A group of young people from the Vedruna School of San Felipe, belonging to the Vedruna Youth Mission (MJV) movement, accompanied by Rodolfo Camargo and Gleny Acevedo, participated in the 1st National Youth Day (JNJ ), in the city of La Serena, from January 21 to 26, where about 5,000 pilgrims from all over Chile gathered.
Participation in this meeting was possible because prior to the meeting they carried out various activities to raise funds, which were supplemented with other contributions. Thus, they were able to pay for registration and transportation.
The experience was an opportunity for a deep and personal encounter with the Good Jesus, as well as the richness of sharing with other young people.
They had the opportunity to pray, carry out animation dynamics, sing, dance, play and celebrate, as well as walk through workshops called Encounters of Hope, participate daily in the Eucharist, live and animate a Way of the Cross with the community of the Parish of San José de Juan Soldado, meet intimately with the good Jesus in the Vigil of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the shores of the beach at the Lighthouse of La Serena and carry out a social action of accommodation of the Chapel of San Pedro Pescador.
As a group they strengthened their bonds, cohesion as a team, filled with hope to motivate other young people to live and experience the love that never says enough is enough. love that never says enough.
Here are some testimonials of their experience:
I loved being part of the NYY, I liked the activities we did, the mass on the beach, offering social help, and having moments to talk about our life experiences and others. I also enjoyed the spaces provided by the San Francisco Coll school to accommodate us and the food every day. The closeness with my companions will help the Vedruna Youth Mission to do many more activities this year. It is an experience that I would like to be part of again and I recommend it to everyone who wants to have a good time and be closer to Jesus.
This journey was an incredible experience. It motivated me to participate in the Vedruna Youth Mission and to get to know other pastoral ministries. In addition, I was able to share much more with my classmates and meet other young people from different parishes and schools, and the activities were super nice, and since almost all of them were for young people, they were very entertaining. The part I liked the most was the vigil at the lighthouse, because it was a massive gathering where there was an atmosphere of great trust and respect. Going to this meeting helped me a lot in situations in which I have conflicts and I feel that I can’t find a way out, in the YWY I learned that in reality everything has a solution and you just have to learn to look for it. To the young people who did not go, I would tell them to join a pastoral or missions. Sometimes they don’t participate out of embarrassment or because they feel they don’t know anyone, but there we all end up getting to know each other. It is a very good opportunity to make friends, share with people your age and learn more about this topic.
Prof. Gleny Acevedo, Vedruna Youth Mission coordinator in San Felipe
