Salesian Youth Day

In preparation for World Youth Day in August, which I just bought my registration for, the Salesian community around the Philippines organized its own celebration in Negros Occidental. I had a wonderful experience with about 500 other teenagers from around the Philippines attending Salesian schools or parishes. I went with the two girls who work at the VIDES office, Sarah and Rhea. We left for our flight early in the morning to travel to another island (Negros) of the Philippines about 1 hour away. It was my first time to go outside of Luzon, the island Manila is on.

One of the first things I did after getting settled into our room with the girls from Vietnam and Korea, of which some were also VIDES volunteers, was to play soccer of course! The boys who go to school at the local Don Bosco Technical School are a part of the soccer team and I joined them. In Negros, they speak another dialect than Tagalog (Filipino) and many do not speak English well at all, but there’s no need for speaking when playing.

Throughout SYD I was approached by many kids and also adults who wanted to take my picture or get something from me. It was probably the most attention I have gotten since coming to this country. Some of the great things I was able to do were read scripture during night prayer, be interviewed for my thoughts about SYD and give a message to the kids, get an award, and join the Family Fued activity during recreation. I am trying my best to be grateful for all the opportunities and kindness the people are showing me, but I can’t help but to truly appreciate those people who sincerely try to get to know me, and those are the ones I will really remember. It reminds me of the talk a priest gave a few weeks ago on our VIDES recollection about the story of Martha and Mary. Martha was the hospitable one while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to listen to him. It is good and right to serve others by work, but it more right to encounter Jesus, or have a personal connection with others. I have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of others, but the people I cherish are those who tried to develop a sincere relationship with me.

Day 3 of SYD was the most impactful. We went on our immersion trips to one of the local communities in the area. I went to Malihao, a community in the sugar cane fields. I was by myself with a family who had three little houses on a compound. It was difficult, as I expected, to converse with the family, and actually only one lady, Donna, could speak English somewhat okay. I first helped her clean her clothes by hand on the washboard then to the river to wash them. I was able to talk to her about her life on the plantation. Her husband works in the fields, of which is very difficult work when it is hot outside. She is a housewife along with her sister and sister-in-law. She has a high school diploma, but there are no jobs for women except to run a little store. She has no desire to leave her village and enjoys living a simple life. We were supposed to take this opportunity to speak with them about how they live out their faith, but unfortunately it was hard to even have a basic conversation, so I could only say so much, which made me appreciate the missionaries in foreign lands who were able to tell so many people about Jesus.

After that I played with the children for a long time on the street just with a ball. I think they enjoyed having a silly white girl play with them. We then walked back down to the river to swim for a while since it was such a hot day. I really enjoyed this time I got to spend with them. I even tried to give the necklace I got for this immersion trip to one of kids but he wouldn’t take it. Finally, I had to give it to Donna to give it to him. Maybe it will remind them of my visit with them, and they invited me to come back someday to visit. It was a blessing to spend this time with such a simple, humble family working very hard to support each other.

The next day, we continued our program with mass, messages from priests and bishops, and many fun activities. The message for WYD is “Planted and Rooted in the Faith,” and I think the message I will most take away from all the speeches is that when we encounter Christ, we find our true identity. The priest used the example of the Samaritan woman at the well, which she went to the well in the middle of the day when the heat is the hottest because she was avoiding having to socialize with the other women of the community. But, when she encountered Jesus at the well she found her vocation to evangelize and went straight to the community to tell them about Jesus. She found her true identity after she had a life-changing experience with Christ.

And then I played more soccer, and had a beautiful cultural celebration where each region performed a native dance or song.

Our final day consisted of saying our goodbyes to the Vietnamese and Koreans, and a trip to the local festival that showcased all the regions of the Philippines where we could buy Pasalubong (food to bring home to your family after taking a trip somewhere. No translation in English).