by BIS Correspondent
NORTH ARABIAN VICARIATE, JULY 04, 2013: From 9 - 12 June, a four-day vocation camp was conducted for the first time in the Northern Arabian Vicariate. It was held at Don Bosco's school for students of grades eight to twelve. It was attended by twenty-five young and enthusiastic boys from the four parishes.
The vocation camp was primarily aimed to assist the boys to discern God's will in their lives. It was designed to familiarise the boys with the Salesian charism and that of other congregations. Fr. Lionel Braganza was the main co-ordinator for the camp assisted by all the Salesian priests of the Parish – Fr. Blany Pinto, Fr. Joy Marangattikala, Fr. Francis Kharjia and Fr. Franco Pereira. Each day, two Salesian co-operators took a day off from their work to help out in the camp.
Through interactive audio-visual presentations, action songs and games, the participants were taken on a personal journey starting with "Self-Discovery" on the first day. The sessions on day two focussed on "Relating with others", while on day three the priests helped them "Encounter Christ". On the final day, the sessions were oriented towards "Following Christ".
At the start of the camp the participants were divided into four teams. Each day the participants were introduced to the charisms of different religious congregations namely Diocesans, Carmelites, Capuchins and Salesians. In addition Fr. Franco Pereira held a daily session on prayer moments to initiate them into different forms of prayer. The camp culminated with a camp fire.
It was a beautiful journey indeed and the children seemed happy to spend this time with their friends, learning about themselves and encountering Christ. One excited young participant summed up his experience beautifully, saying "Through this camp I have learned how to pray and be attentive to the voice of God. I am so happy my parents made me attend this camp. I made some new friends too."
Eighteen of the twenty-five youngsters who participated in the vocation camp will go for a vocation tour from 5 – 15 July. Fr. Francis Kharjia, along with three Salesian Co-operators, will take them to the various Don Bosco Institutes in rural and urban areas of the Mumbai province. This tour will give them a firsthand experience of the Salesian charism and the Salesian apostolate. We pray to God that the tour will inspire the youngsters to join the Salesians.