Youth For Christ’s first Indian Ocean conference a success |02 September 2016

The first Youth For Christ (YFC) conference bringing together youths from Mauritius and Seychelles which took place here during the weekend of August 26 to 28 has been described as a great success by the organisers.

The YFC is a youth ministry of Couples for Christ (CFC) which is a Catholic movement intended to renew and strengthen Christian family life.

The CFC organised the YFC conference which was held under the theme ‘Christ Unlimited: Rejoice Pray and Give Thanks’and this was inspired from Philippians 4:4-7.

The activities of the conference took place at Ile Perseverance and altogether over 120 youths from Seychelles, a delegation of 20 from Mauritius comprising 14 youths and three YFC couple coordinators took part in the event.

The conference started with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist by Fr. Patrice Alemanana on Friday afternoon which was followed by the opening ceremony.

Jef Arong, the CFC cluster head for Seychelles and missionary from Philippines, welcomed the delegates and formally launched the event.

The ceremony was followed by a fun-filled welcome fellowship party entitled ‘Thank God It’s Friday’, where delegates donned their best ‘Funky 80s’ outfit and danced to the tunes of the ‘80s. There was ‘Praise and Fashion’ to highlight the vibrancy of the youth and their beautiful get-up. The night ended with a praisefest of songs and worship.

The second day started early with a Holy Mass presided by Fr Alfre Mpassi who encouraged the youths to be faithful to Jesus and to follow Him. 

After an inspiring worship, the first session, entitled ‘Shout for Joy’ was given by Jernalyn Gayon, a Filipino Singles for Christ mission volunteer from the UAE. She shared the necessity of joy in Christian life. She also explained the difference between temporary happiness and lasting joy and encouraged the young people  to acknowledge God as the unlimited source of joy.

To foster camaraderie and sportsmanship, the Singles for Christ organised group games and team-building activities during the day. A football and volleyball match added to the fun. 

A session entitled ‘No Matter What’ was given by Eliza Veloso, a Singles for Christ mission volunteer from the Philippines.  She reminded the young people of the posture to take as we receive God’s gift of prayer.

She also emphasised that prayer is our love relationship with God, which He promises to us through Christ Jesus.

She ended challenging them to pray and experience the peace and love of Christ that comes from being in His presence in prayer.

On the last day of the conference various activities were held outdoors – nestled under the shade of the trees with the perfect breeze and weather. Jef Arong presided the last session entitled ‘Attitude of Gratitude’. He invited the youth to have a personal assessment towards gratitude and also asked them to identify the signs of an ungrateful heart.

He ended with reminding and instilling in their hearts the need to always have an attitude of gratitude, for everything comes from God.

The conference culminated with a celebration of the Holy Mass presided by Fr. Gustave Lafortune.

The accompanying photos show highlights of the conference.