“To go out into the world and spread its faith”
On August 19th – 24th 2020, for 6 days and 6 nights our team went further south of Pakse.
With the help of the Monsignor, priests, congregations, and local communities, our team were able to promote in five (5) different places which are: Minor Seminary, Phanone, Huaypheck, Khampeng, and Huaymood village
We presented the program to the priests, did promotions to get new applicants, met and built relationships with our partners and alumni so we can continue to journey together.
There were around 200 youths and children from the 4 villages who participated in these promotion activities.
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Joining the Taizé prayer in Huayphek Village
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Promotion in Phanon Village
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Lunch with the priests in Phanon Village
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Promotion in Khampeng Village
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Promotion in Khampeng Village
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IFFAsia Alumni gathering and Fellowship night in Pakse Minor Seminary
Our First Promotion Event
From our whole trip, August 19th, 2020 marked a remarkable experience for the Young Lives team.
It was the first time for us to present the program to the priests in Pakse.
The event was participated by around 30 people comprised of priests, nuns, seminarians, and youths.
It was a day of sharing the program, getting feedback, and exchange of life experience.
The priest and nuns had given a favorable response on how the program can help the young people acquire basic skills for their lives.
As they are always with the people, they are aware of the reality and challenges of the youth.
Local team’s growing confidence
It was the first time for us to present the program in Pakse.
The local team comprise of three (3) young youth coming from the three (3) Apostolic Vicariate of Laos which are Vientiane, Thakhek-Savanhnakhet and Pakse with the Program and Development Officer from the Philippines and their Country Responsible from Malaysia.
Our local team were able to present the program confidently and translate for the foreign team members.
It might sound ordinary for other countries to be able to speak and translate in English but not for Laos.
There are very few Laotians who are fluent in English. And for a country who rarely use English at work or school, acquiring the language is challenging.
The way they presented and handled the questions has shown how Young Lives has trained them to be more effective and efficient in their field of work.
Sharing our life testimonies
The presentation ended with the sharing of Ms. Aleona (a Young Lives and IFFAsia alumni and a staff sent by Fondacio Asia to coordinate Young Lives Laos) and Fr. Visien (rector of the seminary and an alumnus of IFFAsia).
Aleona’s sharing revolves on her journey into growing on her discipleship since she started working in Young Lives Laos. At the same time, she shared the challenges she has to bear to continue serving fulltime.
Surely, it wasn’t easy but it is worth it to prepare her for the mission in Laos.
Fr. Visien shared his growth on his exposure to cultural diversity and gender, being one of those priests who had undergone his seminarian formation after finishing high school.
His experience during the formation in IFFAsia has helped him in his priestly vocation.
Conclusion
This whole promotion experience helped us to become more confident in our mission. We were so empowered and happy to share the goodness of Young Lives.
Moreover, 20% of the youth expressed their interest to join Young Lives because of this promotion trip. And among those, three confirmed their desire to apply to our program.
This is just the beginning. We look forward to more students in near future.
by Ang
Young Lives Laos Staff