The JMY Survival Youth Camp II "A Journey to the Cross" October 23-26, 2008, San Juan, Batangas, Philippines

 “A Journey to the Cross”, the theme during the JMY Survival Youth Camp II held last October 23-26, 2008 in Hugom, San Juan, Batangas. It was participated by One Hundred Sixty-nine (169) youth leaders coming from the Fifteen (15) parishes under the Oblates of St. Joseph. JMY Survival Youth Camp is a regular program of the Oblates of St. Joseph Youth Council which is celebrated every two years and aims to develop the leadership potentials of the youth, to foster camaraderie among them, to experience self-autonomy and responsibility, to experience God and be living witness of his love and to be immersed in the rural setting of a community. At the end of the camp, everyone is expected to be a Survivor and has participated well in all of the activities.

As the theme goes, all of the activity was centered on the Holy week, depicting Christ Suffering, Death and Resurrection. It all started on the Holy Thursday when Christ, before the Last Supper, washed the feet of his disciples with all his humility eventhough he is a King. Rev. Fr. Gerbert D. Cabaylo, OSJ, discussed the concept of Discipleship and explained how a King turned servant shows the true meaning of disciple-leader. The essence of being a King was not rooted on the position nor the fame and capabilities but on how his followers accepted him as their ruler and leader. The activity was opened through a Holy Mass headed by the Provincial Youth Director together with some Parish Youth Director.

The first day is a challenging day for everyone as they were led by the Provincial Youth Director to be a good disciple and leader. He discussed the seven qualities of a being a leader-servant. He explained that to be a good disciple one is expected to show Welcome and Respect, be a Silent Worker, to have a Flexibility of time, Willingness, Self-giving, and to have the qualities of Servanthood and Self-donation. A good leader must have these qualities to be able to share oneself to others.

After the first talk on being a Good Disciple, there was a small group sharing. In their small group, everyone is expected to share how they could be a good disciple and servant as a Joseph Marello Youth leader. With their new group, everyone is expected to have a new friends, new experiences and learning which they will be able to share to the youth when they go back to their respective parishes. The delegates will be in their new group starting the Holy Thursday until the end of the camp. Each of them will have to share their talents, skills and gifts as leader.

It was still on the first night when the Provincial Superior, Rev. Fr. Ronulfo Alkonga, OSJ, gave his inspirational message. He emphasized the Provincial Councils support for the youth program and activities and challenged everyone to serve and be like St. Joseph Marello, the founder and source of inspiration for all the Joseph Marello Youth. He asked everyone to seek God in every place and things in the campsite particularly the nature which God has created. According to him, with all these things and places, we can conclude that there is a God who created everything around us.

Milleth Kasilag, the OSJ Youth Councils Secretary gave the essentials and content of the kit which will serve as their guide during the entire camp while Edward Aguilar, the Councils President explained the House Rules which they ought to follow during their stay in the Campsite.

It was a very tiring day for everyone. Some of the delegates had traveled for almost a day in order to attend the Survival Youth Camp II. All the participants were expected to have their rest early in order to prepare for tomorrows activity.

At 4:30 am, the first alarm surrounded the campsite. It was a signal for the delegates to prepare themselves for the days challenging activity, the Way of the Cross, which is a trip to the mountain of Dagulgul. They say that in order to reach the mountain, they should be able to cross two mountains not to mention the rocky and steep way. At 6:00am, the advance party started their way to the mountain, bringing with them the water, foods, ribbon which will be used as signs and directions and the cross to be put up for the Stations of the Cross. It was good that God made the weather cloudy which made the walk and journey easy. However, not all the way that we have traversed is an easy road. There are muddy, wet, rocky and grassy road.

“Luckily, I belong to the advance party. As an advance party together with the marshals, it is our duty to put directions by putting ribbon in every point or way which might lead to confusion. Aside from the directions, the marshals with us were also putting the cross which will serve as the Cross for the Station of the Cross. After putting every cross in place, we always pray the Way of the Cross. It was a very challenging activity. During the first half of the journey, I wanted to back-out and go back to the camp site but what makes me strive harder to reach the top are the thinking that Christs’ suffering are much heavier than mine. If others can, I will be able to reach the peak. Climbing the mountain is like fulfilling my dream, if I didn’t try to do it, I won’t be able to achieve it. It’s like the road of our life. There are many twists and turns but with God on our side, we will be able to cope up and reach the top. At 9:45, we were able to reach the top. Since we were the first to arrive, we ate our lunch and we also had the chance to sleep on the grassy part of the mountain.”

Based on every groups report, there are casualties, and some delegates went back to the camp site and were not able to reach the top for health reason. However, at 12:00 noon, rain fell all over the mountain. As the rain keeps on pouring, the recitation of the rosary started. It is amazing that as the last mystery was finished, rain stops pouring and suddenly, the sun appear. However, the core group decided to go down the mountain because of the danger caused by the rain which made the soil muddy and sticky and this might lead to accidents.

“The road is much difficult to traverse now. The rain caused the soil to be muddy and sticky. There are occurrences of accidents and some of the participants fall not once or twice, but many times. It was a good experienced for all of us as we Journey through Christ. Though there are difficulties in our way, we can see how the JMY walked hand in hand and supporting each other. This is a little less sacrifice compared to the one faced and undergone by Jesus Christ. We hoped that through this, everyone will realize that Gods suffering and death is the result of His love for us.”

Upon reaching the campsite, it was discovered that there are some delegates that were still in the mountain. It was getting dark so the marshals decided to look for them bringing with them several flashlights and a radio transceiver. Finally, at 6:45pm, the last batch of the journeyer finally arrives. It was a day of fun and thrill for everyone. After the hardship in the mountain, the youth has gone swimming, thereby cleaning their shoes and clothes that were covered with mud.

After having their cleaning, the Holy Mass was celebrated. As part of the celebration of the Holy Friday, the Seven Last Words were given and talked by the religious brothers, reverends and priest. After the Holy Mass, the participants eat their dinner with their respective co-participants from their parish.

The Taize Prayer was facilitated by Bro. Erwin Aguilar, OSJ. As the youth venerates the Cross, the Confession and Counseling takes place simultaneously.

“I felt deeply honored for some of the youth believes in me. There are youth leaders who approached me for counseling. I realized that the youth undergone the same experiences, challenges and trials in life. The effect only varies depending on how the youth acted on the giving circumstances and situations. I hope that these youth, who approached me for counseling, would have learned something from me. After the last conversation, I finally realized that I also need Counseling. But since I’m very tired and sleepy, I just slept and look for the next day’s activity.”

During third day of the Camp, everyone prepare themselves for the Immersion Program. It is a sunny day and the weather is good for everyone to look for their designated barangays. Each group will be given a barangay and they will give a Basic Catechism, Animation and Games for the children and youth in the barangay. Each group will make their own moves on how they will search for their barangay, the youth and the children who will serve as their audience. It was a whole day activity. The youth have different kinds of experiences in the barangay. Some of the barangay are prepared while some are not. In some places, they have to look for audiences while in some places, youths and children’s were already gathered in one place. There are groups who experienced difficulty in looking for their respective barangay while there are some who easily reached the place. Others received a comfortable treatment such as foods already prepared for them and giving them a ride back to the campsite. Others have to eat the canned goods that they had brought with them and walked a hundred miles. It was a best experienced for them to travel and experienced giving catechism in the remote barangays. But what made their journey worthwhile are their new found JMY friends from the other parishes who are with them in this journey.

After arriving in the campsite from their activity in the barangay, the delegates enjoy the afternoon swimming. At 6:30pm, the participants were gathered according to their parish. They started sharing their experiences during the Immersion activity in the barangay. After the group sharing, the Holy Mass was celebrated and officiated by Rev. Fr. Elmer Quizon, OSJ, the Parish Youth Director of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish (OLMHRP).

After having their dinner, the delegates prepare themselves for the JMY Night wherein the Search for Mr. and Ms. Survival Youth Camp II and the Acoustic band Competition will take place. There were 11 contestants for the Acoustic Band Competition and 13 pairs for the Search for Mr. and Ms. Survival Youth Camp II. The night was blessed with a good weather and the final night for the Survivor has finally come. Hosted by Bro. Erwin Aguilar and Wendy May Briton, the candidates introduce themselves and have their production number. This was the first appearance for the candidates in their survival camp shirt. Danica (JMY Padre Garcia) and Mark (JMY Mariveles) got the special awards for Best in Survival Camp Shirt while Zora (JMY Biñan) and Macky (JMY Rosario) was awarded for the Best in Production number. The first five contestants for the Acoustic band competition made the rendition of their piece – a free choice and a Marellian Song (a song made in honor of St. Joseph Marello). The candidates for the Search had their time to prepare and change for their next costume which is the Creative Attire wherein they will be using anything that can be found within the campsite area as their costume. We can see the JMYs creativity through the designs and costumes they’ve made. After they had modeled on their Creative Costume, two pairs got the Special Awards for the Most Creative Costume. It was given to the candidates from the Most Holy Rosary Parish, Padre Garcia and from San Isidro Parish, Nagwaling. The final batch for the Acoustic Band Competition played their songs after which the Question and Answer portion for the candidates for the Mr. and Ms. SYC II took place.

James Beleno and Danica Visleño, both from the Most Holy Rosary Parish, got the title for the Mr. and Ms. Survival Youth Camp II. The JMY form the Our Lady of Fatima Parish won First Place in the Acoustic Band Competition.

After the awarding ceremony, the party started and all the Survivors sing and dance as they celebrate Christ Resurrection. The night was full of joyful spirits as everyone realized God’s gift of love and guidance. Everyone rejoices for surviving in the three days camp outside their parish, which is their real world.

Finally, the night is over, another day to rejoice and be glad for Gods Kingdom is at hand. Shibashi, A warm-up prayer led by Bro. Erwin Aguilar was done along the sea shore. It was a good start for everyone. After their breakfast, the Palarong Pinoy started and everyone participated in the games with their respective groups. The games ended in the Sea as everyone swims for the last time. At 11:00am, the Holy Mass was celebrated followed by the Closing and Awarding Ceremony. Since everyone is already starving, a Barrio Fiesta was held wherein all the foods were brought to the common table for the Food sharing.

The time has come to bid goodbye, not only to the memorable place of San Juan, Batangas but also the people whom we have shared our lives for the past 3 days of the camp. This is truly worth remembering - the experiences, the people, the sea, the mountain, the nature, the campsite, the activities and the new found friends though the JMY family. Ermelita Kasilag