting Catholics from all over the world showed me that we are all one big family regardless of our colour. I will be sure to attend the next WYD in Rio.”~Mark Yeoh

“On this trip I have gained experiences that I will never forget my whole life. During DID and WYD I saw a lot of pilgrims from all around the world that came to attend both of these events. I became friends with some of the pilgrims during the events. It made me realize that the decision I have made to go for WYD was the right one. During the mass with the Pope, it was a really touching experience and I wish that I would be able to go to the next WYD.” ~Alexander Liew

ST. LUKAS, Kota Padawan – Seramai 21 orang peserta telah mengikuti program pra-orientasi untuk pelajar baru, K.I.T.A. (Keep In Touch Always) 21-22 Mei yang lalu. Kebanyakan peserta terdiri daripada pelajar lepasan tingkatan lima dan enam serta pelajar dari Institut Pendidikan Batu Lintang.

Antara topik yang diberikan adalah Iman Kristian dan Pengislaman, Isu-isu di Kampus, Analisa mengenai Isu Pelajar Dalam Perspektif Budaya, Sosial dan Agama serta Perhubungan yang Sihat. Salah satu perkara yang kebanyakan mereka pelajari dalam program ini adalah mengenai iman mereka sebagai seorang Kristian Katolik lebih-lebih lagi apabila menempuh cabaran dan dugaan dalam hidup terutamanya dalam kampus. Selain itu, mereka juga mempelajari bagaimana hendak menjalinkan perhubungan yang sihat. Topik-topik tersebut banyak mendedahkan mereka kepada realiti yang berlaku oleh kebanyakan pelajar dari Sabah dan Sarawak apabila mereka merantau ke Semenanjung Malaysia untuk melanjutkan pelajaran.

Sebelum program berakhir, para peserta diagihkan “survival kit” yang mengandungi maklumat yang boleh mereka rujuk apabila mereka berada di sana kelak termasuk risalah “In Defence of” yang mengandungi soalan dan jawapan mengenai dasar iman kita. Pihak penganjur juga menekankan kepada para peserta untuk berkongsi maklumat yang mereka telah peroleh daripada program ini kepada kawan-kawan mereka, terutamanya ynag melanjutkan pelajaran ke Semenanjung Malaysia.

KUCHING – In view of the Gawai Dayak Harvest Festival, the Kuching Young Christian Students (KYCS) took up the initiative to reach out to children and youths of Dayak families through the Gawai Food Parcel Project. This project was initiated by ‘Meeting Needs’, a Community Rehabilitation Project run by volunteers who sought participation from the Catholic Church through the Kuching Archdiocesan Youth Commission (KAYC) due to increase in Dayak families with family member(s) with learning disabilities over the past two years.

Inspired to make a difference this festive season, YCS students and their families from Kolej Abdillah, SM Lodge, SMK Batu Lintang, SMK Green Road, SMK Sg. Maong, SMK St Joseph and SMK St Teresa generously donated food items and used clothes for eight families in Kpg. Kopit, Kpg. Merembeh, Kpg. Sogo and Kpg. Puak, situated in Bau. These Catholic families have children either with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy or mental problems, are slow learners or have sick parents who are unable to provide for the family.

The Centre called The Therapy Playroom (situated at Jln. Dogan), is a development and therapy centre for children and adults. The volunteers there help those with these disabilities to learn language and speech. This Gawai Food Parcel Project is their charitable act to these families to have a better Gawai celebration.

The KYCS Student Animators delivered the food items on behalf of the students to the families on Sunday 29 May, all of which were grateful to be blessed with such abundance for a better Gawai celebration. Rosaries were also given to the family members, with a simple prayer being said with the families.

CEWC – Bermula dari 21-24 April 2011, seramai 885 orang peserta dan pelayan dari semua paroki dalam Keuskupan Agung Kuching telah berkumpul beramai-ramai di Christian Ecumenical Worship Centre (CEWC), Jalan Stampin buat julung kalinya untuk menyertai program Triduum Spiritualiti dengan tema “Siapakah Aku ini?” yang dipetik daripada Injil Markus 8:29.

Program tersebut dianjurkan oleh Komisi Belia Keuskupan Agung Kuching bersama-sama dengan belia di setiap paroki serta pelbagai kumpulan belia.  Ianya telah diilhamkan oleh Uskup Agung John Ha dan beliau merupakan penceramah utama sepanjang prorgam tersebut. Turut hadir ketika itu ialah Br. Ghislain dan Br. Andreas dari Taize untuk membantu para belia di Keuskupan Agung Kuching mengalami kehadiran Tuhan melalui doa Taize. Bukan itu sahaja, dalam input Uskup Agung John Ha, beliau telah menekankan siapakah Kristus pada dasarnya (kesengsaraan dan kebangkitan-Nya) dan apakah maksudnya untuk menjadi pengikut Yesus.

Triduum diakhiri dengan misa penutupan oleh Uskup Agung John Ha. Turut hadir untuk misa tersebut ialah para keluarga yang telah membantu untuk mengambil anak angkat khas untuk Triduum Spiritualiti.

KOTA PADAWAN – With the theme “Who Do You Say That I Am? “ (Mark 8:29), Kuching Archdiocesan Youth Apostolate program has brought 180 participants included 10 facilitators in a 4 weeks stay-in program at St. Lukas Catholic Centre, Kota Padawan from 10^th January 2011- 14^th February 2011. This is the 19^th KAYA program which has been successfully done with the full support of His Grace, Archbishop John Ha. These 170 graduates were from different parishes such as St. Joseph’s Cathedral, St. Stephen’s Parish, Holy Spirit’s Parish, St. Ann’s Parish, St. Theresa’s Parish, St. Jude’s Parish and Our Lady Queen Of Peace’s Parish, Sri Aman. In this program, they learnt about Community Living, Human Formation, Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Formation through daily mass and personal prayer with our Lord. On the last day, the program was concluded with mass by His Grace, Archbishop John Ha and continued with lunch together with AKAYA 19.

Testimonies from some participants:

KUCHING – The Kuching Young Christian Students (KYCS) Carollers gathered with family members and friends for an evening of fellowship on 12 December 2010. It was held at the St Joseph’s Parish Gallery just after the sunset mass around 7.30pm. Family Night is an annual occasion that all KYCS Carollers look forward to with the objective to thank all families especially parents of the carollers for their utmost support and generous contribution in allowing their children to be actively involved in carolling activities.

The event began with an opening speech by Rachel Remus, the KYCS Carolling Coordinator of 2010 followed by an opening prayer which was shortly followed by a brief sketch originally rehearsed and performed by the carollers themselves. Everyone had finally settled into their comfort zones as soon as the sketch ended and the whole team of carollers streamed in from the back and into the limelight to perform two christmas carols as the actual opening of the event.

Parish priest, Fr Simon Poh was present and invited upfront to say the grace before meal before the families present were called to partake in a potbless. Chairperson of Kuching Archdiocesan Commission for Youth, Stephanie Ng and Lucy Gumek were also present, with the Empowered youths supporting in providing the sound system. While families settled themselves outside on the gallery to enjoy the food, the team of carollers came upfront once more to perform Christmas carols, followed by sectional performances. The audience were swayed by performances consisting of a medley entitled Have Yourself a Holy Night, an improvised version of Stand By Me, The Christmas Song and sketch and a semi instrumental piece of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Games were played afterwards among the families to liven the atmosphere as soon as the carollers seated themselves among the audience. The audience was wound up in a state of frenzy when the games were in progress. After everyone had had a good laugh and the games had finally drawn to an end, a few parents of the carollers were invited upfront to give short sharing and affirmation to the carollers, especially those whose parents were unable to be present.

The night ended with a final performance by the carollers ~ a christmas favourite entitled Away In The Manger. The event was officially ended with a closing prayer.

Brenda Ngu

KUCHING – With the theme above, a Kuching Young Christian Students (KYCS) Joseph Cardijn (JC) Solidarity Camp was held on 1 to 3 December at Kpg. Mujat in the parish of Bunan Gega. More than 130 students from different urban and rural schools were involved in the camp as participants and organisers.

The organising committee of the camp was led by Jude Vergir from SMK Serian, assisted by vice-coordinators Julida Shirley from SMK Sg. Maong and Julian Edison from SMK Penrissen No. 1, alongside with 30 over students to ensure the camp ran smoothly. Guiding them were Mdm. Stephanie Ng and Ms. Lucy Gumek from the Archdiocese Youth Commission’s office, teacher and student animators, and assisted by the church committee of the village.

The camp focused on intimacy and the different types of relationships an average student faces. The students also experienced the lifestyle of a ‘kampung’ as they were accommodated by the villagers of Kpg. Mujat who became their foster families.

On the first day of camp, four seminarians from St. Peter’s College came to give a sharing on the topic of intimacy with God, family, boy-girl relationship and others. Then, a Eucharistic celebration presided by Fr. Simon Poh, from the Cathedral parish, was held at St. Leo’s Chapel in the village. The night ended with a Taize prayer which was done to reflect and pray for their relationship with God, their family and with others.

A morning mass was held to start the day and the presider was Fr. Lazarus Swinie from St. Jude’s Parish. The Wonderfully Made team of the archdiocese was invited and they facilitated interactive sessions and workshops throughout the day. The highlight of the evening was the solidarity night held at the village’s longhouse which was to foster friendship and goodwill between the students and the villagers of Kpg. Mujat.

The final day was a time to come up with a plan to bring awareness about intimacy and relationships in an individual effort and also as a school community. The camp ended with a closing mass which was celebrated by Fr. Lazarus Swinie in the local Bidayuh dialect and all the foster families of the participants joined in as well.

Ralph Balan

Grace Harrishyllin