41 enjoy Wellington camp

by ROWENA OREJANA
WELLINGTON — Youth For Christ in Wellington recently concluded its
“discovery camp” that allowed 41 young members to discover their talents and how they can use these to glorify God.
Youth leaders Joanna Viernes and Joshua Nerona said said the young
participants really took what they learned to heart at the weekend,
from May 2-4.

“I heard a few of the members were saying some of the talks were
quite deep. The members were really young, but I feel like they really got something out of it,” Miss Viernes said.
The camp was about enriching relationships with God, pushing boundaries and strengthening commitment as Catholics, for the participants aged 12-17.
Couples for Christ coordinator Brazil and Grace Valerio considered
the camp “a huge success”.
“They were inspired by the speakers and sharers. They learned and experienced that God loves them and have grown to love him more. They also discovered areas in their lives that hindered them from experiencing the fullness of life God offers,” he said.
The other part of the experience was getting to know themselves.
“The camp was about looking within themselves and knowing that
they are gifted, talented and blessed by God,” Mr Nerona said.
“Some of them didn’t realise their own talents and were surprised to
find that they could sing or dance. It was amazing.”
While the participants were all from the Filipino community, they said the group itself is open to all ethnicities.
“It just happened that those who were available were from the Filipino community,” Miss Viernes said.
Mr Nerona said the YFC Wellington chapter is trying to reach out to
the other communities by participating in a lot of Church activities. There are several YFC chapters in Auckland, which has a
wider ethnic mix.
“We’ve been doing a lot of activities that join with other communities,” he said.
He said many of their senior youth leaders have transitioned to the Singles for Christ. The new leaders are quite young and would need more experience. He said the youth group also got help from the Auckland chapters.
The Auckland YFC West A, West B and North Shore chapters held an
entry camp during the same weekend, welcoming around 70 young
people into the group.