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Day 1
Many people of
all ages traveled far to come to the Mary Immaculate Center in
Northampton, Pennsylvania, for the Đồng Hành Youth gathering. Despite
the secluded location, we all managed to find the center. The Mary
Immaculate Center is immense, and truly immaculate to its name. More
than 250 people registered, which made this the largest Đồng Hành
gathering in history. Everyone came for different reasons: to search
for God, to take refuge from daily life’s troubles, to make new
friends, to catch up with old ones, to participate in fun activities,
or simply to spend some time with God.
Upon arrival, we
had mixed emotions - nervousness, anxiety, and excitement. The
newcomers might have felt out of place, but the Đồng Hành family
embraced them to try to make them feel at home.
The first order
of business was introducing all the Linh Thao groups present. We
learned that people came from all over the U.S. and Canada and that
two persons even traveled from Germany. Cha Thành came all the way
from Rome. Wow! They must think that Đồng Hành is such a great
family to have traveled this far to be with us.
We were blessed
with pleasant weather, so we had mass outside that day. The mass was
different from the usual mass in that everyone had a candle - a
representation of us as one in Christ. Also, instead of Cha reading
the Gospel, a woman read it and children acted it out. This captured
our attention and helped us focus and understand the Gospel better.
The kids from the group Nazareth did a great job. Good Job gang!!
Later, the youth
held a meeting in the green room. Here we broke into our regions.
Prior to retrieving into our families, though, rules about behavior
and prohibitions were discussed. After signing an agreement contract,
we went off in our new, little families. In our families, we got to
know each other and realized that we were alike even though our
accents were different. We opened ourselves up to strangers who
quickly became our close friends.
Day 2
Quang started the
day with an enthusiastic performance of magic tricks. After Quang
“awakened” us, the morning prayer calmed our spirits so that we can
start the journey. After praying outside, the youths and the adults
separated into two tracks to attend the first workshop.
The topic was
family: immediate, groups, and the big Đồng Hành family. The
introductory skit featured an Oscar-deserving performance by Martin in
the role of God. The skit achieved its purpose�to help the youth
relax and feel comfortable. After the skit, one of the youth leaders,
Hoàng Dung, shared her inspiring story as a witness to Christ, which
united us as the proud youth of Đồng Hành.
The workshops
stimulated people to share and to listen, which helped bond us even
more in our little family. One of the main points was that our
contributions�no matter how great or small�were crucial in our Đồng
Hành family. The analogy used in the Family Workshop was that God is
our father in Heaven; Đồng Hành is our foster parent on Earth; our
individual groups are the children of Đồng Hành; and we are the blood
and the vitality of those children. As a result, our roles and
contributions were important to our groups and to the Đồng Hành family
as a whole. The workshop ended on an exciting note with a FAMILY cheer
inspired by the 1999 Youth Gathering in Kansas City: “Forget about me,
I love you!”
The second
workshop focused on mission. In the slideshow, Thiên An told us about
the early adventures and challenges of Đồng Hành (I think Thiên An was
the only person awake during the slideshow. Just kidding). We
learned about our history, which made seeing our future’s mission
clearer. Each group presented our view, and although each mission
statement was different, by and large, we had a similar goal for our
mission statement�to deepen our faith and to share it with others.
Cha Tuấn advised, let us keep the mission statement in our hearts so
that we can live and breathe it until it is ingrained in us, and we
become one with it.
At night, we held
mass inside. The mass was special because it was dedicated to three
couples celebrating their 25th anniversary. The homily was shared by
two members of the youth group in Đồng Hành. They shared about their
life-changing experiences, about belonging to a family, and about Đồng
Hành changing their lives through unconditional love. Mass ended with
us singing “Our God is an Awesome God” and doing the hand motions to
go along with it.
We had more
skits, which were all entertaining, funny, and realistic to some
degree. The skits presented values such as unity, love, and ethical
beliefs. The northeast region presented a talk show and imitated
facilitators in a half-mocking, half-humorous manner, but each
mock-facilitator told a story that described a positive thing they
received from their group. In another skit, all the members dressed up
as nuns wearing trash bags and singing the theme song from Sister
Act. The southwest region presented how each member’s talents and
skills allowed them to be instruments of God. While a woven moral in
each act was present, it was also laid back and entertaining. While
the contents of each presentation were different, a similar message
was etched throughout each: unity.
Between the
skits, we had auctions to benefit the Đồng Hành retreat program. Items
such as artwork and books were up for bidding. A trademark Đồng Hành
banner was sold for over $200. Even during auctions, one can sense the
aura of love and care that surged through the room as the bidding
proceeded. JP bade and bought a box of cigars for $70 and gave it to
the chaplain of Đồng Hành Youth, cha Long. The night ended with Phút
Hồi Tâm which recapped the events of the day. The event lasted about
3+ hours and after the night prayer, everyone was ready to hit the
sack.
Day 3
We started the
day with a morning prayer, led by cha Thành, and the topic was
friendship. Cha distinguished true friends from acquaintances as “bạn
chí thân” vs. “bạn thường.” Friendship in the beginning can be simple
and unfocused, but as time goes on, the friendship should have Christ
as the center. Such a friendship will be a treasure for all parties
involved.
At noon, the
youth and the adult group congregated to sing and share their
experiences over the past few days. We ended the day with mass. To
keep in touch with our new friends in Christ, we exchanged emails and
phone numbers, and promised to keep in touch.
That’s all
folks!!!
By Group
Memories,
Hạ Vy, Trần Phil,
Trần Mỹ Ngọc,
Martin - Clam
Chowder,
Việt - LoveBoat
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