Youths

KOTA KINABALU – The Publicity & Documentation Team for SYD4 has put together some important facts prior to SYD4, which will take place at Holy Trinity Tawau in 2016,  to bring to the awareness of youth in Sabah that SYD4 has been activated and progressive preparation is being laid down towards its official launching in February 2015.

What is SYD?

Sabah Youth Day or SYD is a huge program for the Catholic youth in Sabah. Similar to the World Youth Day, Sabah Youth Day is also organized every 4 years.  The Catholic youth of the three arch/dioceses in Sabah, namely Keningau, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan are the main organizers.

DAEJEON, South Korea – Aug 15, 2014 was my most awaited day when I would receive my ‘gift’. I had mixed feelings of nervousness and joy at the same time. Sixteen youth delegates representing each Asian country and I, including Boa, a Korean artist, were asked to wait in a specially prepared room.

“He is here! The Pope is here!” My heart was overwhelmed with tremendous joy seeing him arriving in the midst of us. We welcomed him with great enthusiasm.

It’s beyond my imagination to sit down with the Pope and have lunch with him. This is truly a gift from God. I shared with the Pope on the religious issues we were currently facing in Malaysia such as the issue on the word ‘Allah’.  His response was so encouraging. He said, “We must not use God’s name for war or for disunity, but we must use His name for peace!”

The Pope also conveyed an important message to us, “Wake up, Asian youth!  Do not be afraid to continue the mission of Christ.”

Although I did not have the opportunity to have a ‘selfie’ with the Pope, nevertheless I was privileged to shake and kiss his hands, giving him a hug and to receive blessings from the Pope himself! 

DAEJEON, South Korea – The AYD6 Statement formulated by the young people themselves, in their own language and culture,  was read by youth representatives from each region in Asia. It is short and poetic, and comes out from the minds and hearts of the young people.

“We are Asian youth. Even though we come from different countries, we speak different languages, and we have diverse cultures, we are one family in Christ. We are the modern day evangelizers.

DAEJEON, South Korea – Two thousand  young people from 23 countries across Asia converged for the 6th Asian Youth Day (AYD6) held in the Diocese of Daejeon Aug 10-17.  A total of 53 delegates from across the arch/dioceses of Kuala Lumpur, Melaka-Johor, Penang, Kuching, Miri, Sibu, Kota Kinabalu, Keningau, and Sandakan formed the contingent from Malaysia.

The AYD6 theme “Asian Youth! Wake up! The glory of the martyrs shines on you” was aimed at bringing the participants to remember the roots of their faith, to re-discover the faith that they might have lost and to walk along with Jesus and the martyrs as witnesses in today’s world.