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Life Teens’ Camp on “Armour of God”


TELIPOK – One hundred and twenty-five participants joined the Life Teen Youth Camp 2018 at Tamaza, Natai Adventure Cultural Village from 22 – 24 June 2018. The Camp theme “Armour of God”, is inspired by the bible verse: “Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11), St. Paul tells us that God commanded us to put on the full armour of God as our spiritual defense against attacks by Satan.
In this camp, we aimed to raise their awareness of their roles as true Catholics and expose the works of Satan in the world today so that they will be prepared to apply the “armour of God” when in combat with evil in their daily lives.
The camp started with an opening Mass by Fr Paul Lo at Sacred Heart Cathedral, before participants left for Tamaza. A military theme was incorporated into the program so that the participants were able to have the experience of being in battle and relate it to the spiritual battle that they go through in their daily lives. The participants were assigned into their platoons along with a leader and they were evaluated on a merit/demerit system based on their unity, teamwork, discipline, leadership and sacrifice for their team members.
The program started off with the participants setting up their own tents. Unfortunately, it rained heavily throughout the camp which affected the campsite & their tents but the participants got through it with great stride despite their uncomfortable conditions. Other activities included a camp fire session where they shared their experiences with their platoons and jungle trekking with a few obstacles set up which ended with bush cooking, where the participants learned to cook with bamboo on a bonfire.
We are very grateful to have Fr Paul Lo to give sessions on the armour of God, what we are fighting against, church’s teaching on spiritual battles, how we prepare for battle, who are our commander and comrades when in battle, how to persevere and combat in a spiritual battle and lastly to seek healing and strength from the Eucharist. On the last night, adoration & confession took place. The participants shared that they were so happy to finally be able to go for confession after a long time and were able to truly confess their sins.
The camp ended with Mass and a Eucharistic Procession. It was a new experience for the teens to participate in a Eucharistic Procession. We hope that the exposure to this experience will help the participants to fall more deeply in love and to seek the healing and strength they need in the Eucharist.
Today, belief in Satan’s existence and activity is often dismissed as old superstition. Most Catholics hear very little about him and are unaware that they are engaged in spiritual warfare, therefore unprepared to defeat him. In reality, we engage in this battle everyday with Satan, who wants to stop us from fulfilling our true calling from God and strive for the ruin of souls.
We encourage not only the participants of the camp but to all youths to go learn more about the faith and constantly receive the sacraments to prepare for the spiritual battle that we go through daily with or without realizing it.
To continue this journey, Life Teen invites all teens aged 13-18 years old to join their weekly Life Night gatherings on Saturdays, room F2, 8pm – 10pm, at Sacred Heart Parish Centre. Teens may also check out Life Teen Facebook (LIFE TEEN, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia), or Instagram (lifeteenshckk) for updates.
Life Teen is also thankful to everyone who has supported the ministry in organizing the camp through their prayers and donations. – Kimberly Tamayo, Camp Coordinator Life Teen Youth Camp 2018

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