austraLasia #2920
 
Solomons  WYD reflection: Inter-Parish Youth Camp

TETERE, SI: 21 September 2011 -- In an event intended to reflect the recent WYD events in Madrid, the Inter-parish youth camp hosted at Christ the King Parish, Tetere, Solomon Islands, brought together young people from Good Shepherd Tenaru, Red Beach, Christ the King, Tetere and The Assumption of Mary, Ruavatu parishes. The event took place from 16 to 19 September over a 'long weekend'.
    The WYD 'firm in faith' theme inspired the more than seven hundred willing young people who attended, enthusiastic about encountering a new experience in their lives. The inter-parish youth camp is a common activity and way to unit young people in the archdiocese of Honiara. This particular event, however, had its own Salesian mark on it: the number of participants, the speakers, the accommodation and the organisation of activities, as the youth coordinator for Good Shepherd Parish noted in his concluding address.
    Each parish brought along soil whose mixture symbolised unity. The blue, yellow and green uniforms (the national colours) also reminded the youth that they were all sons and daughters of one nation, one family.
    People like Fr. Japhet, Fr. Francis, sdb from PNG, the former SI High Commissioner to PNG challenged the youngsters in their talks about life today. An 'evening with Christ' Taize style, was organized by Sr Sialei, fma, where some outstanding young people were invited to share their experience of life. Among them was our the only Solomon islander Salesian brother, Bro. Jefferson.
    Archbishop Adrian Smith celebrated mass for the group during which he blessed the mixed soil. His message to the young people included messages about marriage, ("if you marry, please invite Christ into your married life"), religious life ("help evangelise your peers by joining an Order here in the country"), drugs and sex ("from now you have to say no to marijuana, no to “kwaso” (homebrew), no to sex before marriage". He is someone who is very much aware of the circumstances of young people in the country.
    The camp included vocation promotion for congregations and orders in SI, sport, cultural dances. A mass of thanksgiving and commissioning concluded the camp. Before the groups departed, the parish priests of the three parishes have awarded them with young plants, growing in the mixed soil, in memory of the 2011 WYD Inter-parish Youth Camp.