LifeLine organises Breakthrough 2014 camp

KOTA KINABALU – There is a general consensus that many of the young people today seem to be confused with who they are and in discovering their purpose in life. And many times, we find our security in the comfort of the world, only to discover that these are temporal gain, only to find ourselves feeling trapped with the emptiness that fills us after indulging in worldly pleasures, and only to feel unsatisfied with the instant, temporary pleasures that we thought could mask our brokenness inside.

It is almost as if there is a cloud of slumber over the land. We sleep, as we conform to relativism. We burn out, as we get tired of the pessimistic world. We get paranoid with the many happenings around us.

In Lifeline’s Breakthrough 2014: Awakening camp which took place Sep 25-28 at Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre, we sought to awaken from this slumber and bring revival to the land by being a Eucharistic people; to break away from the mindset of being trapped by sins, to know that Jesus has redeemed us on the cross, and to be filled by the Holy Spirit to evangelize this truth by being witnesses of Jesus.

One of the most intense moments in the camp was the healing session through the washing of feet. As we shared our brokenness in our lives with one another, it brought us to realize how everyone was broken inside, and how much we needed to forgive one another, and ourselves in order for God to really touch us.

“Forgiveness is not saying what the person did was right. It is saying what the person did was wrong but I forgive this person”, said Mike Arents, guest speaker of the camp.

For the dynamics, we chose someone to stand as proxy for the person we needed to forgive, and washed the feet and said what we wanted to forgive of the person intended for.

One of the highlights of the camp was praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. “Resting in the Spirit is a conscious decision”, Mike shared. “Speaking in tongues, the first step, is a conscious step. It is not about waiting for the Spirit to take over the body, because God gave us freedom to choose”. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit came as if of a new Pentecost as we prayed for one another, while manifesting the gifts of prophesy and visions of God’s great glory.

These events and happenings were befitting the biblical theme chosen for the camp: “Not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5.

Knowing the Eucharist as the source and summit of our Christian faith, and about the Holy Trinity, it has helped us to participate in the Sunday Mass in a new light and be able to be more present in the celebration.

The testament to our inner transformation as we move on from here was the realization that we are journeying with each other in the community. In the words of our coordinator, Denis, when inviting the participants to join our community, “We are all broken people. And this is why we need to journey together towards our God”. – Jennifer Chong