RAY celebrates 15 years of existence

KOTA KINABALU – Another year means another opportunity to thank the Lord for His faithfulness and blessings. RAY of the LJCCC (Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community) celebrated its 15th anniversary at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall on 15 July 2016.

In attendance was Archbishop John Wong, elders and members from LJCCC, invited guests from other Catholic youth groups and the youth of the parish. It was organised by RAY’s Core Team and emceed by Lenice Lim.

The anniversary dinner was centred on the theme of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. Thus the dinner commenced with action songs led by the music team. Archbishop led the opening prayer. The dinner was made significant by the attendance of those who had served the youth in their own capacity over the years; these ‘uncles,’ ‘aunties,’ and young adults always took time off their busy schedules to assist the youths! Accordingly, the dinner was held to thank them for their guidance and help.

Highlights of the dinner included a video montage which showed pictures of youths and the activities for the past 15 years. For many, it was a poignant trip down memory lane. This was followed by recorded videos of well-wishers who could not make it to the dinner due to study commitments. Some expressed their disappointment while others shared their gratefulness for the time spent in RAY.

The programme continued with a session of praise and worship after which two personal testimonies were shared. The first personal testimony was given by the writer, who by now is a 27- year- old young adult who had been attending RAY since its early years of inception but had to leave to continue her studies elsewhere. Even after many years, she is grateful to have had spent her time as a teenager with RAY and for the friendships she made. She stated that a journey in faith should go well beyond the teenage years and that she had continued her journey by joining Catholic groups in university. She expressed how she had missed her days in RAY as a teenager and reminded the youth that once they were a Royal Ambassador, they would always stay one.

Charlotte gave the next testimony who shared about dealing with bullies in school and how she overcame that by learning to forgive. She also expressed that her involvement with RAY had brought her closer to God.

The dinner was truly a wonderful time for thanksgiving and celebrating the spirit of comradeship. – Jenna Robert